How to Crucify the flesh
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Brightmoon
Apes and humans are all in family Hominidae.
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Not sure what you meant in your survey but I don’t fast because I don’t come from a faith tradition that promotes that . I’m also a sensitive and we get a little unhinged if we’re hungry. I can’t even get on a city bus if my stomach is empty. I’ll get seasick ! I’ll get a cup of coffee first
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Sorry, Guys,
I have fixed the survey now. Yeah learning to prepare yourself for fasting is the key small changes getting ready for the big fast.
The benefits of fasting are endless not only for the body but also for the soul and spirit.
Brightmoon if you are struggling without coffee etc its because you are addicted to these things, just like someone on drugs on a cold turkey, try to cut back on caffeine drink plenty of water and do smaller fasts and work your way up to a proper fast.
I have fixed the survey now. Yeah learning to prepare yourself for fasting is the key small changes getting ready for the big fast.
The benefits of fasting are endless not only for the body but also for the soul and spirit.
Brightmoon if you are struggling without coffee etc its because you are addicted to these things, just like someone on drugs on a cold turkey, try to cut back on caffeine drink plenty of water and do smaller fasts and work your way up to a proper fast.
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Brightmoon
Apes and humans are all in family Hominidae.
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Oh I only get coffee because it’s inexpensive and readily available and I dislike Brand X tea. I need to put something in my stomach or I’ll get a headache and be nauseous. I’m not that addicted to caffeine and a muffin or donut is just as good. I don’t think fasts are good for me as I get anxiety attacks if I’m uncomfortable
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Yeah, I think you're riding off Sugars, sugar is like a drug! I bet you're always feeling tired and possibly lower back ache too??
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Brightmoon
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no I tend to burn off any sugar or carbs quickly as I am a dancer . Lower back ache only if I injure myself which I haven’t done yet( Thank God) .
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aiki
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I'm afraid the video entirely mistakes what it means to "crucify the flesh" and how such a thing is accomplished. The apostle Paul explained in many of his letters to the various churches that every believer is spiritually co-crucified with Christ and by this means their "old man" is put to death, that is, rendered powerless, on the cross of Calvary.
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Romans 6:6
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Galatians 5:24
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 6:14
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Colossians 3:2-3
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
In these verses, Paul makes it clear that the Christian is, by virtue of being saved, crucified with Christ. It is not something the Christian must do to himself; it is the work of Christ on the cross that is applied to the Christian at his (or her) conversion.
The idea, then, that fasting is the means whereby a person crucifies their flesh is a biblically-ignorant one. Paul explicitly criticized this method of spiritual living:
Colossians 2:23
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
The Christian dies to himself in his daily experience as he surrenders to God moment-by-moment through each day, and "reckons," or counts on, his already being crucified with Christ spiritually as a consequence of being saved and born again by God's Spirit. (Romans 6:1-18) Fasting is not required in this process at all. And no where in all of Scripture is fasting recommended as a means of crucifying the flesh. Instead, the Bible tells us that we "mortify" or put to death the deeds of the body by the power of Spirit. (Romans 8:13)
Also, since Christ instructs us to keep our fasting to ourselves (Matthew 6:16-18), I hold those who talk about their fasting as disobedient to Christ's command.
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Romans 6:6
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Galatians 5:24
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 6:14
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Colossians 3:2-3
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
In these verses, Paul makes it clear that the Christian is, by virtue of being saved, crucified with Christ. It is not something the Christian must do to himself; it is the work of Christ on the cross that is applied to the Christian at his (or her) conversion.
The idea, then, that fasting is the means whereby a person crucifies their flesh is a biblically-ignorant one. Paul explicitly criticized this method of spiritual living:
Colossians 2:23
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
The Christian dies to himself in his daily experience as he surrenders to God moment-by-moment through each day, and "reckons," or counts on, his already being crucified with Christ spiritually as a consequence of being saved and born again by God's Spirit. (Romans 6:1-18) Fasting is not required in this process at all. And no where in all of Scripture is fasting recommended as a means of crucifying the flesh. Instead, the Bible tells us that we "mortify" or put to death the deeds of the body by the power of Spirit. (Romans 8:13)
Also, since Christ instructs us to keep our fasting to ourselves (Matthew 6:16-18), I hold those who talk about their fasting as disobedient to Christ's command.
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I'm not saying Fasting is the only way to Crucify the flesh but it is a very powerful way and Jesus our Lord gave us a perfect example on how to crucify the flesh.
Mathew 6:16:18
16 “Moreover, hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, openly.
Jesus is saying when you fast! don't be like the hypocrites showing a face like they are fasting, when I was Muslim this is a classic example that many looked drained tired and played on it to show their fast. Teaching or sharing a video to encourage others to fast is not a problem.
Fasting is Biblical and really does humble and kill of the flesh, fasting and prayer are underestimated within the Church and a Christian way of life.
God bless you all and may we all follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Mathew 6:16:18
16 “Moreover, hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, openly.
Jesus is saying when you fast! don't be like the hypocrites showing a face like they are fasting, when I was Muslim this is a classic example that many looked drained tired and played on it to show their fast. Teaching or sharing a video to encourage others to fast is not a problem.
Fasting is Biblical and really does humble and kill of the flesh, fasting and prayer are underestimated within the Church and a Christian way of life.
God bless you all and may we all follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.
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aiki
Regular Member
Well, I don't know of any verse in the entire New Testament that says that crucifying the flesh is accomplished through fasting. Not one. As I pointed out, the Christian's flesh is crucified by spiritual means laid out in Romans 6. Fasting has its place, but not in putting to death the flesh and the source of all our sin which is Self. As the apostle Paul wrote,
Colossians 2:23
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Here Paul says very plainly that neglecting the body (ie. fasting) is of no value against indulging the impulses of one's flesh. Instead, a Christian crucifies their flesh in their living first by knowing that they are, in Christ, already dead to sin and then by counting on it being so when they face fleshly temptation.
Right. But what Jesus doesn't say is that fasting is a way to put to death one's flesh. No writer of the New Testament says such a thing.
Yes, fasting is biblical. But it has nothing to do with how one lives a crucified life, a life in which one is "dead to sin but alive unto God." Such a life is obtained by Christ on our behalf and we live out what he has done for us by faith in our crucified position spiritually in him. This is how the Bible says we crucify the flesh.
Thank you. May God bless you, too!
How does one die to one's self? Is there any verse in all of the New Testament where we are told that fasting is the way to do so? No. Instead, we take up our cross in denial of ourselves by surrendering moment-by-moment to God's will and way (Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1; James 4:7: 1 Peter 5:6) and by faith "reckoning" ourselves to be dead unto sin, as the Bible says we are (Romans 6:11).
Any Christian who says they are not dead to sin shows in saying so that they don't understand their own spiritual position in Christ. The Christian life is the process whereby a Christian's spiritual position in Christ is increasingly manifested in their daily condition (or everyday experience). But the Christian must be co-crucified with Christ before they can live out this spiritual reality practically. This process doesn't work in reverse. An apple tree doesn't produce apples in order to be an apple tree. It produces apples only because it is already an apple tree. So, too, the Christian who is dying to himself. He does so successfully only because he is already dead to sin.
In any case, I'm not trying to put people off fasting. It's an important spiritual practice. But it is not the way to crucify one's flesh.
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- May 19, 2018
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Lent is fast approaching so a good time for a 40 day fast of some kind.
I love my food so it will be very hard but, it should be done as an offering to God.
I love my food so it will be very hard but, it should be done as an offering to God.
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