Fast 2021 - Day 2

Greetings! Hope the fast is going well for you. For me personally, Day 2s of fasting are generally when the benefits really begin to kick in. As my body begins to weaken, my existential experience seems to shift from feeling like a fleshly being with a spirit within to a spiritual being dwelling in temporary fleshly tent. A thank-you to all those who came to our house yesterday to pray and worship. We had a great time, and I trust that God will continue to tend to us as we fast and gather.

In yesterday’s post, we focused on what it means to drink from Christ and looked at John 7:37-39: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit.

What is it like to have streams of living water flowing from deep within us?

One of the primary and most significant things we experience through the Spirit is sonship.

But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God - Romans 8:15-16

Adoption is a theological truth that we can accept to believe and understand in our minds, but only through the Spirit can we really know how it feels to be absolutely loved, delighted in, and adored by God and to be able to look up to heaven and respond, “Daddy! I love you so much too!”

And, the only Way for us to experience this is in Christ. By being hidden in Christ, being united to Him, we of the sinful race can experience communion and fellowship with He of the holy race.

Remember this scene Christ’s baptism:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” - Matthew 3:16-17

The benefits of sonship, God the Father’s love and acceptance are now available to us:

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. - Romans 6:8

Moses loved God and wanted to see the fullness of His glory—he wanted to look God in the face and see how splendid He looked in the fullness of His holiness and love—but couldn’t. God was too perfect, and Moses too imperfect to encounter God in His fullness and live to talk about it.

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” - Exodus 33

But, a remarkable thing happened for us at the Cross. The Rock of ages was cleft for us, that we might be able to enter in, be hidden in Him, enjoy the garments of His obedience, righteousness, and perfection, and look God directly in the face. The veil separating us from God was torn from top to bottom.

16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3

This is what it means to hide in Christ. We boldly approach our perfect heavenly Father and look Him right in the face, as we responds back: “I love you, and I am well-pleased with you!”

As I pray, I feel the Lord wants me to address fear. Fear is a power tool that Satan uses to enslave the world (Hebrews 2:15), but God’s perfect love is supposed to cast fear out of our lives (1 John 4:18).

Those hidden in Christ cannot live in fear!

I think that for the people of our community, fear manifested its ugly self in these ways: fear regarding health & safety, anxiety over work & money, fear of rejection, shame/guilt/condemnation, and performance-orientation.

Fear says: “You better be careful about COVID, riding your motorbike, letting your kids play outside… or I will kill you/them!”

Our loving heavenly Father says: “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered… which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

Fear says: “You better work hard and make sure you have plenty of money, or I will starve you and your children!”

God says: “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

Fear says: “You are unlovable! People will only reject you or hurt you!”

God says: “My grace is sufficient for you. Love because I first loved you!”

Fear says: “You are unacceptable to God! He’s mad at you! You better be perfect if you want Him to be happy! You better stop sinning and be a great missionary if you want God’s approval!”

God says: “My love for you in unconditional! I died for you while you were still a sinner.”

Remember that our Father’s love and acceptance over Jesus didn’t result from His obedience on the Cross. Rather, Jesus’s obedience on the Cross was fueled by our Father’s love and acceptance.

What reigns in your heart today? Satan’s fear-empowered lies or the truth of God’s love?

Let’s pray that for the Spirit’s help in allowing us to really know and experience the full benefits of being hidden in Jesus.

Fast 2021 - Day 1 (Jesus, Our Rock)

Two weeks ago, we closed out our series through the books of 1 & 2 Samuel by focusing on the idea of God being our rock. In essence, the entirety of 1 & 2 Samuel can be summed up as God’s fulfillment of a line from Hannah’s prophetic song: “there is no rock like our God.”

[Sorry, Dwayne Johnson. You are just a rock, not The Rock.]

