New Life Daily

I’ve learned quite a bit by listening to the teaching of John Mark Comer (pastor & author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry) about fasting (and subsequently engaging more deeply into the practice in a small group). As part of his deeper dive into fasting, Comer highlights four different reasons for fasting: to offer ourselves to God, to grow in holiness, to amplify our prayers, and to stand with the poor. While fasting is definitely a multifaceted spiritual rhythm, for this week’s spiritual practice, we’d like to specifically challenge you to engage in fasting in order to stand with the poor. 

There are people around the world suffering from starvation. There are folks even here in Hamilton County who are what we’d call food insecure. One of the ways that we can stand in solidarity with individuals in these situations is to voluntarily participate in fasting, pray with them, and engage with them. Our Food Pantry is actively addressing the problem of food insecurity in Hamilton County, and, as we fast, we too can contribute in several different ways to help alleviate the plight faced by our neighbors.

Here’s how we recommend you participate:

1. Pick a day this week to fast. A good place to start would be to abstain from eating a single meal or for a single day. Followers of Jesus in the early church would have regularly practiced a sundown-to-sundown fast (about 24 hours). 
2. Don’t eat food. Barring any specific dietary restrictions, your body can handle much longer than 24 hours without food. It can be difficult, but for this practice, we invite that difficulty. 
3. Drink plenty of water.
4. Use the hunger cues given by your body as a call to pray for those suffering from food insecurity in our community. Pray for these families and the journeys that have brought them to this place. Pray for the impact of the Food Pantry to be multiplied in the coming years. Pray for your own heart to be stirred to compassion and action for the suffering in the world. 
5. Don’t gorge yourself to break the fast. If you fast for 24 hours, most bodies will be able to handle a normal meal as their first meal back without many restrictions. Longer fasts require more specific diets to break them. If you have health concerns, please consult a physician before trying the fast.
6. Take the money you would have spent on food during your fast and use it to purchase food for our Food Pantry at Venture. Of particular need this month are crackers and cereal.

More information about fasting can be found here.

More information about our Food Pantry can be found here.

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Jake Harp

Jake is a native of Illinois where he first learned about ministry by watching his dad work in the church. He has earned degrees from Missouri Southern State University and Lincoln Christian University. Prior to starting at Venture during the summer of 2022, he served as a Small Groups Minister in Southwestern Missouri. While in Missouri, he and his wife began growing their family and moved to Hamilton County with three kids and one on the way. Jake also has a love for ax throwing which caused him to open up his own mobile ax-throwing business.