SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/16/2020 11:07 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-5 “Proper
Fasting”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
5:17-18
Message of the verses: “17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head
and wash your face, 18 "so that you
do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the
secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
I
mentioned in our SD from yesterday that we would try and finish this section of
fasting today. I want to first of all
talk about how fasting is also always linked to having a pure heart and so it
must be associated with obedient, godly living.
An example of this is when the Lord told Zechariah to declare to the
people “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these
seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?...Thus has the Lord of
hosts said ‘Dispense true justice, and practice kindness and compassion each to
his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the
poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another’’ (Zech. 7:5,
9-10). Zechariah is saying to the Jews
that the seventy years that they fasted meant nothing to the Lord and the
reason was because it was done insincerely.
This was similar to the hypocrites that Jesus would later on condemn,
those Israelites who lived only for themselves as we saw in verse six of
Matthew 6. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your
door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” I have mentioned this before, something that
Warren Wiersbe said many times “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.”
John
MacArthur writes “After chastising the people in a similar way for their
pretentious and unrighteous fasting, the Lord declared through Isaiah,
5 “Is it a fast like this
which I choose, a day for
a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for
spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an
acceptable day to the LORD? 6 “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen
the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the
oppressed go free And break every yoke? 7 “Is it not to divide your bread with
the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked,
to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh 8 "Then your
light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring
forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be
your rear guard. 9 “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry,
and He will say, ’Here I am’ (Isaiah 58:5-9a).”
“There
can be no right fasting apart from a right heart, right living, and a right
attitude.”
Jesus
goes on to say “But you, when your fast” as He is talking about those who
belong to Him, “Anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be
seen fasting by men.” What does this
mean? When a person in that day anointed
their head with oil they were practicing good grooming as the oil was often scented
with some kind of fragrance. It was kind
of like washing ones face in the morning too as this was just a practice of day
to day living. However they would
especially do this on special occasions.
The point that Jesus was making here was that people who are fasting
should do everything that they could do to make themselves look normal and do
nothing in order to attract attention to his deprivation and spiritual
struggle, something that we all have.
The moment you think that you don’t have them is the moment that you can
be in trouble. I have seen what I call “lists”
found in the Scriptures of things that are sinful and when one looks at those
lists they may think that so in so has a problem with this sin, but not me, or
the person can look at those lists and say to themselves I have a problem with
this sin and I need the Lord to help me overcome that problem, which I believe
is the right way to look at those lists.
MacArthur
finishes this section with the following paragraph: “The one who sincerely wants to please God
will studiously avoid trying to impress men.
He will determine not [to] be seen fasting by men, but by God the Father
who is in secret. Jesus does not say we
should fast for the purpose of being seen even by God. Fasting is not to be a
display for anyone, including God.
Genuine fasting is simply a part of concentrated, intense prayer and
concern for the Lord, His will, and His work.
Jesus’ point is that the Father never fails to notice fasting that is
heartfelt and genuine, and that He never fails to reward it. ‘Your Father who sees in secret will repay
you.’”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say that I have something on my
mind and have had it for some time now.
I am not going to say what it is now, but would appreciate prayer for me
as I seek God in what I believe He desires me to do. Yesterday before my study I went for my walk
and was praying to God about what was on my heart and wondering if a fast would
be in order. After yesterday’s SD I
could see that I believe a fast was in order as the first thing that I came
across in that section was exactly what I was wondering if a fast would be in
order for what was on my mind. Talk
about an instant answer to prayer. Again
I would appreciate your prayers as I work out the details to what I believe God
wants me to do.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the God will work in my heart to find
out exactly how to proceed in what I believe He wants me to do.
12/16/2020 11:46 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment