FASTING

No! No! Anything but that!  

The flesh does not want to discuss….*GASP*….

FASTING!

Fasting is a vital yet often neglected area of a Christian’s walk with God. The flesh does not like to be denied something it desires (especially when it is necessary to maintain health and life…food), yet fasting is essential to spiritual growth.

There is no way I can cover everything concerning fasting in a few short paragraphs so I'm going to just focus on the main points.

Fasting has both physical & spiritual benefits. First, let’s examine the physical benefits:

• Eliminates poisons and toxins from body
• Allows digestive system to rest
• Allows body to heal (Read Isaiah 58:8)

God designed fasting not just for our spiritual benefit but also for our health’s sake. The body needs a time of rest and to purge itself of all the bad stuff we put into it: caffeine, sugar, fastfood….you get the picture.

Along with the physical benefits, we also reap spiritually from fasting. Isaiah 58 gives us great insight into fasting:

• It will loose the bands of wickedness = loose means to ‘let go free’ - It will let you go free from the fetters sin has placed on your life.
• Undo heavy burdens = Undo here means to shake off - you’ll be able to shake off those heavy burdens that have been weighing you down.
• Let the oppressed go free
• Break EVERY yoke - ‘break’ is to break off or root out
• It draws us closer to God by getting this flesh under subjection and humbling it before the Almighty.
• It helps us to hear God’s voice more clearly.
• It shows God that we are willing to sacrifice something we crave or enjoy to have a deeper walk with Him….that NOTHING is as important as He is to us!
• It helps us to see our trial/circumstance through God’s eyes.

These are just a few of the spiritual benefits we reap through fasting.

There are many ways you can fast. Some cannot fast food because of health problems so they give up other things (soda, sweets, media, etc). However or whatever you choose to give up for a season of fasting, I believe God honors the sacrifice.

I'd love to hear your thoughts concerning fasting.

Deeper, Higher, and Ever Closer to God

This blog is dedicated to all of us who are desiring to go deeper, higher, and ever closer to God in the Spirit.

As we all know, the first step in salvation is repentance (after believing). This is also the first step in drawing closer to God. Paul said, "...I die DAILY!" (1 Cor 15:31) Even Paul, the most renown of the apostles, had to repent daily. You may think, "But I can't think of any sins I've committed." Perhaps you haven't but dig deeper, look a little harder, and ask God to search your inward being and reveal anything, any sin that needs to be cleaned out of your life.

Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Examine your heart....is there jealousy? hate? unforgiveness? Were we grouchy with someone today? (Counts even if it was being grouchy with the kids) Were we angry about something? Did we gossip? Backbite? Yell at someone who cut us off while driving? Did we retaliate against someone who said something mean/hateful against us or about us? It's so easy to retaliate with, "Oh, yeah.....!!!" then justify it with, "Well, they deserved it!" Would Jesus agree?

Perhaps it's not sins you've committed but things you've omitted. In the hustle and bustle of everyday hurrying and scurrying, have you only been giving God microwave prayers? Or perhaps just a quick "love you, Jesus!" as we hurry out the door...barely a "snack" to satisfy His yearning for us to spend time with Him?

Has Bible reading become obscure? You've rushed through your day without so much as grabbing a morsel from the Bread of Life and now it's time for bed and you're so tired you fall asleep thinking "I'll catch up on my Bible reading tomorrow." We need to look at Bible reading and prayer as we do our daily food - determine in your mind "I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT!"

Perhaps the omitted sin is missed opportunities to witness or share the love of Jesus with someone who really needed to hear it that day. Take notice of the people around you. Ask God to make you sensitive to what His Spirit is trying to say through you to the waitress/waiter at the restaurant, the cashier at the store/gas station, the people you are passing as you're doing your grocery shopping, etc.

Whatever the committed or omitted sin is, repent daily and ask God for fresh wisdom, guidance, and direction for that day.