And, if there is anything that 2020 taught us is that we can’t put our trust and confidence in anything other than our Rock. It was shocking to see just how much a tiny invisible virus could disrupt life as we knew it, in terms of travel, social engagement, education, money, jobs, politics, health care, and access to resources. But, through it all, for the Christian, God proved Himself to be faithful, steadfast, and worthy of our trust and confidence.

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my savior; you save me from violence.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies. - 2 Samuel 22

As we begin the fast, I wanted us to focus in on the 3 ways we can take full advantage of God as our Rock:

• Building on Him

• Hiding in Him

• Drinking from Him

For the 3 days of the fast, we will focus on these in reverse order, and as we begin to empty ourselves of food (and other things we look to or depend on), let’s be praying and asking God to help us to get our fill, our sustenance from Him.

Earlier this week, I received a video clip from a pastor we are helping to build a well:

Imagine the joy, after digging for more than 3 meters, of finally getting down to the water level and the access to all of water’s life-giving properties!

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit.” - John 7:37-39

We took our kids on a bike ride this past Monday on the new walking path/bike trail that is being built along the north side of the Kok river just east of the superhighway. It was so fun and beautiful, we did 2 loops! Afterward, Marcia—who thoroughly enjoyed the ride—couldn’t help but remark, “I just wish the water wasn’t so brown.” My response was, “I think any river that flows this quickly is going to be brown like this," to which Marcia responded by describing family trips she would take to the Colorado River where the water was so clear you could see the bottom.

It reminded me of the description of the crystal clear River of Life described in Revelation 22:

Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city.

Imagine what a sight that will be! What’s greater yet is that, through the Holy Spirit, we have access

And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. - 1 Corinthians 10:4

No matter what is happening in the world or in our lives, we have an opportunity to drink from Christ, our Rock, and have rivers of living water pour forth from deep within us and flow right through the main street of our souls. Lord, we need you. We want more of you. Flow, Spirit, flow!

Fast 2020 - Day 2

For those who weren’t able to make it to prayer last night, we prayed through 2 Chronicles 20 in the following way:

1.     Standing before God in prayer with the boldness of those who stand in Christ’s righteousness (And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court)

2.     Exalting the greatness of God (“O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”)

3.     Crying out to God about the adversities we’re facing (‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’)

4.     Invoking God’s help in humble dependence (O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.)

As we pray and look to gather this evening, let’s be expectant and open to hearing and receiving from God whatever He wishes to impart.

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel … in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you…

This morning, I had a video call with Ben in Adelaide, and God had put a Bible verse for us on his heart, Isaiah 54:17, which reads:

no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,

    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

    and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.

He made a brief video to share his heart for us:

As I have been meditating on his word, I feel as though there are other parts of Isaiah 54 that God wants to speak to our community, in reverse order:

Verse 15

If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.

Verses 9-10

“This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Verse 5

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

Verse 2-3

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.

In summary:

·      I believe God wants to say to us that though it may feel like we are facing many adversaries, no weapon forged against us will prevail.

·      I believe God wants to explain to us that He is not beyond the afflictions we are facing. God isn’t mad at us or disappointed with us. He isn’t punishing us for disobedience. It is the Enemy who is trying to oppose us and God.

·      I believe God wants to reaffirm with us that His covenant of peace shall not be removed…

·      … because Jesus is our husband. He is covenanted to us, this God who is our Maker, the Lord of hosts, the Holy One, the Redeemer, the God of the whole earth.

·      So, we can continue to take possession of the nations.

This is not the first time that God has spoken to our church through Isaiah 54:2-3. In the past, it felt like God was highlighting words like enlarging, stretching, lengthening, and spreading. This year, I really feel the Holy Spirit highlighting the phrase: strengthen your stakes.

It seems God is encouraging us to dig in, stand firm, and be ready for the long haul. Storms can come and go, and it is important, even in the process of expansion, to be firmly grounded.

Fast 2020: Invocation, Impartation, and Celebration

Why do we fast?

As we begin this fast, I’ve received a couple of questions from people who have never fasted before as to why Christians fast, and I’d like to address it briefly before getting into what I’m feeling for this fast. Unlike for Muslims during Ramadan, fasting is not something that is legally required of us as Christians. It is a voluntary spiritual discipline that we engage in, to remind ourselves and declare — by more than words — that we depend on God more than we depend on the things of the flesh.

John Piper describes fasting in this way:

Fasting is a temporary renunciation of something that is in itself good, like food, in order to intensify our expression of need for something greater, namely God and His work in our lives.

In the Bible, Jesus predicted that His disciples would be a fasting people:

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Matthew 9:14-15)

And, they proved Him right. It was an essential part of the story of God’s mission to the Gentiles:

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3)

There is a connection between fasting and our desire and longing for God and His Kingdom, and there are many examples in the Bible of God being moved into action based on prayer with fasting. We have to remember that our God is a jealous God (Deut. 4:24), and He notices when we fast (Matt. 6:18). He seems to be compelled by the expressed affection of His beloved.

However, we do not fast in order to get something from God. A man might buy his wife flowers because he’s done something wrong or because he wants to get something from her. Or, a man might buy his wife flowers simply to say “I love you,” and the flowers (and their associated cost) lend help to the man in expressing the sincerity of his affection for his wife.

In a way, fasting is like the flowers we bring to God as we tell Him, “Thank you for giving me so many good gifts, including the food you give me to eat, but I just want you to know that I love you and need you more than any of those other things.”

Isn’t Jesus worth giving up three days of food, or whatever else competes for our affection for Him? Not because we need anything from Him, but simply because we want to show Him that we want Him more than anything else.

With that said, I want to share what I am feeling for our community for this fast.

Invocation, Impartation, and Celebration

This is the word that came to me as I was praying this morning for the fast. I believe we are to call upon, ask, invite, invoke God to bring a greater measure of God’s presence and power to help us in our personal lives and our collective mission.

It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a strange and challenging year, but I believe there is purpose to it. I believe the Lord is shaking the earth and His Church in preparation for what is to come.

Clive Baker, a trusted prophetic voice at Coastlands Church in Adelaide (an Advance partner church in Australia), shared a prophetic picture for One Light Church last month. It was a picture about the Holy Spirit providing Himself to us as a new stronger support structure to help us “Stand in the face of adversity” and to support and carry us through “until there is a day of Breakthrough and Breakout.”

God has done some amazing things in the past 2 years for the sake of His glory and Kingdom. We’ve taken enemy ground in Yafu through the new church plant, and continue to plunder Satan’s kingdom there, by bringing sons and daughters of God out of bondage and into Christ’s marvelous light. We’ve also seen God do some great things related to our Next Gen ministries at Thantip and Baan Farm, even reaching beyond those schools to go into the students’ villages to evangelize, which we did earlier this year.

As a community, we have our hands on a lot of great opportunities, whether it’s Andy’s evangelism with expats, Mitch, Christine, Marcia, and Brent at CRIS and Fiat Lux, or the various marketplace, community development initiatives we are involved in. I can also see God using us to plant a new church in Jalae in the very near future. We’ve got our hands to the plow in some great fields.

With all of these wonderful things God is doing, I sense a greater-than-ever opposition from the Enemy in trying to oppose us and the works of God. COVID has separated the Harpsters, Dai Lei, and Eric from us, and caused all kinds of travel, visa, and financial problems. I’ve also been made aware in recent weeks of the various spiritual struggles of many people here, and feelings of spiritual heaviness and opposition.

Pastor John Kilpatrick, who led the Brownsville Church through the Pensacola Outpouring, says that whenever there is a move of God, there is a corresponding move of Satan to oppose the move of God. This is something that is supported by Scripture and Paul’s life in particular, as he writes:

But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Cor. 16:8-9)

For Paul, effective work came with much adversity, and yet his response was not to run, but to stay. In order for us to have staying power in the open doors that God has given us, I think we should expect heavy adversity. That sounds uncomfortable, but the good news is that God is with us and will fight for us, if we will let Him.

