Birth
O semblance of all things new
From the womb I come bearing scars.
I am of the family of death,
A daughter of Eve.
I look like life, but I am death.
I sound like health, but I am not even alive.
I am new and yet the old sins are upon me
And even my infant hands grasp for what I think is mine.
I am broken
I am born

Life
O the Glorious sound
Live, He says, Live
Grow like a plant of the field
But I am unclean and unwashed
I bring with me the sins of my parents and their parents
And my own sins as well
I am sin itself and I cannot stand before You
Your dear and dreadful Light shows my darkness
I know my guilt
I am alive

Work
O let me help myself
Give me things to prove my love for You;
Tell me what I must do to be saved.
Like the rich young ruler I want to keep my earnings.
You say I only have to let you take my hand
But I want to take your hand.
My work is but another sin.
I think I am strong
I am weak

Grace
O Beautiful Son of Man
Take away this awful guilt
Save me for I cannot save myself
O Coverer of my sin, O Sacrifice, O Love
Let me hide in your shadow
Let me sing in your presence
I am born again into newness and goodness
I am clean
I am born

Birth
O Semblance of all things new
On the cross, the Lord Jesus took on my sins
Received what should be my scars.
I am of the Family of the Heavenly Christ,
A daughter of God
My body looks like death, but I am life.
Sickness may overtake me, but I shall live.
The old sins will not have dominion, for I am free.
I am healed
I am born

"Again the word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
'And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you flourish like the plant of the field. And your grew up tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.
When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, I spread the corner of my garmet over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil...But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. Your took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be...For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God."
Ezekiel 16

Spiritual Discipline III: Fasting...for the purpose of godliness

"Self-indulgence is the enemy of gratitude, and self-discipline usually its friend and generator. That is why gluttony is a deadly sin. The early desert fathers believed that a person's appetites are linked: full stomachs and jaded palates take the edge from our hunger and thirst for righteousness. They spoil the appetite for God." Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

I have rewritten the first sentence for this post seven times in an effort to say something witty or at least light-hearted about fasting. But, the fact is, I (and probably many others) do not like the idea of fasting. I am actually quite comfortable with my routine eating habits, and sadly this probably corresponds to my contentment in other areas of my life. To me, fasting seems more difficult than the other disciplines. It is completely counter-cultural because American culture tells us that our priority should be to make ourselves comfortable and happy. In many ways, I have bought into the lie that my earthly contentment is important and necessary, but I have yet to find this in Scripture. The blessings God promises us are eternal. Obviously, He also gives us earthly blessings, but they should point to Him. It is ridiculous for me to place my trust and my joy in earthly things since all I have is what God has given me. James 1: 16-17 says, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." The focus of the gift is not the gift; the gift points me to God. I have not earned anything that I have, so I must thank God for it and find my satisfaction in Him alone.

All of this does have something to do with fasting. In Dr. Whitney's session, he talked about the fact that fasting is expected just as prayer is (Mt. 6:16-17, Mt. 9:15). Jesus assumes that his disciples will fast. So, we should fast because God says we should, and when we fast we should fast for a purpose. We are, in a sense, showing God that we are serious about Him or about our request. We are telling God that He is more important than our food. And is this not the way is should be? God, our Father, is more important that food. He should be our sustenance and our satisfaction.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heave, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
John 6: 53-58