Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period, concluding the day before Easter. This is a time for us to draw closer to the Lord through prayer, repentance, self-denial, and honoring Jesus’ suffering and death. In a world where material and personal wants can be quickly satisfied, Lent is a time to focus more on Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, rather than ourselves.
People will often fast during Lent. What exactly is fasting, though? The dictionary says it is “abstinence from food and/or drink as an element of private or public religious devotion.”
The Bible gives several reasons why we should fast:
To become Christ-like: In Luke, Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights while being tempted.
To repent of our sins: Samuel urges the Israelites to turn back to God (1 Samuel 7:3-6).
To seek God’s wisdom: Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for the elders of the churches before committing them to the Lord for His service (Acts 14:23).
To strengthen time of prayer: Luke 2 tells the story of a prophetess named Anna, “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
The Bible also teaches us how we fast. Types of fasting include:
Regular fast: A regular fast usually means refraining from eating all food. People may still drink water or juice.
Partial fast: A partial fast means refraining from certain foods and drink or a particular meal. Daniel 1:12 says they restricted their diet to vegetables and water: “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.”
Full fast: A full fast means abstaining from all food and drink. Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a full fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: “For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” This type of fast is usually done with caution and not done for a long period of time.
What did Jesus say about fasting?
During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place; and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 6:16-28
Fasting is a time to focus and rely on the Lord for strength, provision, and wisdom you need. It is not something to boast about, and it doesn’t mean that God will answer your prayers the way you want him to. God only promises to fulfill our prayers if they are according to his will. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” Having a dedicated time of prayer and fasting, especially during the 40 days of Lent, helps us take our eyes off ourselves and puts them on Jesus Christ, the one who suffered, died for our sins, and rose again so that we too may have eternal life.
Fasting and Praying for Mission
This year, would you consider fasting and praying for missions around the globe? Perhaps there is a particular SAMS Missionary on your heart. You can sign up for the SAMS E-Messenger to receive prayer requests from your SAMS Missionaries. Maybe there is a particular region or country God is calling you to pray for. Operation World has facts, figures, and prayers for every country.
Matthew 9:37 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Would you pray in the morning and/or evening at 9:37 for missionaries to be called into the field? May the Lord draw you close to him during this Holy Season.
“You want to grab dinner?” I asked one of our fellows after teaching his first ESL class at the Community Learning Center at St. Andrew’s in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
“I want to die,” he replied with a grimace in his face.
“The class was that bad?” Silence followed.
We walked to meet Nate and the kids at a neighborhood outdoor dinner joint and debriefed the class. As part of the ministry at St. Andrew’s, both fellows would be teaching an ESL class twice a week to middle school and secondary students. The fellows had enjoyed helping in an ESL class at our home church, but being the lead teacher in the classroom was a different story! We had prepped before and talked through the lesson plan, but the reality of 15 Thai faces in his classroom staring blankly back at our fellow was hitting hard.
As we debriefed that night and the following morning, it was clear that this challenging experience was stirring up questions of identity and security for both our fellows. One fellow was sick to his stomach. He felt like his ‘failure’ of teaching the class brought into question his purpose for being in Thailand and ultimately his value as well.
Over a plate of fried rice and thai omelette, I said “Even if you failed, that doesn’t make you a failure. You are His. You are a baptized child of God.” There were the beginning of tears in his eyes. For this young man who prided himself in his performance, in being able to serve out of strength, the confrontation of his own weakness had made him encounter the Gospel in a new way. And, it was uncomfortable for him.
We returned from Thailand a week ago and while in the throes of jet lag we’ve remembered moments of growth we got to witness in our fellows. We give thanks for the Thai brothers and sisters who we now know by name and story. We are overwhelmed by God’s providence in providing a partnership with St. Andrew’s Centre, connected to the Diocese of Singapore, which is mutually beneficial for Agape Year and their ministry. And, it was a pretty great context for our family (complete with an English preschool for Henry to attend and a family with daughters who became good pals).
Thank you for being a part of God’s kingdom come and covering us in prayer. Continue to pray for our fellows as they stay on in Thailand till February 27. They are currently visiting a sister church isolated high in the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. Please uphold us in prayer for the last few months of Agape Year 1.0 as we travel the US, visiting churches to tell the story of what we have seen God doing in Pittsburgh, Thailand, and beyond.
