YOU TOO CAN FAST! (a testimony on fasting)

Jesus and the multitudes

This year Yom Kippur begins on the eve of Sunday, September 27 and ends at night on Monday, September 28*. On this eve of the Jewish Yom Kippur I believe it’s a good time to reflect on how the Lord has enabled me and led me to build a lifestyle of fasting, with the goal of wanting to be Jesus-focus and know God more.

Back before building a fasting lifestyle (a spiritual lifestyle) in 2009, the minute anyone suggested fasting to me, I would have an automatic reaction that it could not be for me as I did not have the stomach for it. It seemed to me that food was so important. Many people like me could come up with a lot of reasons why they could not fast, e.g. Feeling weak and dizzy and even fainting, having gastritis, love for food etc. But I was led to read a Book on fasting, and it definitely assured me and gave me hope. Yes, I too could fast! I wanted to go deeper into Biblical living and living in the Spirit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You too can fast (excerpts from a fasting book)

The enemy will use all tactics and suggest all excuses to prevent you from fasting. He knows what fasting can do for you. Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?”

It is not whether you can or cannot fast. It is whether you want to or not, a matter of choice. Will you still allow the flesh to dictate to you, or will you learn to subdue the flesh, allow your spirit man to rise and eventually, learn to live by the Spirit?

(In the same chapter, the Pastor described how she set a condition for her Bible College student to fast three days before they are awarded with distinctions. A number made the usual excuses but they went through the fast and came out in top forms. There were testimonies of gastritis, backache, arthritis and migraine healed! )

No one can give any excuse. Nehemiah could have made a good excuse for not fasting. His job demanded that he taste the king’s food and wine to test if they were poisoned. Moreover he was expected to be cheerful before the king. But Nehemiah took the burden of the Lord upon himself. He wept and mourned, fasted and prayed for many days for Jerusalem. (Neh. 1:4) God intervened and moved the king’s heart to release Nehemiah from his post as cupbearer and made him governor of Judah for 12 years! Despite opposition, conspiracy and great difficulties, Nehemiah completed rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem within 52 days.

Some people are afraid to fast because they are afraid their bodies would be affected. Little do they realize that the body can actually go without food and water for three days. It can go for 40 days without food but not without water unless divinely led of the Holy Spirit. Moses neither ate nor drank for 40 days twice, in the presence of God and God is life. We can do without food but cannot do without God.

Fasting appears difficult because eating is a natural habit. Some people eat to live but others live to eat. In fact, the first sin against God involved eating. Esau lost his birthright because of eating. The Israelites were fed angels’ food from heaven yet they craved for food from Egypt than for God’s divine supply. Every Christian must learn how to discipline the body through fasting.

Start by fasting one meal, then two meals, then the whole day. This will give you more time to spend with God. You can then subdue your flesh and begin to feed your spirit man. Read the Bible, pray and worship God. Listen to worship and sermon tapes. Begin to tune yourself to God. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor. 2:14)

Jesus redeemed us and made our spirit alive unto God. Man could once again resume relationship with God. By the power of God man is once again to live by the Spirit, filled, empowered and led by Him. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”(I Cor. 15:50) Fasting sets us free from our past bondage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back then in 2009 I became thus convinced to start a fasting lifestyle. When I first started to fast I tried to skip one main meal a day on alternate day. However, I drank liquid (water, fruit and vegetable juice, milk) as substitute. I also scheduled my fast to a number of hours, e.g. from 4pm to midnight or from 10am to 6pm.

There was no hard and fast rule. On this current fasting and prayer drive, I could choose from a long list of choices: 1. the number of days (7, 14, 21, 40) 2. the number of meals (1, 2, all ) 3. vegetables/fruits 4. water/liquid

I chose to fast 14 days, one meal (fasting from 1pm to next morning 7am) a day on alternate day. I knew my limit. Unless led by the Holy Spirit I would not attempt more than the level I was committed to do. I hoped to progress to whole day (24 hours) fasting (from solid food), drinking water only during the weekend, i.e. fast from 6am Saturday to 6am Sunday.

In the Pastor’s testimony, the “best fast” (for discipline and major breakthrough) was three days at a stretch without food and water. A lot of great things happened when such fasts were carried out in the Bible. I will account this in the next post.

The above was originally posted on 2009-09-08

Looking back over a decade of fasting lifestyle and how much the Lord has enabled me to progress, I can only give all glory to God! I cannot imagine without the spiritual and physical preparation, how I could have gone through all those miracles including divine healing and living in divine health, fitness and youthfulness despite encountering many physical (with unseen spiritual implication) challenges!

Kainotes Sep 26 2020

*Israel Daylight Time (IDT) is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone is a Daylight Saving Time time zone and is used in: Asia.

How did I start building a fasting lifestyle

The following is a record from an earlier journal on a personal Biblical living quest. The Spirit led me to see the power of being Jesus-focus. As I was struggling with the issue of weight, I realized that fearing having inadequate food was un-Biblical and baseless. The real issue lied in my heart not in my belly.

