Tag: Lord

Fasting

We’ve so deeply confused comfort with safety that anything that removes indulgence feels like danger—even when it’s actually life-giving.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” —Psalm 73:26

Fasting is a mechanism of denying self and focusing on God, found in scriptures. When done with the proper mindset, there is a clarity that can be achieved, and both physical and spiritual benefits enjoyed through fasting.

It is not like western medicine to recommend such an age old practice for multiple reasons. If someone were to get lightheaded and pass out on this recommendation, exercise to hard, or approach it unwisely, the doctor could be sued. This is coupled with western cultures ignorance of nutrition, preventative maintenance, and its penchant for treating symptoms with drugs rather than healthy food, exercise, and healthy living.

A clean fast would consist of water, coffee, green tea, and perhaps a bit of salt if needed. This is most difficult, but creates the best health benefits while engaged in the practice. For anyone struggling with eating disorders, it would of course be wise to temper what I say with wisdom and your own situation, because any type of fasting is not slated to be starvation, but instead, strategic subtraction for an intended purpose. That being said, with a proper scheduled time of fasting, the benefits soar with little actual threat to the health of the individual.

All the noise, all the cravings, all the “I’m dying” signals we feel after 12, 24, even 72 hours? They’re not rooted in need—they’re rooted in conditioning. Physiologically, the body is fine—better than fine, it’s healing, adapting, cleaning house. But the mind? The ego? The flesh? We’ve so deeply confused comfort with safety that anything that removes indulgence feels like danger—even when it’s actually life-giving. “Man does not live by bread alone…”
We say we believe it—but fasting exposes whether we actually do.

Fasting is an ancient, built-in, God-ordained response to the very affluence and overindulgence that poisons our souls and bodies today. Not only that, it is a multi-faceted gift. Spiritually, it reorients; Fasting humbles the soul (Psalm 35:13). It confronts pride, distraction, and self-sufficiency. It teaches you to hunger for God, not just comfort or control. Keep in mind too, Jesus assumed His followers would do it:

    “When you fast…” —not if (Matthew 6:16).

    Physically, it restores. In a culture of constant input (calories, dopamine, stress), fasting creates pause, triggering autophagy, fat loss, Hormone regulation, Mental clarity, inflammation reduction, immune rejuvenation, and resets the body’s rhythms.

    Culturally, fasting confronts. We live in a society addicted to immediacy, indulgence, and consumption. Fasting is resistance. It says: “I am not ruled by my cravings. My stomach is not my god. My comfort is not my goal.”

      It is an anti-Babylon, a departure from excess. From Moses to David, from Esther to Daniel, from Jesus to Paul—fasting appears:

      Before battle

      Before calling

      Before breakthrough

      During mourning

      During repentance

      During consecration

      It’s a time-honored tool in the life of God’s people—because it aligns us with dependence, clarity, power, and purity. In our culture today, where food is abundant, attention is scattered, and health is decaying—fasting is countercultural obedience that leads to both spiritual fire and physical healing—definitely one of God’s answers for modern man.

      Theologically we have precedence to fast, and this was done in obedience, without the physiological understanding we possess today:

      Humility & Dependence
      Joel 2:12–13 (ESV)
      “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
      Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

      Ezra 8:21 (ESV)
      Then I proclaimed a fast there… that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.

      Wisdom, Guidance & Decision-Making
      Acts 13:2–3 (ESV)
      While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul…” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

      Acts 14:23 (ESV)
      And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

      Fasting wasn’t occasional—it was part of the disciples’ rhythm for hearing God clearly.

      Spiritual Warfare & Strength
      Matthew 4:1–2 (ESV)
      Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

      Jesus didn’t fast to weaken Himself—He fasted to strengthen Himself before temptation.
      He fought Satan with Scripture in His mouth and emptiness in His stomach—and still had more authority.

      Clarity, Power & Breakthrough
      Matthew 6:17–18 (ESV)
      But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others… And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

      Daniel 9:3 (ESV)
      Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

      Mark 9:29 (ESV, KJV reference)
      “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.”

      But, how remarkable it is that we know so much about the actual health benefits today when we commit to this ancient practice:

      Autophagy takes place, literally meaning self-eating, is when our body starts breaking down old, damaged cells—junk proteins, cellular debris, even pre-cancerous cells. Autophagy targets misfolded proteins (like those associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s); Damaged mitochondria (energy factories of your cells); Viral remnants and possibly pre-cancerous cells; Debris from oxidative stress; Old immune cells and inflammatory materials.

