Tuesday, March 9

Begin your time with God by reading the following passage from Luke…

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.” - Luke 4:1-4

Under the Spirit's leading Jesus prepared himself to meet the devil by fasting. The Spirit of God willed that the Son of God be tested on his way into the ministry, and he willed that Jesus triumph in this testing through fasting. Jesus triumphed over the great enemy of his soul through fasting.

Perhaps you don’t have much experience with the discipline of fasting. (most Christians don’t) Maybe you think of fasting as something only for monks or heart patients going into surgery the next day.

But it is very instructive that Jesus chose to prepare for the first of His two “big moments” (the other one of course being his journey to the Cross) by fasting. Conventional wisdom says that you should be well rested and well fed if you are going to take on something really significant. You don’t hear about Peyton Manning fasting for 40 days in order to prepare for the Superbowl!

If Jesus felt the need to fast, what does that say to you about your need?

Take a moment to reflect on these questions…

Where does your deepest satisfaction in life come from; food, money, pleasure, or God?

What ultimately has control of your heart; your appetites and desires, or the Spirit of God?

The aim of fasting is that we come to rely less on food and more on God himself. That's the meaning of the words in Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Every time we fast, we are saying with Jesus, "Not bread alone. But you, Lord. Not bread alone, but you, Lord."

Fasting Challenge (pdf)