We’d love to share more with you about our year so far and the Church in Thailand. Please join us for either time of sharing:
February 24, 10-11:30 am
2623 Linwood Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15214
February 25, 10:30-11:10
Church of the Ascension 4729 Ellsworth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213
When I was growing up, Dire Straits was a
band…not a life condition known to me. My father went to great lengths to
provide for our every need and we never knew what it meant to need anything…we
always had enough and then some. According to the Scriptures, if our earthly
fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our
heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him! He knows our needs even
before we ask…
We just received our monthly expense report
from SAMS. Our total income for the month of January was $3,252.95…not even
enough to cover our base monthly salary. SAMS has worked out that we need
$3,802.58 as salaries for both of us, plus $568.50 for Health Insurance,
$342.23 and $171.12 for our respective pensions, plus $145.45 for payroll taxes
monthly. Our Missionary support balance has also dropped rather dramatically to
$14,166.50. SAMS has a policy that when this amount drops to a certain level,
the missionaries are recalled.
I think you will agree with us that we have
far too much invested in our work with SAMS to be recalled at this point. We
have given up so much to do the work of the Kingdom in this part of our Lord’s
vineyard. It would be such a tragedy for us and for the Church were we to leave
the field because we don’t have adequate funding.
Our grandson, Everett will be baptized
Easter Sunday in North Carolina, so we would like to spend our first few days in
the US with our children, but we will be available for speaking engagements directly
after Easter. We leave to return to Africa on May 2. If you would like us to
speak at your church or any other gathering, please let us know so that we can
work out a schedule. Try to give us more than one date in April if possible.
We leave for Polokwane tomorrow morning
early where we will be training about 40 clergy in how to make disciples. From
there we go to Johannesburg where we will be training those who have already
done the first module of, what we call, our LEAD Program. This second module
covers 6 basic characteristics of a disciple-maker: dependence on the power of
the Holy Spirit, prayer, obedience to God at all costs, Word centred, always
seeking to exalt the Father, and being relational in all aspects of ministry.
Please keep us in your prayers…we need new
supporters, so please spread the word about this ministry…we need more prayer
as we lead the church in southern Africa through the very gates of hell to
plunder the kingdom of the evil one. He has enslaved too many for too long and
it is time for the Church to take up the spiritual challenge and to reclaim
stolen territory! We know the evil one will seek to put a stop to this
ministry. We have already seen so much fruit! Apparently, so has he.
So pray with us. Help us. Without your
partnership, we cannot do the work of the ministry.
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:9-10
Once upon a time, there was a Godly husband and wife who lived in the northern end of a prosperous country. This couple did well in life. Their home was comfortable; their children happy, their needs and the needs of their family were met. Yet, they were not satisfied; something was bothering them that they just could not put to rest.
One Sunday in church they received an invitation to attend a gathering on how to serve people who were struggling in less fortunate countries. They felt a stirring in their hearts to attend the meeting and they did.
At the gathering, they learned the best way to serve the poor in other countries. They learned how to work side by side with the missionaries God had placed in the poorer countries. They learned the right way to share God with the less fortunate people and how to give them hope for their future. They learned that language barriers are not always barriers, that there was something supernatural that can transcend that barrier.
They also learned how to be effective and wise leaders of the people in their church who wanted to help them serve the poor country. The couple was able to guide many groups from their church to various countries. While the groups built houses, painted schools, or did what the missionary needed to have done, they were living examples of the love of God for all people, whether rich or poor. They were well satisfied and the people they served were satisfied.
The Godly couple was so blessed to be able to serve God in this way that they decided to go to the poor countries for a longer period of time. They were invited back to one of the countries by the church leader. They prepared to go for three months to work alongside their friends in the poor country and they did. Their lives were enriched and they were contented. They had put to rest the thing that was bothering them and they prayed about moving to the poor country for three years and they did.
They lived there very happily; they still do and continue to look forward to the ever after.
If you are interested in serving as this couple did, contact SAMS Associate Director, Denise Cox at denisecox@samsusa.org.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Your SAMS Missionaries love to hear from you. Maybe you are not sure how to get involved with the missionaries you or your church send. How can we show love and encouragement to them when they are so far away? I reached out to your SAMS Missionaries and this is what they said:
Sign up for their newsletters and reply to them
“It’s so encouraging when someone replies to my newsletters, especially when I can tell from their message that they read what I wrote!”
Let them know you are praying for them
“It is a blessing getting notes from people who detail how they are praying for us. It conveys very powerfully that they have put a lot of thought and effort into their note.”
Follow them on Social Media
“When we post things on Facebook, many of our senders will take the time to write a reply. It doesn’t have to be long, it is just nice to know they took a moment to let us know they are aware of what is happening in our lives.”
Invite them to events
It is meaningful when people invite me to things when I am in the states or even to things when I am not. It reminds me that my supporters are thinking of me.”
Share their ministry with others
“It blesses my socks off when folks tell others about my ministry and those folks start supporting!”
Sometimes it is the little things that encourage us all. How are you taking a second to encourage and love your missionaries, and others today? For when we show love, we show God because God is love (1 John 4:8).