      Ketosis takes place after about 36 hours, when glycogen stores are depleted. It is perfectly designed to begin fueling your body with ketones, a clean burning, anti-inflammatory fuel that uses your stored fat as energy. White fat is broken down into brown fat, and fat loss can take place between 0.5 and 1 pound per day (this is not an encouragement to use this as a method of fat loss overall, as after 90 hours, the body will have some diminishing health returns such as depleted immune system, muscle loss, and high cortisol as you enter a survival mode).

      Amazingly, after 24–48 hours, human growth hormone (HGH) can rise by 2–5x! This means recovery and lean tissue preservation is an automatic response to fasting. For those who are athletic, work out, and want to keep their gains, within the window of 24-90 hours, your HGH will work to maintain muscle mass while your body burns fat, effecting your overall body composition for the better! It’s like God built a system where once you focus on Him, the more efficient your body becomes—a reverse of the curse of indulgence.

      Your insulin drops to almost zero, and your dopamine receptors reset, creating joys over small things, and deeper moments of prayer and meditation. It is truly a corrective and contemplative journey through a few days of discipline. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” —Matthew 4:4

      When done responsibly, and I’d add the disclaimer for those with diabetes, or health concerns to talk to a doctor, fasting not only gives you an opportunity to spend time with the Lord in a busy affluent culture, but to give your body a much needed moment of reset when pursuing your health goals. To further the benefits of autophagy, stick with water, coffees, green tea, and don’t add calories or proteins that might come from juices or bone broth (a dirty fast). Green tea contains EGCG, which has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, and caffeine from coffee increases lipolysis (fat breakdown) and thermogenesis. And with plenty of fat as rocket fuel for a slow steady body, and a sharp and calm mind, the surprising clarity that comes with a 72-80 fast will be a wonderful discipline to try.

      Quick Warning on New Ageism

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      I am seeing this a lot lately. A feel good platitude. A slogan. A new age, anything goes, faux-zen-enlightened bumper sticker. Upon close examination, it doesn’t hold water. I hope those who consider their salvation can think past this, and truly don’t hang their eternal souls on the slogans of new age inclusiveness. Especially since this mess of a poster violates the law of non-contradiction about six ways from Sunday. Unfortunately, most people will grab such slogans, like “the bible was just written by men”, or “God can’t make a stone so big He can’t lift it”, or “separation of church and state”, and compile them as a world view. They will then comfortably walk through life, believing wholeheartedly in a world view they spent no time investigating. H.G. Wells said this about our contemporary lives as it concerns people’s resounding inaction regarding the preciousness of life:

      “But in these plethoric times, when there is too much coarse stuff for everybody and we struggle for life takes the form of competitive advertisement and the effort to fill your neighbor’s eye, there is no urgent demand either for personal courage, sound nerves or stark beauty, we find ourselves by accident. Always before these times the bulk of people did not overeat themselves, because they couldn’t, whether they wanted to or not, and all but a very few were kept “fit” by unavoidable exercise and personal danger. Now, if only he pitch his standard low enough and keep free from pride, almost anyone can achieve a sort of excess. You can go through contemporary life fudging and slacking, never really hungry nor frightened nor passionately stirred, your highest moment a mere sentimental orgasm, and your first real contact with primary and elemental necessities the sweat of your deathbed.”

      If we research, even lightly, the veracity of this poster’s statement, we will find it severely lacking in truth. Without even addressing the glaringly obvious, commandment-breaking image of putting one of the million false Hindu gods on an even plane with Jesus Christ, God and Lord, creator of all things, we will ask were they all merely teachers of love? Does this discount the necessity of judgement, and offer only pleasure with no recognition of sin, and therefore render our desperate need for grace and Christ moot?  There is a flood to square with, as well as the destruction of Sodom, and the Canaanites, and the existence of hell. Does escaping the reality of a promised judgement for sin require us to simply pick a teacher/deity we like, and try to be loving?  And if you have been following along on my series, you know by now that other gods, other religions, don’t come close to the loving God of the bible. For more on that, please read through that, but one quick example for you is in the year 627; Muhammad decapitated 900 Jewish men in front of their families, and ordered troops to rape women, and enslave them. This was the last Jewish tribe in Medina. Ransoms and beheadings were common place. So judging by these actions, as well as other conquests in the name of Allah, to say nothing of polygamy, and the consummation of a marriage with a 9 year old, was Muhammad a teacher of love, like our feel-good poster suggests? Or were his actions self-serving?

