amor vincit omnia

true fasting

isaiah 58

true fasting is not a set period of time where you starve yourself or deprive yourself of delectable foods and enjoyable entertainment. it isn’t something you do to become holy or righteous or desired by God. righteousness and holiness cannot be attained by our works (it is only possible through grace, by faith). rather, true fasting is the crucifixion of ourselves to this world.

true fasting isn’t a one day, 21-days, or even 40-days consecration period; it’s a continuous life long process of death—giving our fleshly, worldly desires over to die so that the things of God are our sole sustenance. 

God doesn’t want our sacrifices. He doesn’t want our petty burnt offerings. instead, He desires all of us. what good is it for us to give up meat or sweets for a period of time yet consume ourselves with other worldly things? what good is it for you to go on a water fast yet do everything else as you please? isn’t that essentially just starving yourself for no reason?

“is this the kind of fast i have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”

what good is it for me to give up music and television yet fail to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, help the needy? what good is it for us to give over only part of ourselves to God and not all?

you are either all in or all out.
you either give everything to God or you don’t give anything at all.
there is no lukewarm, half-a55 gospel.

you either crucify yourself to this entire world or you don’t.

you can’t let go of drinking yet engage in godless chatter. you can’t let go of your boyfriend or girlfriend yet still laugh at crude, vulgar, and ungodly movies and tv shows. you can’t let go of materialistic possessions yet waste away your day sleeping, eating, facebooking, etc. vice versa.

there are no greater things to give up and lesser things to still hold onto. 

be either hot or cold.
or else God will just spit the lukewarmness out of His holy mouth.

—God desires mercy, not sacrifice.

“is not this the kind of fasting i have chosen: 
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your flesh and blood?”

true fasting is having all of ourselves die to this world. there is nothing in this world that we can consider ours. as a result, our time, our money, our possessions, or desires are all for God and what HE wants to do with HIS time, HIS money, HIS possessions, and HIS desires.

true fasting isn’t something we do to gain selfish reward; rather, it is to help the needy, the poor, the widows and the fatherless. when nothing is ours anymore, how much more freely we can really give and pour out, don’t you think!?

God didn’t create the world and send His son to die for our own selfish benefits. it was all intended for the Church, the Body, the Bride.

“then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 
then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: here am i. 
if you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing of finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 
the Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

everyone is called to live out their lives in true fasting. how can we not give our entire lives to the Father when He was the one who gave it to us? how can i not give my everything to Him when He was the one who delivered me out of my sin of sexual immorality, idolatry, deception, and hypocrisy?

He deserves our all. 
not thirty percent, not fifty percent, not even 99.9999%.

God, it’s only through you that i can even have this desire to die and crucify myself to this world. so help me drive the nails to this flesh so that nothing of this world can have a hold on me. 

show us deeper revelations of who You are so that we can truly understand what it means to not be of this world. 

i want to take Your word and shine it all around, first help me just to live it. Lord, and when i’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown. for my reward, is giving glory to You