The ins and outs of fasting

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 

Fast as a drawing nearer to God in secret. This fasting is of the soul and spirit as the flesh is denied.

Mat 9:14  Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 
Mat 9:15  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

They needed not to fast to seek God when God was with them, walking and talking with them. They needed to see and to hear what was happening before them. Fasting should not be an outward show to others your miserable self. We are to show the fasting of God by doing what he would do in relieving the suffering of people, setting them free of the bonds of flesh and sin; to feed the hungry both food and God's word. Clothing the naked and finding them shelter. Isaiah heard from God what he required in their fasting. Church is not a half hearted exercise in religion, but fasting should be to get closer to God and to obey his will.

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 
Isa 58:2  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 
Isa 58:3  Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 
Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 
Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 
Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 
Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 
Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 
Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

Let's get real and not play at religion. Self needs to hear and obey our Lord in a world of information overload. We are to fine tune our hearing from the LORD and to put his hands and feet to action following the words in Isaiah 58.

None Considers

Isa 57:1  The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
Isa 57:2  He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

Good friends die, loved ones suffer and no one seems to notice until they are no more. The world grows cold, angry and more unloving. The righteous, the good folks who trust the Lord go to be with him. They are at peace. The world gets worse and worse until the time of judgement at the day of the LORD. Be glad that the precious loved ones are at peace with the Lord. The Lord is our peace, we can rest at night and enjoy him; walk with him in his creation. He is with his people. Thank you Lord for your presence.

The Son and the sons

Tomorrow is Christmas and the Christmas message is found in so many places in the Bible. God gave  himself as a gift to the sons of Adam. The gift was to exchange the life of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins and with the exchange we are changed into the adopted sons of God. Jesus Christ came as a human baby, born of a virgin. He died to pay for our sins and is risen to eternal glory. All we must do is to receive Jesus and be made free from the curse of sin and death and hell. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost and yet there is a dividing, for not all will come to him. Some refuse him from stubborn pride, some refuse because they cannot believe that they can be made clean and whole. Others are made as enemies of God choosing the way of satan: to steal, to kill and to destroy. They live by a lie. The laws are made to channel people toward obedience to God. 

Gal 4:1  I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 
Gal 4:2  but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 
Gal 4:3  In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 
Gal 4:4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 
Gal 4:5  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 
Gal 4:6  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 
Gal 4:7  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 

We must receive the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.
In Jesus, we are changed, filled with the Holy Spirit and sent forth.  As his disciples, we become channels of blessing and salvation to the seekers of truth. Wise men seek him.

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Thankful for friends and family

We used to have family gatherings with my brothers at my folks house. When they died and my oldest brother died, we no longer get together. Sometimes the gatherings were not so smooth, with someone getting drunk or the lack of concern for each other. There is no family like the family of God. My friends love the Lord. My immediate family are Christians. 

My wife Faye, is looking forward to having my son and family visit this afternoon. They asked if she could be put in a wheelchair in the living room instead of her bedroom. She is in good spirits and the turkey is in the oven, I am thankful for Jesus my savior. I am thankful for my family, the family of God. There is no strife when we come together.

Pro 17:1  Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. 

I love the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit. Even being alone with a crust of bread can bring peace and thanksgiving. My good friend Earl died two years ago. He would sing his mother's favorite hymn; Never Alone.

No, Never Alone, a song about God's love for you - YouTube

I’ve seen the lightning flashing, I’ve heard the thunder roll.
I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul.
I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

Refrain

No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He’ll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.

When in affliction’s valley I tread the road of care,
My Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy to bear;
Though all around me is darkness, earthly joys all flown;
My Savior whispers His promise, never to leave me alone!

Refrain

No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He’ll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.

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Bearing your burden

Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 

 

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Gal 6:4  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Gal 6:5  For every man shall bear his own burden. 

 

For those under a heavy burden I point you to Jesus who cares for you and carries your burdens. I offer my love and sympathy, pointing you to Jesus. The Pharisees knew the word, but did not do anything to help anyone. In truth we often speak words to encourage others but in the end we must bear our own burden. We are to give it to Christ Jesus. There is one intercessor between man and God; Jesus our advocate and Great High Priest. We cannot work to please him, but we are to trust in him. He is our burden bearer and deliverer. Thank you Jesus.

 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  

Walk on, bearing your cross, trusting and obeying him.

Fear the sword

Job 19:29  Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment. 

I see this as the sword of God's judgment.  We have read that those who live by the sword, shall die by the sword.

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

What we should fear is the wrath of God or the judgment of God against evil doers. To fear God is a just and righteous act. To take up the sword, to use force to achieve an ungodly purpose is setting yourself up for the judgment of God. It may not be directly from God, as a fire from heaven, as in the final war against God, but those who sin are actually warring against God. They may die by the sword of their enemy as a just punishment. Or they may cry to God for mercy as David did after his transgression with Bathsheba.

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 

Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 

Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

David received mercy from the LORD but the results of his sin played out in his family. We have eight years of Obama and now it appears that his legacy will be erased by a new conservative law abiding change of government. The ten trillion dollars of additional debt still stands and it is predicted that the dollar will crash because of this heavy debt. The results of sin cannot be entirely erased. Sins have consequences.

Coming to Jesus for forgiveness of sins will cleanse you in God's eyes. The results of your sins may still affect your children or those who were affected by them. What you sow you will reap. 

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

So seek God to do his will and receive Jesus as your savior. An eternity in the presence of a loving God is your reward. This is the undeserved grace of God. Thank you Jesus.

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No False Gospel

Gal 1:8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 

Gal 1:9  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:10  For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Gal 1:11  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ: Jesus, the Son of God,  came from heaven to be the way to God. He gave his lifeblood on the cross to pay for our sins. By faith in him we receive forgiveness grace to become the children of God. Buried with him in baptism, we are raised in new Spiritual life with him. We are born again. We walk in the spirit and are not under the power of the flesh and the devil. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Keep the faith for Jesus is the only way to the Father, Almighty God.

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

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