This is something to help America to return to obeying God's Ten Commandments.
I found this posting by Craig Schaaf, and found it inspiring. What do you think?
Discernment Through Selective Fasting;
Boy has this been heavy on my heart to share with you all. I sense this will impact some of you deeply.
When I was a young believer, I had an older brother that was a spiritual mentor to me. One day he shared with me something that made, and continues to make a great impact on my life. It is the concept of using selective fasting, to discern if anything has brought me under its power. The Holy Spirit, through Paul’s pen, shares this concern with us.
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
You see one of the things that diminishes the power of God’s Spirit in our lives, is when we give ourselves over to the control of other things.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
The Lord wants us to be temperate in how we use things. Temperance being the practice of abstaining from excess. The scriptures do not forbid us from drinking wine. They forbid the excess of drunkenness. An alcoholic does need to fully abstain from drinking, and those that are around them should love them and abstain as well, so as not to cause them to stumble when they are with them.
The idea of selective fasting is to fast from certain things for a time to see what happens. Does abstinence from this thing cause a war within my members?
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
I by God’s grace have never experienced being drunk. I am not boasting, just humbly grateful. I can drink a small amount of wine, Rhubarb being my favorite, and enjoy it but not struggle in anyway to be given to excess.
My struggle would be more in the area of sweets. I definitely have a sweet tooth. I have to be careful that I use moderation when it comes to them.
Has anything brought you under its power? Can you just cease to drink your favorite drink? Coffee, pop, some alcoholic beverage? How about certain drugs or smoking?
This is something you have to do with the Lord’s guidance. He knows what is controlling you. If you are not very sincere about it then you will not derive much benefit from it.
Some of you seek fulfillment in things like shopping. Would it be a struggle if you abstained from shopping for a period of time?
What about fasting from the TV or different forms of technology? What about not paying attention to any news for a length of time?
You see there is no law in this. This is a spiritual exercise that you walk with the Lord in. If you give up coffee for a few weeks and it was no big deal. You didn’t struggle in the least. Then feel free to continue to use it in moderation. But some of you will struggle deeply and may need to abstain for much longer. But you need to seek the Lord, and receive His direction. The whole purpose of this is to help you be more sensitive to Him, and not be so controlled and directed by fleshly impulses. My hope is that as you learn how to be sensitive to the things that control you, you will come more under the control of God’s Spirit. May God bless you as you seek Him in this matter.
Boy has this been heavy on my heart to share with you all. I sense this will impact some of you deeply.
When I was a young believer, I had an older brother that was a spiritual mentor to me. One day he shared with me something that made, and continues to make a great impact on my life. It is the concept of using selective fasting, to discern if anything has brought me under its power. The Holy Spirit, through Paul’s pen, shares this concern with us.
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
You see one of the things that diminishes the power of God’s Spirit in our lives, is when we give ourselves over to the control of other things.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
The Lord wants us to be temperate in how we use things. Temperance being the practice of abstaining from excess. The scriptures do not forbid us from drinking wine. They forbid the excess of drunkenness. An alcoholic does need to fully abstain from drinking, and those that are around them should love them and abstain as well, so as not to cause them to stumble when they are with them.
The idea of selective fasting is to fast from certain things for a time to see what happens. Does abstinence from this thing cause a war within my members?
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
I by God’s grace have never experienced being drunk. I am not boasting, just humbly grateful. I can drink a small amount of wine, Rhubarb being my favorite, and enjoy it but not struggle in anyway to be given to excess.
My struggle would be more in the area of sweets. I definitely have a sweet tooth. I have to be careful that I use moderation when it comes to them.
Has anything brought you under its power? Can you just cease to drink your favorite drink? Coffee, pop, some alcoholic beverage? How about certain drugs or smoking?
This is something you have to do with the Lord’s guidance. He knows what is controlling you. If you are not very sincere about it then you will not derive much benefit from it.
Some of you seek fulfillment in things like shopping. Would it be a struggle if you abstained from shopping for a period of time?
What about fasting from the TV or different forms of technology? What about not paying attention to any news for a length of time?
You see there is no law in this. This is a spiritual exercise that you walk with the Lord in. If you give up coffee for a few weeks and it was no big deal. You didn’t struggle in the least. Then feel free to continue to use it in moderation. But some of you will struggle deeply and may need to abstain for much longer. But you need to seek the Lord, and receive His direction. The whole purpose of this is to help you be more sensitive to Him, and not be so controlled and directed by fleshly impulses. My hope is that as you learn how to be sensitive to the things that control you, you will come more under the control of God’s Spirit. May God bless you as you seek Him in this matter.
The Tradesman
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