I say that because sometimes, we can get in the way of God helping us by trying to do things in our own strength. I believe that is the “old Victorian style Iron Girders with very large rivets … looking a bit tatty and rust-brown and charcoal grey” from Clive Baker’s prophetic picture, that the Holy Spirit is wanting to replace with Himself.

WE CANNOT DO IT OURSELVES. WE NEED GOD.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we read about “a great multitude” coming against the people of God in battle. King Jehoshaphat was “afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”

They gathered and fasted as an invocation for God’s help: 

“For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

And, an amazing thing happened. The Spirit of God came upon Jahaziel and there was an impartation from God to his people:

“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s … You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf … Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

What followed was one of the greatest worship celebrations we see in Scripture: 

“Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.”

“Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.’”

“And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.”

We will break up this fast in this way: Day 1, we will invoke God’s presence and help. Day 2, we will wait for God to impart (speak, give us more of Himself). Day 3, we will celebrate God’s victory.

I look forward to gathering and seeking God together with you all over the next few days!

Fall 2019 Fast

One of the things I’ve really grown to enjoy here in northern Thailand are the passing thunderstorms. You can tell that one is coming—at least most of the time— about 30 minutes before it hits because of the far-off flashes of lightning and strong winds that sway trees and rattle windows that come before the storm. However, the actual rains don’t immediately follow the heavy winds. The winds usually die down momentarily before the rain drops begin to fall. This is apparently because the winds that bring the storm front create a partial vacuum in the atmosphere that draws air in from all sides, allowing us to experience the proverbial “calm before the storm.”

One Light Church is now nearing the 3-year mark (as our first Sunday gathering was November 13, 2016), and it feels as though we are in a bit of a “calm before the storm” season as a community, both seasonally and in terms of a longer term outlook. With the hectic summer season behind us, we have a few months of breathing room until the wonderful joys of parenthood hit our community with the birth of 4 new babies. Also, after having seen God be so faithful to us over the past 3 years in terms of planting us in Chiang Rai, there are wonderful signs of fruit and a deep sense of anticipation about the many wonderful doors of opportunity that are before us for making disciples and planting churches.

None of this really comes as a surprise, as we’ve had multiple trusted prophetic voices speak over our community that things would pick up after 3 years or that we will be experiencing a storm season as a community. However, I don’t believe that the season ahead is to be approached with fear or dread. I believe it is going to be a wonderful storm, one that should be approached with a sense of joy and expectation. In the Bible, there are storms of obedience (like what the disciples experienced when they obeyed Jesus) and storms of disobedience (like Jonah’s), and ours feels like what naturally happens when you get swept up in the will of a sovereign and almighty God who is on the move for the sake of His glory.

That said, as when you make a pit stop during a long road trip, this fast during a relative time of calm might be a good opportunity to kick the tires and see what maintenance, if any, God might want us to receive as individuals and as a community.

As I’ve been praying this week about our fast and the season we find ourselves in, God has given me 2 words: realignment and defragmentation.

The normal wear and tear of the road can cause the wheels of a car to become misaligned, leading to uneven tires, veering in the wrong direction, noisiness & shaking, and just general inefficiency for the car. In a similar way, after a computer hard drive is used for a while, the way that files are stored on it becomes fragmented and requires defragging for better efficiency and performance. I wonder if what God wants to do during the fast is to realign us as individuals and defragment us a community in order to help us weather whatever storms He wants to bring our way.

I believe we will need (i) greater precision and accuracy in aligning ourselves closely to God’s will and (ii) a greater degree of depending on each other as a community in the upcoming season.

Andy shared this past Sunday about Jesus being the cornerstone, and us needing to align ourselves to Him. Something in me resonated strongly with that sentiment. It reminded me of 2 passages in Scripture:

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. (Zechariah 4:10)

Jesus is the cornerstone into which we are being fitted together, but He is also the builder who builds with accuracy and precision.

