Joel 2:12 NIV
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping
and mourning."
If one were to look at the kind of fasting that took place in the Old Testament, it would be easy to assume that the reason for fasting is to gain forgiveness. In the book of Joel, the Israelites had wandered far from God, and their sinfulness had resulted in famine and pestilence in the land. Through the prophet Joel, God called them to repentance, ordering them to declare a sacrificial fast that along with mourning and weeping, would show God the sincerity of their repentance. In return, the prophet said, perhaps God would, “turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.”
Such a fast of repentance is seen under the Old Covenant time and again, because under the Old Covenant man had to rely on his works and sacrifices to avert the wrath of God. But under the New Covenant, we don’t have to fast for forgiveness. Every wrong we have done and will do was forgiven at the cross, and when we accept Christ, we walk under a New Covenant of grace and forgiveness! We don’t have to fast, weep and mourn to convince God of our sincere repentance or to avert His wrath. I Thessalonians 5:9 tells us that, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So then, why do we, as people under a New Covenant, need to set aside special times devoted to fasting and prayer?
As we walk with God, there are times that we feel far from Him or disconnected. Joel’s words resonate with us who live in a context of grace – “return to me with all your heart.” There are times we realize that, though we have chosen to follow Jesus, the flame of our love for him has grown cold. It is during these times we can return to God with our whole heart, put aside the distractions of the world and focus solely on loving Him. Your time spent in prayer each day of the fast can result in a new richness, a rewarding connection with the Father. No matter where
you are on your journey with Jesus, you can always take a step closer towards Him.
Joel 2:12 NIV “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
As we begin this time of prayer and fasting, let’s turn our hearts toward God.
Make a commitment to seek God daily. Pray that your love for Christ will be increased
and your passion for Him will be reignited over the next 21 days.
FATHER'S DAY IS JUNE 19.
Our Family Fast
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday, Pastor and I went to the store and I had a list of things we needed to buy. We are going all natural, but know that with the cost of fruits and veggies everyone else may not be able to do that. It's your conviction. It's easy for us to eat veggies and fruits from a can - we like it, but to go all natural - that's another story. But anyway, we started picking up things to buy and so much stuff has additives and sugar. It's amazing what we're putting into our body.
I thought I'd keep you posted on what we are doing so maybe you can get some ideas for your Daniel Fast.
Anytime I've cooked all natural, I've had baking grease and other additives I would put in. Not so on Sunday. For breakfast I fixed "bland" oats with raisins, sliced apples, grapes, and puree' strawberries. It only tasted good to me with the raisins in it. For lunch, we had baked potato (no seasoning), romaine lettuce & spinach leaves with a
Homemade Dressing
5 TBSP orange juice
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP Olive Oil
which was real good, brown rice (for Taylor-he doesn't like potatoes), and some natural things to add to the salad - almonds, cucumbers, carrots, orange peels, and raisins. Lunch was good. For supper, I cooked dry pinto beans and then blended them to make refried beans and
Homemade Wheat Tortillas
2 cups wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt (because I wasn't sure what it would do if I didn't add it)
2 TBSP olive oil
about 1/2 cup warm water until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Roll thin and cook 30 seconds each side in a non stick pan on the stove over medium high heat.
The refried beans were real bland, so I'm researching what I could add natural so it would be better next time. I also made a homemade salsa which I'll post later and baked some of the wheat tortillas into chips. For an evening snack, I blended frozen strawberries with a banana to drink.
During the day, we cut up pineapple, apple, pears, and bananas and have dehydrated so that we can eat on as a snack. I'm going to make a trail mix with it.
I know some of you may not have time to do all I've done, but maybe I can give you some tips on what to do in the next coming weeks. We love you and Happy Fasting!!