http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/16%20Four%20Steps%20of%20Study.mp3All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 16

Four Steps of Study

(Foster, p. 64-65) Four Steps of Study:

Challenge:

Read an entire book of the New Testament each day this week. Bonus, do it for the whole month.

Describe my experience in Mexico

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/23%20Fasting%20in%20Your%20Future.mp3All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 15 (23 in 2018)

This week our challenge is going to be a 36 hour fast…

Want you to be thinking in preparation for our month on fasting to end about how you want fasting to continue in your life, if at all.

Why? Well in the first podcast this month we talked about Jesus’ encouraging words about fasting, not a command but more of an invitation. I want to touch on what I think will be at the heart of a decision to totally leave fasting (something I have often done): self-indulgence.

Here’s two passages to look at:

Warning

Matthew 23:25

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Does fasting actually help you as a discipline (may not be worthwhile for you to continue compared to other disciplines)

Colossians 2:22-23

22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Possibility of longer fasts

With 36 hour

My experience stops here. I’m going to lean heavily on Richard Foster’s thoughts for these next two options.

3-7 days

“Three to seven days is a good time period and will probably have a substantial impact on the course of your life.” (Foster, 58)

Over 7 days

Talk to someone who has experience before you proceed.

“The first three days are usually, the most difficult in terms of physical discomfort and hunger pains. The body is beginning to rid itself of the toxins that have built up over years of poor eating habits, and it is not a comfortable process. This is the reason for the coating on the tongue and bad breath. Do not be disturbed by these symptoms; rather be grateful for the increased health and well-being that will result. You may experience headaches during this time, especially if you are an avid coffee or tea drinker. Those are mild withdrawal symptoms that will pass though they may be very unpleasant for a time.

By the fourth day the hunger pains are beginning to subside though you will have feelings of weakness and occasional dizziness. The dizziness is only temporary and caused by sudden changes in position. Move more slowly and you will have no difficulty. The weakness can come to the point where the simplest task takes great effort. Rest is the best remedy. Many find this the most difficult period of the fast.

By the sixth or seventh day you will begin to feel stronger and more alert. Hunger pains will continue to diminish until by the ninth or tenth day they are only a minor irritation. The body will have eliminated the bulk of toxins and you will feel good. Your sense of concentration will be sharpened and you will feel as if you could continue fasting indefinitely. Physically this is the most enjoyable part of the fast.

Anywhere between twenty-one and forty days or longer, depending on the individual, hunger pains will return. This is the first stage of starvation and the pains signal that the body has used up its reserves and is beginning to draw on the living tissue. The fast should be broken at this time…

Before commencing an extended fast, some are tempted to eat a good deal to “stock up.” That is most unwise; in fact, slightly lighter than normal meals are best for the day or two before a fast. You would also be well advised to abstain from coffee or tea three days before beginning a longer fast. If the last meal in the stomach is fresh fruits and vegetables, you should have no difficulty with constipation.

An extended fast should be broken with fruit or vegetable juice, with small amounts taken at first. Remember that the stomach has shrunk considerably and the entire digestive system has gone into a kind of hibernation. By the second day you should be able to eat fruit and then milk or yogurt. Next you can eat fresh salads and cooked vegetables. Avoid all salad dressing, grease, and starch. Extreme care should be taken not to overeat. It is good during this time to consider future diet and eating habits to see if you need to be more disciplined and in control of your appetite.

Although the physical aspects of fasting intrigue us, we must never forget that the major work of scriptural fasting is in the realm of the spirit. What goes on spiritually is much more important than what is happening bodily. You will be engaging in spiritual warfare that will necessitate using all the weapons of Ephesians 6. One of the most critical periods spiritually is at the end of the fast when we have a natural tendency to relax. But I do not want to leave the impression that all fasting is a heavy spiritual struggle—I have not found it so. It is also “…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).

Fasting can bring breakthroughs in the spiritual realm that will never happen in any other way. It is a means of God’s grace and blessing that should not be neglected any longer.”

(Foster, 59-60)

Challenge:

Fast for 36 hours (from time you go to bed through an entire day and break your fast after waking the following day). Water only during the fast.

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/22%20Vacation%20from%20Swimsuits.mp3All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Elizabeth O’Conner, Search for Silence, 1971

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 14 (22 in 2018)

Mentioned last week we were going to be continuing on with more potential benefits of fasting. Today we are going to cover five in an overview:

Once a week for two years…

“1. I felt it a great accomplishment to go a whole day without food. Congratulated myself on the fact that I found it so easy….

4.… Reflected more on Christ’s suffering and the suffering of those who are hungry and have hungry babies….  

(Quoted in Foster p. 58; from O’Conner, p. 103-104)

All five of these things, group bonding, guidance, power, vacation from certain temptations, and insight are great. But don’t get so focused on them we forget to keep God as the center of our fast.

This week’s challenge:

Same duration (skip a dinner and lunch), but this time only water (no juice).

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/21%20Tube%20of%20Toothpaste.mp3All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 13 (21 in 2018)

Next couple of podcasts we are going to be talking about benefits that can come from fasting.

But Out of the gate, gotta emphasize: we must center our fasting on Jesus.

“If our fasting is not unto God, we have failed. Physical benefits, success in prayer, the enduing with power, spiritual insights–these must never replace God as the center of our fasting.”

(Foster, p.55)

Today we are going to be talking about how fasting can help us understand ourselves better.

One reason is that under that stress what’s inside comes out. Like a tube of toothpaste getting squeezed. You find out what is inside.

So as you fast, take note of what you are doing and what you are feeling. Come back and share with us the insights you find.

This week’s challenge is the same duration as last week: we are going to fast between one lunch and another (so you skip dinner and breakfast). Obviously you cannot eat during this fast, but this time you are more limited in what you can drink as well. Only water and fruit juice. You will feel hunger this time and you will potentially have a caffeine withdrawal headache.

A possible tip on the caffeine if it worries you: go off caffeine two days in advance so you are fighting the withdrawal while you are hungry.

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/20%20What%20is%20fasting.mp3

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 12 (20 in 2018)

What is Fasting (inspired by Foster’s book)

Some rare variations in the Bible, but typically fasting is simply abstaining from all food and drinks except water. Like the other disciplines, fasting should center on God. Our primary reason to fast is to connect with Jesus. We will talk a little more about that at our next meeting.

For now, let’s look briefly at the key things Jesus can teach us about fasting:

Matthew 4:1-3

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil.2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Matthew 6:16-18

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 9:14-15

14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

(then goes on to talk about patches and wineskins)

The good thing is, we don’t just have to understand fasting by talking about it. We get to do it this month, several times.

Before I get to this week’s challenge, let me share some practical tips with you about fasting:

This week’s challenge:

Starting fairly easy and are going to ramp up a little each week. To start, one day this week you are going to fast for 24 hours between two lunches.

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/11%20Pull%20up%20bar.mp3 All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, 1981 p.27-28

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 11

First time facing the pull-up bar…

Hated it, avoided it, because it showed me something true about me…but I prefered my own story about myself.

Henri Nouwen: [||||| added] “In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me—naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken—nothing. ||||| It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something. ||||| But that is not all. As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in a banana tree. Anger and greed begin to show their ugly faces. I give long, hostile speeches to my enemies and dream lustful dreams in which I am wealthy, influential, and very attractive—or poor, ugly, and in need of immediate consolation. ||||| Thus I try again to run from the dark abyss of my nothingness and restore my false self in all its vainglory.

The task is to persevere in my solitude, to stay in my cell until all my seductive visitors get tired of pounding on my door and leave me alone… ||||| The struggle is real because the danger is real. It is the danger of living the whole of our life as one long defense against the reality of our condition, one restless effort to convince ourselves of our virtuousness. Yet Jesus ‘did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13).|||||

That is the struggle. It is the struggle to die to the false self. ||||| But this struggle is far, far beyond our own strength. Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool. The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Challenge: Spend 3-4 hours this week in solitude and silence. Go to a place you can be alone, whether in nature or indoors. No books, music, electronics…You are looking to let go of your false-self and surrender to Jesus

All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 10

Surprise support from people I didn’t know.

