Fast In Secret

How do you go about fasting? Do you fast from certain foods? Do you fast from eating entirely for a day or two? Do you fast from specific activities? Do you fast at all? Do you know that fasting is expected of you by God? Will you meet God’s expectation?

Today is Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. During Lent, many people will fast in one form or another. Some fast from meat on Friday. Others fast from chocolate for the entire forty days of Lent. Still others will fast from social media for these next forty days.

Over the years, we have devised many ways to fast and many things to fast from. During the first century, fasting generally meant fasting from eating. Every example we see in the Bible is that type of fasting. Jesus fasted (did not eat food) for forty days while in the wilderness. We are told He was famished afterward (Matthew 4:1).

Evidently, there were people during the first century who fasted and wanted everyone to know it. As we are told in Matthew 6:16, they would walk around looking miserable, downcast, or even disfigure themselves. They let it be known outwardly to everyone they encountered they were fasting. They wanted the attention and wanted people to believe they were being pious.

Jesus tells us not to do that. He says to look clean, refreshed, ready to go. We are not to draw attention to ourselves when we fast. We are to appear to others just as we do every other day. We are not to tell others we are fasting; we are to simply do it. This is a private matter between us and God. Otherwise, there is no reward from God for we will have gotten public attention, acknowledgement, and praise for our supposed piety.

Notice that Jesus says, ‘when you fast.’ He did not say ‘if.’ Therefore, fasting is expected. As we consider fasting during Lent, may we decide also to keep our fast secret. May we make our fast a matter between us and God. May we seek to lean on God and be rewarded by him.

I pray we all decide to fast. I pray we keep our fasting a matter between God and ourselves. I pray each one of us not only fast during Lent but fast at other times throughout the year. Fast as a means of leaning on God. Fast to seek God’s will. Fast to improve your relationship with God. Fast in secret. Wait for God’s reward.

Matthew 6:17-18 “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Pray In Secret

How often do you pray? Where do you pray? Do you pray publicly? Is your praying always done in private? Does it make a difference how or when you pray? Have you wrestled with these questions? Do you know Jesus tells how we should pray?

I know many people who feel awkward praying, especially if they must do so in public. It doesn’t matter if it is praying over a meal, in a small group meeting, or before the entire congregation. They have a fear of not praying correctly and being made fun of.

First, there is no right way to pray. God simply wants us to come to him in prayer. It is communicating with God. It can include thanksgiving, requests, praise, seeking, and honoring. The words we use are less important than the condition of our heart. Our prayer is to be honest and heartfelt. We do not need to be eloquent.

In fact, Jesus tells us not to pray in public for the purpose of being seen and heard by others. This does not mean we should not pray corporately during our worship. It does mean not to do so in a public setting merely to draw attention to ourselves. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should not bow our heads in a short prayer to thank God when we eat in a restaurant.

When we need to pour our hearts out to God, Jesus says to do so in private. When we are wrestling with an issue or seeking his guidance, pray in a private place. When we are overwhelmed with thankfulness and praise for a blessing, pray in secret. When we are earnestly seeking forgiveness for a wrong we committed, we are to go into our room and pray.

Jesus tells us to communicate in secret with God. He says that by praying in secret rather than standing on the street corner, we will receive a reward from God. That reward is a blessing for our willingness to pour our heart out to God and trust him to care for us.

I pray we all spend time in prayer each day. I pray we communicate with God in private. I pray each one of us will take time to thank, praise, and seek God in private each day of our lives. Spend time in prayer. Give thanks to God. Praise God. Seek God. Ask for forgiveness. Do so in secret.

Matthew 6:6 “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Give In Secret

What does your giving look like? Do you donate your money to charities? Do you contribute to the ministries of the church? Have you put much thought into your giving? Do you know what God expects? Do you know what Jesus says about giving?

Some give regularly to church, whether it is monthly or weekly. Others give sporadically, perhaps only when they think they have a little extra or when they feel guilty for not giving. Some give to charities, but it may be a spur of the moment decision.