As I was praying around these themes this morning, I had a picture of a jigsaw puzzle on a table. The puzzle had been completed, but something had shaken the table so that some of the pieces had been displaced and were missing, out of place, or in the wrong direction. Minor adjustments were going to be necessary to put the puzzle back into order.

The good news was that the top of the box with the guiding picture of the puzzle was right there, standing on its side just above the puzzle, so that you could look at the picture and quickly put the fragmented pieces back into proper alignment.

I look forward to being with you all during this fast as we gaze into the face of Jesus, our cornerstone and builder, to see how He might want us to fall under His plumb line with respect to Him and each other.

Fast Days 2 & 3: Ask and it shall be given

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Allelu Alleluia

Man shall not live by bread alone
But by every word
That proceeds from the mouth of God
Allelu Alleluia

Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you
Allelu Alleluia

These are the iconic words of a Christian song that has been sung all over the world by (mostly) children. They are simple but bold words, and represent direct quotes from Jesus our Lord. They are words that seem too good to be true. They are counter to the world’s understanding of reality, and really take child-like faith, even for Christians, to believe. But, the life that we are called to—being on mission for God—requires us to believe and walk out those words in faith.

In Scripture, they appear in order as follows:

Matthew 4:2-4 - And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 6:31-34 - Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 7:7-11 - “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Over the next 2 nights, as we gather, let’s continue to pray into these areas:

1. Greater vigilance that comes from reliance on God, as opposed to the comforts of this world.

2. Freedom from anxiety through seeking first the Kingdom

3. Asking, knocking, and seeking with our Father for good gifts and for His Kingdom to come in its fullness

May His presence be sufficient for you in your hunger! God bless, and see you tonight.

Fast Day 1: Vigilance

The front page of the OLC website has a beautiful photo of a tree in a field, basking in the sunlight. The feeling I get when I look at the picture—the same feeling I had when I first saw it—is a feeling of warmth, comfort, and hope. It is a very similar feeling to how I feel about this current season for our church: a season of being planted as an oak of righteousness in the middle of a bountiful harvest field, basking in the presence of God and the warmth of community, and showing early signs of fruitfulness. Praise God! There are so many things to be grateful for!

However, as we begin this fast, I do feel a precautionary reminder from God that Satan will not go down without fight, that we must not be lulled into spiritual lethargy, and that God might want to grow us in sanctity and maturity in a manner appropriate for the season ahead. That, because of what God wants to do in us and through us, we must be, in a word: vigilant.

Vigilance is a mandate for every Christian in the era of the Church.

Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed! (Rev 16:15)

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thess 5:2-8)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Pet 5:8)

I don’t think anyone would disagree that being alert and sober-minded is a good posture to have as a Christian. However, vigilance appears to be something more than just a posture of the heart. Vigilance costs something to have, as when a watchman of a city keeps a vigil overnight.

One passage from Scripture that God has been putting before me in this regard is Luke 22:35-36:

And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

Cloaks in Bible times were highly valuable and precious items for people, which is why, regarding lawsuits, Jesus taught that if a person sues you for the less valuable inner tunic, we should also give them our much more valuable outer cloak (Matthew 5). In fact, the Israelites of the OT were forbidden from withholding a cloak overnight from a neighbor who had given it to them as a pledge during the day. Cloaks represented warmth and protection from the elements during travel and even served as blankets for people when they slept overnight. They were expensive and often an individual’s dearest material possession, and as Jesus taught, being willing to part with things dear to us seems to be a normal aspect of Kingdom life because the things we stand to gain in return have infinite value.

What cost are you willing to bear for a greater degree of vigilance? For a greater experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit? For greater maturity, spiritual health, holiness? For 3 days, yes, but also—perhaps—for a more indefinite period of time?

Let’s explore this question together over the next few days. Looking forward to seeing you tonight!