      What about Buddhism? Very zen and peaceful, yes? The value of human beings must be quite high in their thinking, right? An interesting story, since we are on the subject, has to do with the killing fields of Cambodia. The maimed and injured were pouring in to medical camps run by Christian missionary volunteers. The country was filled with Buddhists, but Christians were there in droves helping the wounded, ministering to the sick and dying. The Christians asked the local doctor why the Buddhists, considering their peace-filled worldview,  weren’t here helping any of the refugees, and why was it only European and American Christians. He said it was because in Buddhism, it is believed that karma determines your fate, and that these suffering people must have earned these troubles in a past life. It was their Karmic fate that brought them to this, not the sin of a fallen world. So they felt no obligation to help or “love” as our poster suggests.

      Perhaps we can find love of people in a place that favors Hinduism, such as India? India, where rats swarm crops, decimating sometimes up to 50% of the food grown for the citizens there. The result of course is famine, and the poor health of India’s massive population. But in years past, they have continually chose not to exterminate these rats. Why? Because in their religion, these rats may be the reincarnated ancestors of peoples’ families, so their lives are important as well. As we zoom out and logically consider this world view, we can ascertain that these rats are being given equal consideration and worth as the human beings in Hindu culture. Even at the expense of their lives.

      Does this reflect the same love as our Creator God? A love so great that He declares He knows every hair on your head? That He made you in His image? He came to earth to die for you? Do you sense your value as a son or daughter of the Lord, as compared to other world views? It is interesting that for all the bumper sticker slogans we have, when you get down to it, there is one God of love, and there is the harsh reality of other religions, and how much they devalue life. In these others, upon actual examination, you will find the worth of people on par with animals (Hindu), left to the fate of the universe (Buddha), solely dependent upon the whim of a conquesting god (Islam), or completely fluid based on moral relativism (New Age). The truth is much more beautiful, and hopeful, and yes, loving, then the slogan. But, this does not dismiss us from having to consider the truths of a holy God. That with perfect love, we must also examine perfect judgement. Both infinite attributes of a perfect Creator. So again we say, “determine your salvation with fear and trembling” – Phil 2:12

      You Aren’t Free

      There is this violation to our psyche, this offense that rears and bucks at the thought of losing liberty – or worse yet, realizing you don’t have it. This battle is tumultuous within the political realm, to be sure. But what about within your soul? If we focus for a minute, not on the rulers and lawmakers of a particular land, but instead on the method in which you run your own life, make decisions for yourself, chose your path.What controls that direction? Is it random? Certainly not. Your choices are made based on what you love.

      That is not to say that we don’t have free will, but rather that our choices are inexorably tied to that which we love and worship. Becky Manley Pippert, in Out of the Salt Shaker, says, “Whatever controls us is our Lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.”

      This means that though we act upon our own desires, make 10,000 decisions a day, all while maintaining that we are masters of our own destiny, not one of us is free. There is no soul that is not pressed upon by some ruling factor. There is no one truly at liberty to be free from all needs, or to just be. This is an illusion, and furthermore, as with atheism for example, to deny God, or a lord within your life, is to deny that a deeper desire exists within you, one that rules over your direction. Fear? Food? Vanity? Sexual immorality? Money? Anger? Do these not lord over us? Do we not make decisions in order to feed these desires? That isn’t freedom. That is control of another kind. I am reminded of verses such as, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

      “You shall have no other gods before me.”

      “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.  Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!  Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.””

      If there is a lord of your life no matter what, if this is a truth that is understood by an individual, then it would behoove us to take notice of what the bible makes very clear. You are either of Him, or of your father the devil. There is no alternative option. To be utterly free is to be God. This means, as people who aren’t gods, we must choose the type of slavery we want to operate under. The slavery of sin, of unforgiveness, of distance from our creator God? Or do we  chose to worship God, make Him our king, our Lord, and in that relationship, find redemption, forgiveness, grace, hope. Either way, you belong to someone not of yourself. If you need proof, then consider this… the lord of your life will determine the nature of your death. If you are in fact the lord of your life, then by what means will you conquer it?