“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14
I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. My study of Isaiah moves on to day 1 (of 5) of week 21, which looks at Isaiah 58-60. Day 1 focuses on Isaiah 58, and the study indicates that this chapter includes "a definitive collection of statements on fasting," including how not to fast and how to fast - of course from a Godly perspective. The key takeaway is that believers should not practice fasting, or any spiritual discipline, while explicitly and willfully sinning. The chapter contrasts false fasting (v1-5) with true fasting (v6-14). This morning, this post by John Piper helps take this topic further to understand the purpose of fasting for believers. Piper highlights Matthew 9:14-15 as helping us understand when to fast. The audio portion of the host also points to A Hunger for God as an excellent book/resource on this topic. Key statements from Piper in this post include: "[w]e fast to express our longing or our ache for all the implications of Jesus’s power in the present moment that isn’t completely realized. We want to see people healed. We want to see people saved. We want to see marriages redeemed. We ache, and we long for this to happen; therefore, we ask Jesus to come by putting this exclamation point of longing at the end of our desires." Piper also writes in the post how fasting helps with "negative exposure of the heart," as our deep longing during fasting exposes latent idolatry. This morning's study certainly leaves me encouraged with how I can immediately use fasting in my life as a way to amplify my longing to see God's power in the present world.
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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who seeks for me to depend on You fully - You do provide for all of my needs and You do want me to long for Your power - You do hear and respond to my prayers. Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of Your love and the blessings You pour out for us. Help me overcome and turn from my sins towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
