Presence 40 Day Fast Guide
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Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my fl esh I am fi lling up what is lacking in Christ’s affl ictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are PRESENCE the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is 40 DAY FAST GUIDE Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:24-27 LENT 2018 NOTES: THE PRESENCE OF GOD The 17th century monk known as Brother Lawrence made famous a spiritual exercise that has come to be known as “the practice of the presence of God”. It was said of Brother Lawrence that if you had occasion to see him in a group of others you might not even know that he was there. He was a quiet, thoughtful man. And in his thoughtfulness he discovered one of life’s deep secrets: God is everywhere. He is behind you, in front of you, to the right and left of you (Psalm 139:5-7). In Him you live and move and have your being (Acts 17:28). God is literally closer than your next breath. He listens, He watches, and He speaks. But we must be still to notice. We were designed to enjoy the Presence of God all the time and everywhere. He desires this, and invites it in every moment. But so often the thing that is lacking is our attentiveness to His Spirit. The season of Lent is a good time to grow in your awareness of the Holy Spirit. It’s a good time to set aside distractions, a time to be quite and thoughtful. It’s a good time to practice the presence of God anew. In this season we want to invite you to set aside the next 40 days for the sole purpose of cultivating a life of habitual prayer in pursuit of God’s manifest Presence. In this pursuit, we challenge you to continually cry out to God, “Make me more aware of your Presence.” This Lenten devotion has been designed to guide you through that journey with a selected Psalm for each day of the fast. It has been said that the Psalter is the prayer book of Jesus, and those who pray the Psalms are joining in with the prayer of Christ Himself. To this end we wanted to offer three suggestions, adapted from Saint Theophan the Recluse, for praying the Psalms... First: Never pray hastily, we should rather do it slowly as if singing. In APPENDIX B old times when all the prayers had been taken from Psalms, they were Suggested Vegetarian Cuisine sung, not read. Perceive every word, not only understanding the idea conscientiously, but involving the appropriate emotion. VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS IN JACKSON: Arby’s (Baked potato and garden salad) Second: In order to help the movement of prayerful feelings, reread and Burger King (BK veggie) ponder over the selected Psalms in your spare time with due feelings Chili’s (veggie quesadillas) so that when you are praying you would know beforehand what feeling Dominoes Pizza (Cheese or vegetarian pizza) should be born in your heart. Jason’s Deli (Salad bar or Garden Po’ Boy) McDonalds (Premium Asian Salad w/ no chicken) Third: Always intersperse the Psalms with your own prayers. When Moe’s (substitute tofu for meat on any entrée) you feel something suddenly coming into your heart you should Pizza Hut (Cheese or vegetarian pizza) stop reading and make your own prayer. This is most important and Red Robin (Veggie burgers with lettuce bun) necessary for bringing up the prayerful spirit... If you are overcome by Subway (Veggie delite sandwich) some very strong feeling, retain it and do noting to quench the Spirit in Taco Bell (Bean burrito and cheesy potato soft taco) that moment. Wendy’s (Baked potato and garden salad) We love you, and pray that God will give you an experience of His VEGETARIAN RECIPES ONLINE: Presence that is sweeter than you could ever imagine. Raw Veggie Salad (draxe.com/recipe/raw-veggie-salad) Quinoa Tabouli (draxe.com/recipe/quinoa-tabouli) Happy fasting, Avocado Salad Wrap (draxe.com/recipe/avocado-salad-wrap) Personal Pizza (draxe.com/recipe/quick-personal-pizza) — The Elders Black Bean Soup (draxe.com/recipe/black-bean-soup) Pumpkin Cashew Soup (draxe.com/recipe/pumpkin-cashew-soup) Eggplant Parmesan (draxe.com/recipe/eggplant-parmesan) Quinoa Porridge (draxe.com/recipe/quinoa-porridge) Breakfast Quesadilla (draxe.com/recipe/breakfast-quesadilla) WORSHIP: INTRODUCTION Burning Lights (Chris Tomlin) For the Honor (Elevation Worship) Fasting was originally given to God’s people as an act of devotion and For the Sake of the World (Bethel Music) as an expression of worship. However, as human beings