Thursday, February 18, 2010

Fasting For Lent

It is a tradition to give something up for the 46 days of Lent. Some give up smoking, some kind of food (sweets, french fries, etc.), soft drinks or the like. I've been trying to figure out what would be the best thing for me to fast during this time and I couldn't really come up with anything. Finally, today I think I've come up with something that should be effective, rather than doing without something I'm going to try to give something. God, speaking through Isaiah had something to say about the way the Israelites were fasting and worshiping, and I wonder if it doesn't speak to us today.

Isaiah 58:1-7 NIV "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 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? 6 "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? 7 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 own flesh and blood?

Did you bless anyone today? Beleive it or not, I did. Now who will it be tomorrow?

Have a blessed day!

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2010 at 9:40 PM

    You were talking about how you resisted blogging for a long time.I hear the Lord saying,"Behold I am doing a new thing".He has given us another avenue in these last days to get the Word out.So,keep on blogging,Pastor Danny! I enjoyed it and I am sure many others will,too.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 20, 2010 at 9:17 AM

    Good Morning, As I was reading your post regarding Lent, I had a bit of a smile on my face. During lunch one day this week, everyone was talking about what they were giving up for Lent; each believing they were making a big sacrifice for the Lord. When one of them spoke out, "Now really, just how hard would your life be if you didn't have chocolate." She attends the Good Shephard Catholic Church in Boise City and it seems their Father had just spoke to them the Sunday before regarding sacrafices for Lent....anyway, long story short, his message was that maybe we should sacrafice something like our comfort zone. Do things in the name of the Lord that might make or cause us to feel a little less confident than our normal actions.

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