About Fasting

[amadeus]

Btw, I just saw this (very active thread). This is interesting. I've never noticed it before. If you could, please provide me with the two passages describing each.

See here the first 40 day fast:

"When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image." Deut 9:9-12

And then here the 2nd 40 day fast:

"So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." Deut 9:15-18

I do wonder about fasting in latter years. I fully intend on getting into better shape than I've ever been in from here on out. When I get back to strength, I'm going back to a strong exercise routine I was developing, and I intend on eating healthy. If I go back and forth from fasting to eating like I expect, it will be more of the same; coming down in weight, and then becoming physically fit. The intention is to live as long as possible in service to the Lord.

But I will have to keep my expectations open where doing all this in my 70s and 80s is concerned. I'm not sure how that would go, and if the Lord does not ordain it then I would have no business entertaining the idea any longer.

Because of my own physical health diminishing along with hers, my wife carefully watches what I do or do not eat, and therefore I have not fasted from food for a very long time other than skipping a few meals here and there. My primary activities consists of reading and studying my Bibles along with prayer and a couple of online Christian forums. This helps me to fast from a lot other available activities in the world, which while they are not sin in themselves, might cause me to cut back on my time working for God.

I was quite active in a small local church group as well leading Bible studies and preaching once in a while. That has reduced a bit recently due to certain questionable events there...

 

[bbyrd009]

Yes, and there is a connection between Moses and Jesus, a prophetic parallel. Just as Moses descended from the mountain, so did Jesus descend from the Father. Just as the glory rested upon Moses' face such that they could not bear to look upon him, so too was Jesus transfigured on the mountain. And they both came delivering God's word to His people.

"
The epithet Christ or Messiah (same word but in Hebrew) was never meant to be used exclusively for Jesus (the word משיח, mashiah, occurs forty times in the Old Testament)..." http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Antichrist.html#.W0emYNJKiUk

 

[bbyrd009]

And then here the 2nd 40 day fast:

wherein we can note that there is no "I came down from the mount, and of course stuffed myself silly right away bc i had not eaten in 40 days...but i saw y'all fornicating and broke the tablets, and immediately went into another 40 day fast."

I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned

hmm. You sinned, so i'll fast? Where is this corroborated?

 

[amadeus]

wherein we can note that there is no "I came down from the mount, and of course stuffed myself silly right away bc i had not eaten in 40 days...but i saw y'all fornicating and broke the tablets, and immediately went into another 40 day fast."
hmm. You sinned, so i'll fast? Where is this corroborated?

His apparent reason for that second fast raises a different question, doesn't it?

 

[amadeus]

wherein we can note that there is no "I came down from the mount, and of course stuffed myself silly right away bc i had not eaten in 40 days...but i saw y'all fornicating and broke the tablets, and immediately went into another 40 day fast."
hmm. You sinned, so i'll fast? Where is this corroborated?

[Your post #83 on this left off all of your words after "Hmm". until just this moment. Did you perhaps edit the post after I had already responded to you? ]

As to corroboration, consider that the fast of Moses as a shadow of the fast of Jesus. The fast of Jesus of which I speak is NOT the 40 day fast at the time of his temptation as per Matthew 4:1-11, but rather his fast from all sin during all of his time spent as a man of flesh subject to temptations. Jesus never sinned. That was his really big fast, was it not? He never broke that fast.

 

[Helen]

Because of my own physical health diminishing along with hers, my wife carefully watches what I do or do not eat, and therefore I have not fasted from food for a very long time other than skipping a few meals here and there.

Amadeus...I have heard (and most probably @bbyrd009 will probably know )
That fasting for more than a couple of days when on medication can be bad, because our bodies store the medication and when we take it, + along with what is flushed out of 'storage'...we can overdose which is not good esp if it is BP meds and heart meds...and end up in ICU.

True or not, I have no idea. Hence, I no longer fast long.
I still go with Isaiah 58 fast anyway.

 

[Helen]

@Hidden In Him I noticed in your Video above that the man is under his doctor and has him check on him etc.


You haven't mention a doctors supervision...are you also under one for this?

Bless you...Helen
BTW did you notice my tag to you in your Dreams thread?
@VictoryinJesus posted to you there....I just wondered with the speed this thread is moving..whether you noticed her post over there?.

