RPG Adults
FASTING
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Esther 4:3
Isaiah 58:3-7
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness..."
FASTING
The news of their pending annihilation caused a great mourning among the Jews. As a people, they fasted, wept, wailed, donned sackcloth and put ashes upon themselves.
Fasting is a topic seldom discussed in our days. Should Christians fast today? If so, why and how does one fast? It is known that the Old Testament Jews fasted. The Lord Jesus Himself did fast when He walked on earth as seen in Matthew 4:1-2, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred." And when questioned regarding why His disciples were not fasting, Jesus answered that "the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast" (Matt 9:15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35). That answer indicates to us that fasting is a practice for believers in our age in Christ’s absence. The New Testament believers did fast as noted in Acts 13:2-3 and 14:23.
We see various reasons for fasting in the Bible. It is called for when God’s help is much needed in difficult and overwhelming challenges (Josh 7:4-6; Judg 20:26-28). It is also done in the case of deep repentance (Neh 9:1-2; Jon 3:5-7; Acts 9:9-11), and making crucial decisions (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). The attitude in fasting is found in Matthew 6:16-18. One must not be a hypocrite to show off one’s religiosity by looking sad and gloomy. In Scriptures, fasting is also often in conjunction with prayer. Fasting is not merely torturing the body to arm-twist God. It is not a hunger strike, nor just a reason to go on a diet at the same time. It is instead an expression of putting aside even the basic necessities of life to seek God, under whose Hand we must all be humbled to seek help.
THOUGHT: Have I been so self-reliant that I never felt the need to fast?
PRAYER: Help me, Lord, to realize man’s helplessness before Thee, the Almighty God.
Posted in Adult RPG
Esther 4:3
Isaiah 58:3-7
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness..."
FASTING
The news of their pending annihilation caused a great mourning among the Jews. As a people, they fasted, wept, wailed, donned sackcloth and put ashes upon themselves.
Fasting is a topic seldom discussed in our days. Should Christians fast today? If so, why and how does one fast? It is known that the Old Testament Jews fasted. The Lord Jesus Himself did fast when He walked on earth as seen in Matthew 4:1-2, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred." And when questioned regarding why His disciples were not fasting, Jesus answered that "the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast" (Matt 9:15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35). That answer indicates to us that fasting is a practice for believers in our age in Christ’s absence. The New Testament believers did fast as noted in Acts 13:2-3 and 14:23.
We see various reasons for fasting in the Bible. It is called for when God’s help is much needed in difficult and overwhelming challenges (Josh 7:4-6; Judg 20:26-28). It is also done in the case of deep repentance (Neh 9:1-2; Jon 3:5-7; Acts 9:9-11), and making crucial decisions (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). The attitude in fasting is found in Matthew 6:16-18. One must not be a hypocrite to show off one’s religiosity by looking sad and gloomy. In Scriptures, fasting is also often in conjunction with prayer. Fasting is not merely torturing the body to arm-twist God. It is not a hunger strike, nor just a reason to go on a diet at the same time. It is instead an expression of putting aside even the basic necessities of life to seek God, under whose Hand we must all be humbled to seek help.
THOUGHT: Have I been so self-reliant that I never felt the need to fast?
PRAYER: Help me, Lord, to realize man’s helplessness before Thee, the Almighty God.
Posted in Adult RPG