Journal day 51: Three days with nothing to eat (August 2009)

Today’s passage intrigues me. At least four thousand plus men besides women and children had nothing to eat for three days and they were still walking!

Matthew 15: 32 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” Jesus told the disciples.

What were these people doing during the three days? Surly there is a clue as to how they had managed to survive during that period without food. In the same chapter, the Bible described the background activities. After Jesus rebuked the Jewish religious leaders for their hypocrisy, he went to Tyre and Sidon, where He healed the severely demon-possessed daughter of a Canaan woman, praising the mother for her great faith in Jesus. Canaanites were idol worshippers and enemies of the Jews. Yet the Canaan woman found great courage to come to Jesus as she was desperate and knew that all the idols she and her tribesmen worshipped all their lives could not save her daughter.

After that, Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat there. Then great multitudes came to Him. They brought the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others. They laid them at Jesus’ feet and He healed them all. The multitudes saw, marveled at the miracles, glorified and worshipped God.

So the great multitudes (four thousand men besides women and children) had spent their three days carrying their sick relatives and friends, following Jesus, walking long distance, climbing the mountain, listening to Jesus teaching about the kingdom of heaven, seeing Jesus (displaying His mighty supernatural power and healing them all), and worshipping God. In the presence of Jesus, the people saw God. They were awed. They were fed with spiritual food and filled. Jesus’ words were food. The people received life through His words (Spirit and life).

It is obvious that during the three days Jesus and His disciples had not eaten any food. Otherwise Jesus would have fed the multitudes miraculously just as He did previously when another group of people (five thousand men plus women and children) followed Him. So it was a big fasting gathering of thousands of people on the mountain!

Were they human? Yes. Jesus told His disciples that these people would be hungry and could faint on the way when they went home. As long as they were with Him, listening to His words, seeing Him displaying His power as the Son of God, and worshipping God, they would not be hungry. But they were human and would be hungry when they were away from Jesus. So Jesus fed them before they left, miraculously with seven loaves and a few little fish, multiplying these into abundant food.

My application:

After reading a book on fasting and prayers as the ultimate weapon to beat the devil, and real life testimonies of ex-patients who had been healed from terminal and other chronic diseases, broken relationship, and other failures, I have started learning to fast last week. I take a light lunch, skip dinner and drink water instead. Sometimes I take one glass of fruit and vegetable juice with milk in lieu of one meal. Whilst fasting I read the Bible and meditate on God and His words. It is refreshing to the soul. At first it was difficult and I kept thinking that I had gastritis pains. I resisted the temptation to take medicine.

Yesterday I woke up and found my old enemy, the back pain, emerged. I rebuked it and went on with my daily living Biblically. I resisted the temptation to take pain-killers after claiming the healing from Jesus. I refused to speak negative words giving the indication of any doubt/unbelief. In the afternoon when I felt the pain emerging, I read Romans chapter 8 again aloud in the bedroom. After that it subsided. In the evening I decided to spend time reading the Bible aloud. So I took the Romans chapter 8 and read again. Then I was led to read Isaiah chapters 58-66. After reading these, I received a phone call from a mother to urgently pray and intercede for her son (a young man) who is alone in a strange city. So I prayed and read the deliverance prayers for him.

Soon it was time for bed and I did not feel any hunger pang at all. I woke up refreshed and healthy today. I did not feel hungry even though I had fasted both lunch and dinner yesterday!

There is Biblical foundation for fasting. Many men and women of God did mighty works through fasting and prayers. When we fast, we are saying to the physical aspect of life that we are not to be dictated by it anymore. We are saying “no” to the body/flesh (five senses). We are saying “yes” to the Spirit. We learn to live by the Spirit. To be led by the Spirit and live according to the Spirit is the goal of victorious living of all Christians.

I find that my body becomes lighter and my mind becomes sharper when I fast. I feel more peaceful, happier and even more sensitive to the spiritual realm.

My advice to all who want to try is that you need to learn to reduce food intake bit by bit. Prior to this project I had reduced my meals by eating very light lunch and dinner. I cut down on snacks. I learn to drink water. It takes a lot of preparation physically.

The more important preparation is that you need to be convinced that the words of God are true. As you fast you need to spend time in the presence of God, reading His words, meditating on them, worship and sing praises to God. You also spend time praying and interceding for others. Sometimes I just listen quietly, close my eyes for a long time and see if pictures or words come into my mind.

My goal in this is not to seek sensational experiences. My only desire is to live Biblically and live out the kingdom life that Jesus has given to every believer. Why live as a beggar if you can live like a prince?

Ghostwriter for God: Dr. Luke -companion of Paul

Luke the beloved physician (Col.4:14a) in the movie Paul the Apostle

Revelation: As I study the background of the journaling historian, medical doctor, and evangelist Luke, I realize that I cannot look at him as a mere friend of Paul and focus on that line alone. It dawns on me that he is a pattern of a faithful and credible ghostwriter for God. His focus is not on Paul, a very outstanding apostle, or about the works that many have achieved. His focus is clearly to write down the part of history that concerns the most important era of mankind, when the Son of Man came and did what God said He will do, and what He enabled His followers do immediately after that in the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire.

