Fasting

I think I mentioned this before. But one of the benefits of pain is it drives us closer to God.  One of the benefits of my extreme pain is now I can hear from God.  He’s been talking this whole time, I just didn’t pay attention to discern His voice.  I reasoned, that’s my own voice, or that’s my conscience, I never realized that God was talking to me the whole time. Im not sure If I have a gift that way or everyone can do it.  So last night God spoke to me, and said in your devotions tomorrow, I’m going to have a word for you when you read your Bible.  I got really excited.  In the past God has given me specific books and chapters to read that just kind of popped into my head.  When I looked them up, they were absolutely 100% appropriate for me at that moment.  This time God said…just read where you currently are in the Bible.  I read the Bible cover to cover when I read.  Im not sure that’s the right way, its just the way I’ve always done it.  I happen to be in the book of Esther…so I wonder, what is God going to tell me from Esther?  So I crack open the Bible while eating my breakfast at Dairy Queen.  The story I was reading about was that a dude named Haman, was plotting to kill all the Jews.  Queen Esther, also a Jew had to thwart his plan and get in good with the King.  So it’s a nice story and all…but ½ way through Im thinking what does this have to do with me…maybe I heard God wrong.  Then blamo…I came across the part that God wanted me to read.  In Chapter 4:16 it reads “Go gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day.  My maids and I will fast likewise.”  Crap…why couldn’t God have told me something easy to do, or encourage me like a storehouse of blessing is coming your way or something.  Now, Im not really sure why God wanted me to fast, which Im presently doing.  I just skipped dinner so far, so its not really difficult at the moment.  In Esther, the Jews fast and God delivers them from their oppressor.  I feel like I’ve been under heavy spiritual attack for the last two weeks, so maybe it has something to do with that.  Fasting is a powerful tool that I think Every Christian should do.  Jesus says…”when you fast do so in secret.”  He doesn’t say if you fast, he says when liked its expected.  Secondly by announcing it, Im not really doing it in secret am I?  I don’t want to be pharisaical about it, but Im opening my life up to you readers.  When I say I kind of dread fasting, I mean it…but it works.  When Jesus was casting out demons, his disciples tried casting out a demon, but they couldn’t.  They asked him why Jesus could and they couldn’t.  His reply was that this kind of demon only comes out by prayer and fasting.  So if you have an addiction or a spirit you just can’t seem to kick…you might want to try fasting.  I believe that the Demonic and spirits are real.  If Jesus spent 1/3 of his ministry only casting out demons, don’t you think that was a point of emphasis that we should recognize it.  If it was that important to Jesus shouldn’t it be that important to us?  I also wanted to mention the fast on this blog so I’d be more accountable to you.  Many times when I set out a goal to fast, I usually get part way through…and reason my way out of the fast.  God still honors a partial fast..but I only received a partial blessing as well. 

I went back to the Bahrain Cinema club tonight.  They play artsy foreign films there.  There was a Bosnian fim about the war in Yugoslavia.  It was a comedy and just a delightful film.  How cool is that to be living in the Middle East, watching a Bosnian films where each of the audience members were from a different country.  Afterwards I saw an Indian by the name of Nozar.  Last week we were at the Cinema Club shooting promotional shots for a magazine.  I needed a volunteer and Nozar offered.  When I said hello to him at the end of the film, He said…Hi Rick.  He remembered my name even though we only chatted for a few minutes.  He also told me he read one of the articles about me in the Gulf Weekly.  I was honored.  I had a couple of copies of the magazine in the car.  So I gave him one.  He was quite proud when I flipped through the magazine to show him his picture.  He had never been in a magazine before.  Then he asked for my autograph?   What!!! My autograph?  Im not a celebrity…but I guess with pictures in the magazines, television appearances, acting schools, high powered meetings, maybe I am becoming a celebrity.  Think big fish tiny pond.    I think God is giving me incredible favor so that the credibility of my lifestyle will go a bit further in spreading his message.  I’ll go with it…but it still seems kind of weird.  Im totally walking in the middle of God’s favor, because he has a purpose for it, and Im following his commandments