Pope Style: Mike on his first fast — 'I can say no'
- What advice would you give someone contemplating a fast?
After the Pope Style setup (a crowd on Mike's porch demanding pope-like wisdom), Mike tells of his reluctant first three-week fast with his wife — beans and water. He expected a revelation that God is king, but instead learned, two days before it ended, simply that he can say no: his sins don't control him. Boova asks what advice he'd give someone contemplating a fast; Mike answers with his table metaphor of holding back parts of his life from Jesus.
More on Fasting
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Ramadan and the cultural behaviors of Christianity
- What are the cultural behaviors of Christianity that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus?
Ben asks what the cultural behaviors of Christianity are that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus, prompted by a Ramadan display at a halal grocery after a daddy-daughter date.
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Lent: fasting, ritual, and embodied faith
- Do I need to give something up for Lent, or am I wrong for never doing it?
- Where does the word 'Lent' come from?
A host asks whether he is wrong for never giving anything up for Lent. Another host answers at length: scripture mandates nothing, but modern fear of 'empty ritual' has cost Christians embodied habits — sackcloth and ashes, anointing, fasting, going somewhere to pray.
From No. 364 · Golden Calf Purity Rings
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Dawson's buddy; Mike on God not repeating himself; the fasting test
Dawson prays not to miss disciple-making opportunities and confesses trying to coerce a struggling friend into his own conversion pattern.
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify
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Ask the pastor: the fast God chooses in Isaiah 58
Boova reads Isaiah 58 aloud in full, then asks what to make of the seemingly different fast God describes.
From No. 507 · What’s in a Name