Sorry, I haven’t gotten back sooner to answer your question about fasting. The only “fast” that I partake of is in the Book of Isaiah 58:1-11. I call it the Lord’s Fast because the Lord said in Isaiah 58:6 that it is the fast He has chosen.

Most people when they fast they refrain from food, drink, favorite activities, etc. They are usually trying to get some spiritual direction or some other communication with God. They think by afficting themselves by denying sustanance or pleasure they are pleasing God and will be rewarded with there desired petition. In Isaiah 58:1-5 the Lord is questioning the priest about this practice and then states:

ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high (Isaiah 58:5).

The Lord then declares in Isaiah 58:6 the type of fast He has chosen.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward (Isaiah 58:6-8 KJV).

When most people fast, the food that they deny themselves usually just sits in the refrigerator until the time that they go off their fast. What I do when I “fast” is I give the amount of the price of the food I am denying myself to the local homeless shelter to feed them. According to these verses in Isaiah 58 the “fasting” that brings the Lord glory is when you deny yourself so others that do not have food can eat or deny yourself those extra clothes so the naked can be clothed. This is the “fasting” that brings glory to the Lord.

Hope this helps.

F Whittenburg
http://www.christiannewbirth.com

Since the Bible says that the “kingdom of God” is not meat or drink, then I think the question has to be asked is the discussion on the topic of meat and drink in the comments on this post helping to advance and demonstrate the “kingdom of God” (i.e. righteousness, peace. and joy) to all that read them?

For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink: but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17 KJV).

F Whittenburg
http://www.christiannewbirth.com

I rarely see it done, beyond fasting.

There’s a lot of guilt when you start talking about food and control…people get defensive.

But I would love to really dig into this. It would personally help me in many areas of my life. I do love that verse you ended with…good stuff to think about.

(Any further verses or books on the subject would be appreciated — seriously. Anyone. Email me.)

Hello Julie,

Thank you for the response. I never really thought about it much. Many of the great events of Jewish people in the Old Testament were marked and celebrated by feasts (Pentacost, First Fruits, Feast of Tabernacle, etc.). Then you also see the practice of refraining from eating in the Bible (i.e. fasting). Eating and drinking has never been on the top of my list for Bible study topics.

For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink: but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17 KJV)

F Whittenburg
http://www.christiannewbirth.com

Your questions regarding the place of eating outside of the mere “I must eat to live” are interesting. Food goes with fellowship — no question. When people get together, if there’s no food or drink…something is amiss. So, food clearly has more than just a “fuel for the body” role. I think that people who miss this, or end up over-controlling food and turn it into a “eat to live only” role go the opposite direction. They over-correct. Is there anything worse than people who show up at a fellowship meal or party who go on and on about how they can’t eat the food the host prepared because it’s bad for them or whatever? It throws things off.

Self-control is finding a way to control the food, in this case, and not let it control you. Out-of-control with food can go both ways: gluttony, or obsession about not eating. Neither of those two are self-control, but are cases when the food is in control, becoming something else, some other kind of stand-in in our lives. I say all this because I know this struggle — the all-or-nothing response with food — extremely well. Finding that middle place of enjoying food without abusing it or guilting over it…it is difficult for so many people.

It is much easier to just eat away at the buffet and point out how evil the homosexuals are. And the Evangelical church, in particular, tends to do that.

What do you think about eating for pleasure if you don’t need it to live?

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, he ate fish and honeycomb with them:

And while they believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them (Luke 24:41-43 KJV).

Did Jesus eat with them for the food, fun, and fellowship? What was Jesus purpose for doing this?

What is the purpose of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:( KJV)? Food, fun, fellowship? Are we eating for pleasure? Are we even eating what we consider “food” or are we eating spiritual food (i.e. bread of life) at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Any suggestions?

F Whittenburg

but we completely ignore the majority of churches that have feasts where many men overindulge in food and dessert

I frequently get myself in trouble during Sunday School or other group discussions which start to list the usual suspects when it comes to sin: sexual sins, drunkenness, etc. I usually throw in the gluttony comment at the apex of the amen chorus in which everyone is agreeing that “those people are terrible.”

The obesity rate for Evangelicals is alarming. I briefly mentioned it on one of my blogs, though I did not cover it in great depth.

The flipside to this is the obsession Christians have over treating their body like it may be possible to not actually die, getting involved in bizarre diets and hawking vitamins. I talked about that on my own blog here.

Frankly, as Chris L. pointed out, we have to eat to live. Eating is the most difficult of all things to control; unlike alcohol, we can’t live without food. We must learn to control it; we can’t merely avoid it.

Self-control is the issue. I love “parties” with church people. But when the party, the fun, the pleasure becomes the focus, when the love of having fun without balancing the pleasure with the work — therein lies the sin.

That’s just my opinion, of course.

No one (not just MH people) and much ( there maybe some).

English.