{"id":2964,"date":"2013-01-26T22:59:31","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T22:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=2964"},"modified":"2013-01-26T22:59:31","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T22:59:31","slug":"fasting-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/2964\/fasting-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Fasting 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pastor John:<\/span><\/p>\n

I love this [your explanation about fasting]. In the New Testament they ask Jesus why he and his disciples didn’t fast.<\/span>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, and that is because Jesus was teaching his disciples to fast God’s way, as described in Isaiah 58.<\/span><\/em>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

You said Isaiah 58 has nothing to do with food. So what is meant by the one in the New Testament? Is it also hungry for him?<\/span>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. If you read Isaiah 58, then you saw that God’s description of a true fast included no mention of doing without food.<\/span><\/em>
\n That is the New Testament form of fasting, the one Jesus sent the Spirit to enable us to keep.<\/span><\/em>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

And how did you know it had nothing to do with food?<\/span>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

What indication do we have that God accepts men’s willful abstaining from food, when He said “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?”, and then in His description, says nothing about refusing food. Strong-willed men can fast themselves to death for one of their vain causes, and some have done so. But without the holy ghost, nothing men do counts for anything in heaven. Paul said that without the love of God, which is poured out into our hearts by the holy ghost, even giving our bodies to be burned will benefit us none at all (1Cor. 13). How much less will it profit us, then, to decide that we will not eat?<\/span><\/em>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t laugh at me I am learning. I am on a fast now. Thought i was. I thought it was staying away from food and a time to seek the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Star<\/span>
\n=========<\/p>\n

God is good, Star, and He knows how little we understand about His ways until he reveals Himself to us.<\/span><\/em>
\n Your determination to do without food means nothing to God, but your desire to seek Him and to please Him means very much. He loves you. That is why He put it in your heart to ask these questions.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pastor John<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

==========<\/p>\n

Fasting<\/h2>\n

January 25, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Pastor John,<\/span><\/p>\n

Hope everyone is well! I am writing to ask your advice on something (again ). I have been wondering about fasting. Did that stop when everything began to be done in the spirit? I know some of the saints have spoke of fasting to get an answer to prayer, why do people fast? Are there many forms of fasting? I do not feel led to fast but at this point I will do whatever it takes to reach God. How does God feel about fasting?<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel like a 5-year-old, asking so many questions at once. I’m sorry for that, but I really have no idea how fasting fits into the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank You<\/span>
\nBeth<\/span>
\n=========<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Beth.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

My Uncle Joe said it best: “Fasting is when you get so hungry [for God] that you don’t eat.”<\/span><\/em>
\n Fasting by your own will power or understanding will get you nowhere with God. My father said that to truly fast means that to have your mind on God to such an extent that He makes you forget about food. God’s fast, the one He has chosen (Isa. 58), has nothing whatsoever to do with food.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pastor John<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastor John: I love this [your explanation about fasting]. In the New Testament they ask Jesus why he and his disciples didn’t fast. ========= Yes, and that is because Jesus was teaching his disciples to fast God’s way, as described in Isaiah 58. ========= You said Isaiah 58 has nothing to do with food. So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-qa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}