Climbing higher

In the United States we really want things to be done the easy way. I have friends from across the world and they all really pretty much say the same thing. We would rather drive to the store at the end of the street than walk. We have automatic vacuum cleaners that will snake their way around the room so we don't even have to lift a finger. We have automatic hammers! We have special tools to core or slice apples, automatic salad makers. We have gotten use to everything being... easy.

Part of that has spilled over into the church as well, I'm sad to say. We want all the benefits of being a Christian without doing the work. We will listen to a sermon on the radio or watch something on the TV instead of picking up our Bible. We don't really don't check to see if the teachers that we're listening to are telling the truth or subtly perverting the gospel. If you asked any member in your church to tell you what they believe, and back it up with scripture - I wonder how many would be able to comply.

So, the question that I had this morning was... how do I break the desire to want things the easy way and become the Christian that God is calling me to be?

I think one of the keys lies in fasting.

Isaiah 58:6

Amplified Version

[Rather] is not this the fast that I have chosen:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the bands of yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and that you break every [enslaving] yoke?

When I read this, it points to an inward action. If I fast it will loose the bonds of wickedness in my life. It will undo the bands of things that yoke me. It will free me from the oppressive weight of sin. Fasting will help me break free of those things that enslave me!

But, as I am learning, God doesn't do these to us so we can enjoy freedom. He wants something in return.

Isaiah 58:7

Amplified Version

Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry

 and bring the homeless poor into your house

 -- when you see the naked, that you cover him,

 and that you hide not yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood?

There's an element of outreach that's associated with it. As we fast and learn from the Word of God which is the bread of life we are to share that with those that hunger. And Jesus said to the, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35) 

We are to take those who do not know that heaven is their home, the ones that are truly homeless to worship with us. After all, when we were lost, God sent His son to offer us the spirit of adoption allowing us to call God our Father!

Today, I'm struggling with how far I'm willing to take my beliefs. Am I willing to deny myself food, television, time doing what I would rather do in order to reach those who do not know who Jesus is? Am I willing to spend more time in His word so I will know His voice when I hear it? Am I willing to pray - not just for my needs and the needs of those close to me... but am I willing to intercede and let God set my prayer agenda for me? What are the limits to which I am willing to serve?