 

[amadeus]

Amadeus...I have heard (and most probably @bbyrd009 will probably know )
That fasting for more than a couple of days when on medication can be bad, because our bodies store the medication and when we take it, + along with what is flushed out of 'storage'...we can overdose which is not good esp if it is BP meds and heart meds...and end up in ICU.

True or not, I have no idea. Hence, I no longer fast long.
I still go with Isaiah 58 fast anyway.

Well I am not an expert on medications. My wife is the one who usually diagnoses and I respect her greatly for it. She is better at it, in my opinion, than most doctors, although she never went to school for it and has no medical degree or license. Practicing medicine without a license is a against the law in this country, but for some doctors in my experience it should be against the law even though they do have a license. She does tell me when to eat or not and I also without studying it further trust her completely on it. She trusts me for what thus saith the Lord. This is perhaps why we are still married after 46 years: We trust each other.

As I am sitting here at my desk she brought me a plate of spaghetti and buttered French bread. I have every intention of eating it.

 

[bbyrd009]

Did you perhaps edit the post after I had already responded to you? ]

yes

 

[bbyrd009]

Amadeus...I have heard (and most probably @bbyrd009 will probably know )
That fasting for more than a couple of days when on medication can be bad, because our bodies store the medication and when we take it, + along with what is flushed out of 'storage'...we can overdose which is not good esp if it is BP meds and heart meds...and end up in ICU.

True or not, I have no idea. Hence, I no longer fast long.
I still go with Isaiah 58 fast anyway.

i'm a big fan of food fasting for health, yes, but the lymph should be monitored, detox should be done also, and imo 40 day fasts are strictly for vanity, and very dangerous. Permanent kidney and other damage can result, which sounds like is already starting with the brown pee. Get some electrolytes today imo. Psychology, mental state, will tell one how toxified they are, almost always i think; they would be feeling pretty disagreeable, which i am not getting from the posts either.

When i detoxed from meth, a year or so after quitting, i didn't sleep for a week; so yes i would handle cases involving Rx diff too
technically you are reprocessing metabolites, the only analogy that comes to mind is smoking "resies" (tar) after you have run out of weed?

 

[lforrest]

i'm a big fan of food fasting for health, yes, but the lymph should be monitored, detox should be done also, and imo 40 day fasts are strictly for vanity, and very dangerous. Permanent kidney and other damage can result, which sounds like is already starting with the brown pee. Get some electrolytes today imo. Psychology, mental state, will tell one how toxified they are, almost always i think; they would be feeling pretty disagreeable, which i am not getting from the posts either.

When i detoxed from meth, a year or so after quitting, i didn't sleep for a week; so yes i would handle cases involving Rx diff too

Wanting a closer relationship with God can hardly be considered vanity.

 

[bbyrd009]

Wanting a closer relationship with God can hardly be considered vanity.

i certainly don't disagree, but imo those will not be pre-figuring "40 day" fast to begin with; imo that is str8 from the ego. (You) want a closer relationship, imo do some of the things Christ commanded His disciples to do that no one does, that cannot possibly be construed as vain. Drop your nets, leave your house, go to some other town, on foot, flat broke no extra clothes, no convos on the road, stay in one house, and eat what they feed you. See, no one is going to stroke you for that; you might even get arrested for it lol. Your family might seek to put you away, and your friends will all be talking about you...askance, almost surely

i don't know, i have gotten no Word here ok, but imo "40 day fast" is misconstrued Bible-bait.
There is some debate about exactly what "40" means in Scripture, Maximum Divine Discipline perhaps,
but then Jesus didn't ezackly need that, and Moses did it redux bc "the ppl had sinned?"

So i don't know what 40 means exactly, but i srsly doubt it is a coincidental #, at the very least

ppl die around the number 40, okay

 

[lforrest]

i certainly don't disagree, but imo those will not be pre-figuring "40 day" fast to begin with; imo that is str8 from the ego. (You) want a closer relationship, imo do some of the things Christ commanded His disciples to do that no one does, that cannot possibly be construed as vain. Drop your nets, leave your house, go to some other town, on foot, flat broke no extra clothes, no convos on the road, stay in one house, and eat what they feed you. See, no one is going to stroke you for that; you might even get arrested for it lol. Your family might seek to put you away, and your friends will all be talking about you...askance, almost surely

i don't know, i have gotten no Word here ok, but imo "40 day fast" is misconstrued Bible-bait.
There is some debate about exactly what "40" means in Scripture, Maximum Divine Discipline perhaps,
but then Jesus didn't ezackly need that, and Moses did it redux bc "the ppl had sinned?"