Why is giving so challenging for us? Perhaps it is our American culture—take care of yourself first. Now, there is nothing wrong with ensuring our families are fed, clothed, and housed. However, many of us have far more than the necessities. Yet, we are still unwilling to give.

For thousands of years, God has expected we give ten percent. Remember, Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Therefore, God’s expectation still stands. Jesus was likely thinking of this when He stated today’s passage. He doesn’t say ‘if’ you give but ‘when’ you give. His expectation was that we give to those in need. He expected we would purposely set aside a portion of our income to help others.

Jesus’ instruction was about bragging. We are not to brag about our giving. We are not to go around telling everyone how generous we are by giving to others. We are to donate to our churches and charitable causes without fanfare, without a pat on the back, without an attaboy or attagirl. Jesus says we are to give quietly and in secret. It is only then that we will be rewarded by God.

I pray we all purposely set up our budgets to give. I pray we give to our churches and to charities. I pray each one of us will perform our giving in secret, without gloating. Plan your finances. Set aside money to give. Give to your church. Give to charities. Give in secret. Be rewarded by God.

Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Eyewitness Account

Do you believe the testimony of an eyewitness? Or do you prefer to hear the rumors and myths purported by others? Do you prefer hearing the truth or half-truths and falsities? Do you do your due diligence to seek the truth?

Rumors are juicier, but truth is enlightening. Rumors make us feel holier than the other person, but truth sheds the light on our inner being. Rumors can be heard in every nook and cranny, but truth is hardly spoken.

The Apostle Peter was an eyewitness to the transfiguration of Jesus. He went up the mountain with Him. He saw Moses and Elijah there. He saw the bright cloud over shadow them. He heard the booming voice of the Father declare Jesus’ status as the Son, the Beloved. He heard the Father tell him to listen to Him. Peter fell to the ground trembling at the sound of the voice of God.

When Peter tells his audience he was not speaking of cleverly devised myths, he was speaking with the authority and strength of an eyewitness. “I know what I saw and heard.” Perhaps we can relate to Peter. Perhaps we have seen something amazing, outlandish, or unbelievable. Perhaps we told anyone who was willing to listen to us, “I know what I saw and heard.”

If we can relate to Peter, maybe we can believe his testimony. Maybe, just maybe, we can believe Jesus is who He says He is. Maybe, just maybe, we will allow Him to change our lives for the better forever.

I pray we all believe the eyewitness account of Peter. I pray we believe Jesus is who He says He is. I pray each one of us will allow Him to change our lives for the better forever. Believe the eyewitness. Believe the Apostle Peter. Believe Jesus is who He says He is. Allow Him to change your forever.

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Listen to Jesus

How well do you listen? Do you listen to those in authority? Do you listen to those with more experience? Do you listen to those who have higher educations? Or do you believe you know better than anyone else? Do you know that line of thinking can get you into a deep mess?

There are many times in which we do not want to listen to someone else. This is especially true when we are following our own desires, pursuing what we want. But it is exactly in those times we should slow down and listen carefully to sage advice. It just may keep us out of hot water.

Now, listening to advice does not mean we should quit thinking for ourselves. We certainly need to think about the advice and weigh the options. After all, who knows our situation better than we do? Yet, there are people who have gone through situations very much like ours and they can give us good advice. It all boils down to our willingness to listen.

God the Father told the apostles—Peter, James, and John—to listen to Jesus. He might as well have been talking to us as well. We need to listen to Jesus. The apostles, much like us, had not really been listening to Jesus all that well up to that point. They had not started putting the pieces together. They did not yet realize that Jesus, the Messiah, was going to go to a cross and die for us. They did not yet understand that He would be raised on the third day. After this, they started piecing it together.

We can learn a lesson from them. We can listen to Jesus. We know about Him going to the cross and being risen from the dead. Yet, we often don’t know nor follow His advice, which is given through His teachings. If we would only do so, we would live far better lives and be much happier.

I pray we all decide to listen to Jesus. I pray we learn the lesson from the apostles. I pray each one of us will listen to Jesus’ teachings and follow His advice. Learn the lesson. Listen to Jesus. Learn from His teachings. Follow His advice. Live a better life. Experience more joy.

Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Spirit and Truth

What does it mean to you to worship? Does worship mean going through rote traditions? Does it mean reciting rote prayers? Do you only worship when you are in a specific place? Have you ever worshiped somewhere other than a church? Are you truly worshiping God?

We have many Christian traditions. They are not bad in and of themselves, but they can be meaningless if we do not know why we follow them. Reciting specific prayers fall into the same category. We need to truly mean the words. It is not about the place but the spirit or heart.

Jesus tells the woman at the well that the time had come to worship God in spirit. In effect, He told her the temple in Jerusalem was no longer the only place to worship God. That is a good thing for all of us who live thousands of miles away! Yet, for many of us, the church we attend has become the temple of the Jews. We think that building is the only place we can worship. According to Jesus Himself, that is a bunch of hogwash.

We can worship God at any moment in any place. Some of my best worship experiences have occurred on mountain tops, in a campground, or while mowing my lawn. In those times I pour my heart out to God and I can feel him there with me. If we want to feel the presence of God, we must pour our spirit into the worship. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Jesus tells us it is all about the spirit.

So, worship where you are. No, I am not saying we should not attend a worship service in a church. In fact, we need it—we need to worship with other believers as well. However, if at any time our worship doesn’t seem to be going well, we can blame no one but ourselves. Our worship is dependent upon us worshiping in spirit and truth. Nothing else.

I pray we all worship God every moment of every day. I pray we worship him in spirit and truth. I pray each one of us pour out our spirit to God each time we worship him. Worship God in spirit. Worship God in truth. Pour out your spirit to God. Worship God where you are.

John 4:21-24 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Holy Spirit Prophecy

Have you heard people predicting the future? Have you gone to a fortune teller, or someone who reads your palm? Do you believe they can tell you the future, how your life will turn out? Have you heard people saying the end is coming soon? Do you believe Jesus is returning soon?

We do not have to look very hard to find someone who is thinks they can predict the future. Some of them will promise us what they say is true. They may predict we will find a spouse, become rich, or a catastrophe is about to fall upon us. It is unfortunate that many fall for these predictions.

The Apostle Peter tells us in today’s passage that no prophecy comes from humans on their own. It only comes when people are moved by the Holy Spirit. Can the Holy Spirit move in people today? Absolutely! Does he regularly provide prophecy of the future. No, especially not about personal futures, and not about riches.

When will Jesus return, we may ask. No one knows. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36 that neither He nor the angels know when He will return. We know from the various letters of the apostles that they all thought He would return soon. Yet, He has not returned. So, anyone who tells us that Jesus will return soon is speaking of something they do not and cannot know.

On the other hand, the prophecy we read in Scripture came from God via the Holy Spirit. We can believe the prophecies we read. We can believe Jesus when He says He will return. We will better understand the prophecies when we ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit and help us interpret what has been prophesied. Despite what many may think, we can better understand. We simply need to lean on God and ask him to reveal the understanding to us, rather making our own interpretation based on our limited experience and thought capacity.

I pray we all ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. I pray we discard false predictions of the future. I pray each one of us seek to understand the truth of the prophesies in Scripture. Do not fall for false predictions. Seek to understand God’s prophesies. Ask God to reveal his prophesies to you. Seek to understand the truth.

2 Peter 1:20-21 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Transformed to be Like Jesus

What will you be when you grow up? Have you asked that question? Have you asked it multiple times? Have you asked it in jest? Did your plans for your life go as you planned? Are you the person today you thought you would be? Have you wondered what you will be for eternity?

When we are young, we may say we want to be a certain profession. Often, at a young age, we don’t really know what we want to be. As we get older, we may continue to wonder how things will turn out in our lives. We may wonder if we will ever grow up. Then, suddenly, we are old.

As a young boy, I wanted to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. As an adult, I have changed professions five times. Today, I often say I am on my third profession, but that is because I was a “retread” Marine, meaning I got out and went back in. I believe I am finally where God wants me to be, and that is pastoring.

But what will we all be in eternity? The Apostle John tells we do not yet know. Yes, there will be a resurrection. But resurrection does not mean we will look exactly as we do today. The Apostle Paul says the plant is not planted but the seed that becomes the plant (1 Cor. 15:37). The two apostles are in agreement that we will not be the same as we are now.

Notice that John says we will look like Jesus when He appears again. Do we know what He looks like? We have some clues. When Jesus was transfigured, His face was bright and His clothes were dazzling white (Matthew 17:2). In Revelation 1:12-16 we are given a description of what John saw in his vision of Christ. We will be transformed from a temporary body into a permanent body, one that is like Jesus.

I pray we all desire to be a seed that is planted. I pray we produce much fruit from our planting. I pray each one of us know that we will be resurrected, and we will be like Jesus for eternity. Be a seed. Produce much fruit. Know there is a resurrection. Know that you will be like Jesus.

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Forever Love

Do you feel loved? How much do you feel loved? Is the love you feel merely emotional, gushy, or fleeting? Or is the love you feel a committed, decisive, and long-lasting love? Do you know that God loves you? Do you know that Jesus loves you? Do you know Jesus is committed to you?

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day today, millions of people will give flowers, candy, or other gifts to show their love for one another. Typically, these gifts last a few days and are gone. Unfortunately, for some, their love for one another is just as temporary.

The love God has for us, and the love he wants us to have for our brothers and sisters in Christ, is not temporary. It is a committed love, one that is based on a decision to love one another. Our love is to weather the storms of life, even times when we disagree. We are to continue to love and care for one another, even if we are on opposing sides of an issue.

The love God has for us is to be the reason for us to come together in unity. It is the love Jesus has for us that is the reason for Him praying for us in John 17 (go read it if you do not remember His prayer). We should pray for one another in the same manner. We are to be just as committed in our love.

But make no mistake about it, we are loved, each and every one of us. We are loved by God. He has demonstrated his love for us by sending His Son to be our Savior. He continues to demonstrate his love for us through blessings, often blessings we do not see or take for granted. Perhaps on this Valentine’s Day, we will spend just a few moments thanking God for his love and committing ourselves to love him and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I pray we all know that we are loved by God. I pray we know that he is committed to us. I pray each one of us will thank God for his love and commit to loving him and one another. Know that God loves you. Know that Jesus loves you. Love your brothers and sisters. Love God. Love Jesus. Give thanks to God for his love.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Judge of All

Who do you know whom you honor? Who do you know whom you revere? Who do you know for which you treat with high respect and may even be a bit in awe of? Is there anyone? Is it a relative? Is it a co-worker or boss? Do you give honor to God and his Son, Jesus Christ?

Honor is sometimes a bit tricky. There are times when people are honored, and we wonder why. It is not that they didn’t do something good, it just doesn’t come across as being extraordinary. At other times, we do believe the person has earned the honor.

We see people honoring others who have gone above and beyond. This was especially true of medical personnel during the biggest outbreaks of the pandemic. It is also for some of our first responders, military, and police personnel. But there are others who are honored who were merely in the right place at the right time, or in the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on your viewpoint.

We are told that we should honor the Father and the Son. It is only right to honor our Creator and our Savior. It is the least we can do to show respect to the One who created all things. Perhaps we do not want to honor Jesus because we don’t fully comprehend what He has done for us. Maybe our luxurious living has stunted our need for a Savior. We falsely believe we have it all under control. We fail to realize there is something far bigger than the life we live.

Notice in today’s passage that Jesus says He will be the judge of all. The Father has entrusted judgement to the Son. If we honor human judges, should we not honor the judge of all mankind? Showing deference, respect, honor, and being in awe of Jesus is the right thing for us to do.

I pray we all give honor to Jesus Christ. I pray we bow before Him. I pray each one of us will show Him respect and be in awe of what He has done for us, submitting to Him. Be in awe. Show respect. Show reverence. Give Jesus all the honor. Submit to Him as judge of all.

John 5:22-23 “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”