Seeing the importance and relevance to my own calling, I propose to give a very brief introduction of his background here and then move to a series along the line of a ghostwriter for God in my other blog. (Please click this link to go to the other blog and follow me there. Thank you.) My goal is: what can we (I) learn from Luke? Why is it very relevant today to study and pattern after him?

On the subject of Paul’s leadership and how he interacts with his friends -his fellow workers in his ministry to advance the kingdom of God, we continue to read his close relationship with Luke, the author of the Gospel according to Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles (the Acts of the Holy Spirit). There are only several mentions of Luke in Paul’s letters, but there are tons of related information from the two books of the New Testament Bible written by Luke. We shall look at Luke under a number of relevant headings in order to know him better and what kind of a ministry support he is to Paul the apostle.

Who is Luke? Luke is probably a Gentile by birth or a Jewish Christian of the Dispersion. He is a man of letters, well versed in the OT in Greek, educated in Greek culture, a physician by profession, a companion of Paul at various times from his second missionary journey to his final imprisonment in Rome, and a loyal friend who remained with the apostle after others had deserted him (2 Timothy 4:11) “Luke was the tried and constant friend of Paul, who shared his labors, and who was not driven from his side by danger”.

Luke, the companion of Paul. In the description of the happenings in Acts, certain passages make use of the pronoun “we.” At these points the author includes himself as a companion of Paul in his travels (16:10–17; 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:16).  These “we” passages include the period of Paul’s two-year imprisonment at Rome (ch. 28). During this time Paul wrote, among other letters, Philemon and Colossians. In them he sends greetings from his companions, and Luke is included among them (Col 4:9–17; Phm 23–24).

Luke, the physician. The words he uses and the traits and education reflected in his writings fit well his role as a physician. The doctor of the first century might not have as specialized a vocabulary as that of doctors today, but there are some usages in Luke-Acts that seem to suggest that a medical man was the author of these books. And it should be remembered that Paul uses the term “doctor” in describing Luke (Col 4:14).

Similarities between Luke and Paul:

Both are studious, highly educated, multi-linguists, and qualified professionals in their respective fields, raised from an upper social-economic background, and have lived and travelled in cosmopolitan urban cities. It is also likely that both keep journals. Paul is from Tarsus and studied and mentored under the famous teacher Gamaliel. Luke is from either Antioch or Trois, studied medicine and is already a practicing physician when he becomes a disciple of Paul. He is also said to be the brother of Titus (a capable and trustworthy church leader whom Paul has delegated to take charge of the church leadership/officials matter), another disciple of Paul. Luke is likely a Gentile as Paul has excluded him from the circumcised (Jews) list in a letter. Both know the importance of the Holy Spirit, are Spirit-filled and walking by the Spirit. The predominance of the Holy Spirit is evident in both their writings.

In short, it will be interesting to find out “how come” Luke, such a highly qualified and talented man is willing to follow Paul and remains humbly in the background, journaling quietly whilst enduring the many (some utmost) hardships together with the apostle Paul, even to the extent of risking his life.

His relationship with Paul: Paul describes Luke in his letters as, “Luke, my fellow laborer” (Philemon 24), “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col.4:14a), and towards the end of Paul’s life, “only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11). How does Luke describe Paul? We shall find some answers in my subsequent blogs.

(To be continued)

Kainotes Sep 10 2020

godly leadership: no cheap love please, no cliche

I wrote this in February but withheld it until now. It is still valid. No cheap love please! No cliche!

Love God

Festival of Rosh Hashanah 2020

Jewish New Year

The festival of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a joyous occasion celebrated by members of the religious community all over the world.

The festival consists of many elements, including prayer services in synagogues and the blowing of an ancient musical horn called a “shofar“, which is made from a ram’s horn.

On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to greet one another with blessings and good wishes of Leshana tova tekatev v’techatem — May you be inscribed for a good year!

The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G‑d and humanity: our dependence upon G‑d as our creator and sustainer, …

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

boy blowing shofar

Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G‑d; we evoke Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, …

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year’s blessings.

apples dipped in honey

b) Blessing one another with the words “Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” c) Tashlich, …

One of the most recognisable food staples that adorns the dinner table during Rosh Hashanah is apple and honey, a traditional combination that has passed down the generations for centuries. This is accompanied by a song that is taught to young children at cheder (Jewish Sunday school), which goes: “Dip the apple in the honey, make a bracha [blessing] loud and clear. L’Shana Tova U’Metuka, have a happy sweet New Year.” In addition to dipping the apple in the honey, Jewish people also frequently eat honey cake, pomegranates and round raisin loaves of challah to see in the New Year.

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all our Jewish friends!

Note: The above is collected from online sources, to whom credits are given.

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/rosh-hashanah-2019-jewish-new-year-food-apple-honey-honey-cake-festival-a9123551.html