often do, by Glorious Ruins (Hillsong Music) the time of Christ, we had distorted the “get to” of fasting to a “have God of Victory (The Village Church) to”. Religious leaders would intentionally look miserable and belly-ache Hebrews (Psallos) about how hard fasting was in an effort to show just how much they Home (Kim Walker-Smith & Skyler Smith) were giving up. And Jesus basically says, “the only thing they’re going Majestic (Kari Jobe) get out of that is the praise of others”. Jesus then calls us to a new way No Other Name (Hillsong Music) of fasting—one done out of joy, as an act of worship, not for the praise Nothing is Wasted (Elevation Worship) of others but done to draw closer to the Father. Only a Shadow (Misty Edwards) Prepare the Way (Jeremy Riddle) So for this next 40 days we challenge you to: Romans (Psallos) Still Believe (Kim Walker-Smith) (1) Avoid complaining about this fast. Take it All (Passion) Avoid complaining about what foods you can’t eat, or movies you can’t The EP (Experience Music) watch, etc. Avoid letting your “face look gloomy” so that people will The Invisible (Daniel Bashta) feel sorry for you and think about how spiritual you are. Jesus says Tides (Bethel Music) “anoint your head, wash your face!” Basically, act normal and carry on! Unstoppable Love (Jesus Culture) You and I get the privilege of giving things up to be with Christ, knowing Wake Up the Wonder (Elevation Worship) he gave up everything to be with us. We don’t have to, we get to. Work Songs (The Porter’s Gate) You Make Me Brave (Bethel Music) (2) Avoid viewing the fast as a glorifi ed “diet plan”. Your Grace Finds Me (Matt Redman) We can be temped to see these next 40 days as an opportunity for getting a little slimmer, getting off caffeine, and not taking desserts for granted. But if we look at scripture (particularly the passages mentioning fasting in the Old Testament), we see it as a time set aside for deep spiritual urgency, when God’s people really wanted Him to show up in a big way. (3) Don’t just give things up, replace them with something. Sometimes I think we can get caught up in the “whats” of fasting without thinking about the “who”. For this next 40 days, there are things we should want to give up in our R&B/SOUL/GOSPEL: lives so that we might replace them with God. When we fast, you and I Becoming (Yolanda Adams) get to savor and enjoy Christ without any distractions. If we just give up Bread for the Journey (Urban Doxology) food and don’t replace it with the Presence of God, it is of no benefi t to Hello Fear (Kirk Franklin) us. We’ll just be unnecessarily hungry people. Landing On a Hundred (Cody ChestnuTT) Love God, Love People (Israel Houghton) Let’s all take a moment to breathe in, to slow down, and remember not Overcomer (Mandisa) just what we’re about to do, but who we are seeking as we do this. Redeemer (Nicole C. Mullen) There’s a Light (Liz Vice) The Power of One (Israel Houghton) SINGER/SONGWRITER: Economy (John Mark McMillan) Fortunate Fall (Audrey Assad) He Will Not Cry Out (Bifrost Arts) Long Sleeves EP (Joel Baker) Love/War/Solar System (Michael Ketterer) Love & War & the Sea In Between (Josh Garrels) The Builder and the Architect (Sandra McCracken) The Ill-Tempered Klavier (Ben Shive) The Medicine (John Mark McMillan) The Sounds of Daniel Bashta (Daniel Bashta) The Telling (Sean Carter) INSTRUMENTAL PRAYER MUSIC: Beyond Nature (Phil Keaggy) He Restores my Soul (Cathy Mart) My Prayer Time (Christopher M. Georges) The Encounter (Jamie Lipe) The Prayer Room (Richard Souther) The Rest (Gemma & Co) Without Words (Bethel Music) INDIE/ALTERNATIVE: 40 DAY SNAPSHOT* At War With Walls & Mazes (Son Lux) Beautiful Things (Gungor) February 14-17: No secular media, no meats and sweets Come O Spirit! (Bifrost Arts) February 19 - 24: No secular media, 1 meal a day Fading West (Switchfoot) February 26 - March 3: No secular media, no meats and sweets Hebrews (Psallos) March 5 - 10: No secular media, 1 meal a day Lamentations (Bifrost Arts) March 12 - 17 : No secular media, no meats and sweets Romans (Psallos) March 19 - 24: No secular media, 1 meal a day Seven Swans (Sufjan Stevens) March 26 - 31: No secular media, no meats and sweets Sweet Tennessee (Judah and the Lion) April 1 (EASTER SUNDAY): The fast is over! The Ascension (Phil Wickham) The Good King (Ghost Ship) *We break the fast each Sunday during Lent, because Sundays are feast days! Since there are six Sundays in Lent, we have to subtract them from POP: the days of fasting.