So i don't know what 40 means exactly, but i srsly doubt it is a coincidental #, at the very least

ppl die around the number 40, okay

Pre figuring a fast is the only way to do it. You don't want to put an onus on God to respond or you'll just keep going and going.

Missionary work isn't fasting, they do that too and also spend alone time with God.

Your friends may also think you're trying to kill yourself by not eating. So don't tell them.

Yea a 40 day fast without eating is extreme. There are degrees of fasting, any fleshy thing given up can be considered a fast. I did a juice fast once, totally worth it.

Set the restrictions from the beginning, to help you stay disciplined. Include any conditions for which the fast may be broken temporarily.

 

[bbyrd009]

Pre figuring a fast is the only way to do it.

i am seriously uncomfortable with this characterization.

in light of Moses' obviously impossible feat especially, i would suggest at least contemplating that something else is being said here, and "40 days" be considered a euphemism for some spiritual...trial or something, i really can't guess. Christ being hungry "after" and Moses apparently not being hungry at all, what is that. But "40 days" is simply too blatant to ignore imo. Along with the explanation about the diff in a physical v a spiritual fast?

 

[Philip James]

Well I am not an expert on medications. My wife is the one who usually diagnoses and I respect her greatly for it. She is better at it, in my opinion, than most doctors, although she never went to school for it and has no medical degree or license. Practicing medicine without a license is a against the law in this country, but for some doctors in my experience it should be against the law even though they do have a license. She does tell me when to eat or not and I also without studying it further trust her completely on it. She trusts me for what thus saith the Lord. This is perhaps why we are still married after 46 years: We trust each other.

As I am sitting here at my desk she brought me a plate of spaghetti and buttered French bread. I have every intention of eating it.

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

 

[Dcopymope]

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

Now if only this were the reality for a lot of men in marriage these days. "she brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life".......

..........................................................

 

[brakelite]

Wanting a closer relationship with God can hardly be considered vanity.

But isn't it something you want, and therefore selfish...as others have posted on this thread...fast to gain better, more, greater gifts...to receive answers to prayer...to be fulfilled etc etc. Not casting accusations here, but there is a fine line between seeking a better relationship but being motivated for HIS sake and not your own.
I think what fasting accomplishes is you are making yourself available. Setting aside the allurements of the flesh, (and these are not limited to appetite with regards food only) we become amenable to whatever God desires to accomplish in and through us. It is all about Him, Jesus Christ, and less of ourselves. As we surrender and empty ourselves of self, we are proportionally filled with Him.

 

[bbyrd009]

I have every intention of eating it.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

so, you can eat that bc we have embraced antidotes for our infirmities, but i can tell you with confidence that that diet will necessitate a doctor, and Rx, wadr

 

[lforrest]

But isn't it something you want, and therefore selfish...as others have posted on this thread...fast to gain better, more, greater gifts...to receive answers to prayer...to be fulfilled etc etc. Not casting accusations here, but there is a fine line between seeking a better relationship but being motivated for HIS sake and not your own.
I think what fasting accomplishes is you are making yourself available. Setting aside the allurements of the flesh, (and these are not limited to appetite with regards food only) we become amenable to whatever God desires to accomplish in and through us. It is all about Him, Jesus Christ, and less of ourselves. As we surrender and empty ourselves of self, we are proportionally filled with Him.

1 Corinthians 14:1

The evil of selfish desire had to derive from something good which was corrupted. I would consider this a good kind of desire and acceptable.

 

[amadeus]

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

so, you can eat that bc we have embraced antidotes for our infirmities, but i can tell you with confidence that that diet will necessitate a doctor, and Rx, wadr

Then comes the question as to who is that doctor and what is that prescription?

"When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Mark 2:17

Even though without a doubt I have made some mistakes in deciding how to best care for my body, at age 74 I am unlikely to make any substantial changes before I die. My doctors and my prescriptions in that respect are probably already for the most part already determined.

The thing that might change me on that is my walk with God. The latter in this case could cause me to change the former.