“Jake was always someone you could trust.”

Proverbs 27:2

“Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—

   a stranger, not your own lips”

Psalm 37:3-7a

“Trust in the Lord and do good.

   Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

Take delight in the Lord,

   and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Commit everything you do to the Lord.

   Trust him, and he will help you.

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

   and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

Be still in the presence of the Lord,

   and wait patiently for him to act.”

“One of the fruits of silence is the freedom to let God be our justifier. We don’t need to straighten others out. There is a story of a medieval monk who was being unjustly accused of certain offenses. One day he looked out his window and saw a dog biting and tearing on a rug that had been hung out to dry. As he watched, the Lord spoke to him saying, ‘That is what is happening to your reputation. But if you will trust me, I will care for you – reputation and all.’ Perhaps more than anything else, silence brings us to believe that God can care for us – ‘reputation and all.’” -Celebration of Discipline

Challenge: Go a whole day without trying to shape people’s impression of you with words. This includes no explaining your actions (typically an attempt to make sure people see us the way we want)

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/09%20Turn%20up%20the%20Radio.mp3 All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Henri Nouwen, Letters to Marc about Jesus, 1998, p.84

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 09

Turn up the Radio

Shocked by my sister’s method to deal with noises in her mustang…

We are intimidated, even afraid to listen. Listening is something avoided because it would reveal things. It would require change.

But even a short daily time of listening to Jesus can bring a radical change in your life. Here’s what Henri Nouwen wrote in a letter to his nephew:

“Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus, who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t thrust himself upon you. His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love. Whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world Jesus’ loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to Jesus, if only for 10 minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring about a radical change in your life.

You’ll find that it isn’t easy to be still for 10 minutes at a time. You’ll discover straightaway that many other voices—voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices which are not God’s—demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you’ll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it.”

Challenge: (First note that the final week this month will have a challenge that will require 3-4 hours, you may need to schedule that time now).

This week’s challenge extends for every day the rest of the month: Spend 10 minutes listening to Jesus.

All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

John Ortberg, Life You’ve Always Wanted, 2002, p.82-83

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 08

Sunset Fatigue

Ortberg: Kill hurry or it will kill your spiritual life

Challenge: Cultivating slowing down by forcing yourself to not hurry in a specific way (such as always driving the speed limit/not pass anyone, or take the longest line, or chewing every bite 18 times…)

All Show Notes: http://www.flighttrainingpodcast.wordpress.com

Special Thanks for This Episode:

John Ortberg, Life You’ve Always Wanted, 2002, p.82-83

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 08

Sunset Fatigue

Ortberg: Kill hurry or it will kill your spiritual life

Challenge: Cultivating slowing down by forcing yourself to not hurry in a specific way (such as always driving the speed limit/not pass anyone, or take the longest line, or chewing every bite 18 times…)

http://www.maywoodbaptistchurch.org/flighttraining/04%201984%20Celebrity.mp3

Special Thanks for This Episode:

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 1998

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Music used under Creative Commons. Something Elated by Broke For Free. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

This Episode Show Notes

Episode 04

‘84 Celebrity

Discipline this month Simplicity

Simplicity fad

“Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes. If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety. This is the inward reality of simplicity. However, if what we have we believe we have gotten, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety. Such persons will never know simplicity regardless of the outward contortions they may put themselves through in order to live “the simple life.”

(Foster, p. 88)

Challenge: Looking back at Foster’s quote, find something you, believe we have gotten, you must hold onto, and is not available to others. If you can’t figure one out, here’s the dead giveaway: something you have had anxiety about recently.

Take that thing, thank God for it as the gift from Him that it is, pray and ask God to take care of it and help you to trust Him to, and make it available to someone else this week.

Some examples: car, house, favorite hat…