Fasting is good for one's physical body when done properly. Fasting pleases the person fasting, but does nothing to please God. If we look at the teachings of Jesus concerning that which pleases God and refer to the Old Testament Isaiah, we clearly see the type of fasting that pleases God.
"You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you think that this will please the Lord"
No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help." Isaiah:5-7
We cannot be saved without faith in Christ, but our faith lacks sincerity if it doesn't reach out to others. Fasting can be beneficial spiritually and physically, but at it's best fasting helps only the person doing it.
God says He wants our fasting to go beyond our own personal growth to acts of kindness, charity, justice, and generosity. THIS IS TRULY PLEASING TO GOD.
Throughout Holy Scripture, beginning with Genesis, we are taught how to live and love as God loves us. While we were wretched sinners, God our Father, gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins, rise from the dead and cleanse us of our unrighteousness. When we accept this fact we are to put on the righteousness of Jesus and follow Him. He is one with the the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is open to your coming to Him and loving Him and demonstrating our Love for Him by loving our neighbors, including our enemies.
Pray for wisdom and clarity to see our weaknesses in the faith and REPENT.
4 comments:
Thank you. How often do we ignore the needs of others? We all need to hit out knees and seek where God wants us and then we must all be open to what he has for us. God does not want us to wait for HIS work is for the here and now. Seek what God has placed in our hearts and do. Today God has opened our eyes. Thank you for being open to what God has for you.
Joe L.
Daddy,
Great word...so often now people use the world FAST so liberally.
This past January all four of us prayed and committed to the Daniel Fast. None of us had ever truly fasted before...
AS we studied the Scriptures, we found that when people fasted it was for a purpose — not just a religious exercise. Daniel fasted from the king’s foods and wine because they had been offered to the Babylonian gods and he didn’t want to defile his body. He later prayed and fasted to “encourage” the prophesied release from captivity for the Israelites from Babylon. And in his third recorded fast, Daniel was seeking solace for the great pressure he felt because of a dream he had experienced.
In the New Testament, people would fast when they needed guidance or answers to prayers. Many times, when the Scripture used the words “by prayer and supplication” it likely referred to fasting.
Our time of Fasting, we also turned off the TV, and during those times of QUIET with GOD brought us to understanding dying to self and EATING the WORD!
So many revelations during this time.
AS you so beautifully put it,
we learned to Pray for wisdom and clarity to see our weaknesses in the faith and REPENT.
This is a study I've never done
Thank you for opening my eyes
I have often reflected about the 11 disciples of Jesus. And how these men, strong men, fishermen, men of the land, and yes, some tax collectors, in fear had left Jesus as he was lead away to be crucified.
I am not judging them. God forbid not. I have never had to face death for my faith, but it causes me to wonder.
Actually, I often have such empathy for them…they must have been heart broken, and ashamed and I have such compassion for them as they ran away from the Lord!
But as I reflect on them, I think of what it would take to convert these frightened 11 men, they must have trembled after Jesus’ execution on the cross, a death that OUR LORD chose.
And I ask myself, what would it take to forever change them and embolden these terrified men and convert them into taking Jesus’ message of God’s Love and Forgiveness throughout the world!
Those 40 days that Jesus walked with them and spoke to them and then ascended, transformed these few into the most powerful missionaries the world has ever seen!
They went from quivering in the upper room from fear of being the next to be executed to being willing to suffer persecution and death and go throughout the world and spread the message of Christ They were first person witnesses of Jesus before and after the resurrection! And it changed them and the world forever!
It was the Blessed Messiah, Jesus, who had come to bring us back to God. HIS SPIRIT, HIS walking with them and teaching them took them from the fear of men and set them on a loving path for Christ Jesus that spread throughout the world.
I pray for HIS courage, HIS SPIRT to allow me to serve HIM!
Richard, I thank you for this blog post! Thank you for the courage you share in proclaiming Jesus as Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
Thank you for the work you put into this blog.
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