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God has made humans in his image.
And the body is a temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Which is a good reason not to have sex with temple prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:15-20). It has nothing to do with diet and exercise.
Diet and exercise are good for the health of the body, so as a matter of practical wisdom eating healthy, regular exercise, etc is a good idea. It has nothing to do with holiness or righteousness though.
-CryptoLutheran
If God made the human body in his image, which makes it holy.
Yay! (assuming you wanted to lose weight! lol)I was on a no meat fast until easter[ I started before lent actually]. No chicken, beef, or pork. Sort of sucked, but I felt a significant change on the spiritual. I also lost like 30 pounds, but that might have been because I simultaneously began to exercise. Ironically, I still eat like I am on the fast out of habit now, but replaced fish with chicken every now and then.
Men of God throughout the OT and NT alike have fasted for various reasons.Is it true that if you really want to get close to God you must fast? Does fasting somehow bring you closer to God?
It doesn't make the act of diet and exercise any more holy than eating a pizza, however.
-CryptoLutheran
Jesus Christ had a 40 day/night fast and probably didn't pig out on jewish junkfood right afterward. LOL
He probably made sure his body was not flabby the whole time he was alive in the flesh, since he was always walking
Fasting, when done properly under the guidance of a spiritual father or mentor, can bring one closer to God. The question, therefore, is how one fasts.Is it true that if you really want to get close to God you must fast? Does fasting somehow bring you closer to God?
I completed a 40 day fast in March. I consumed only water, some salt, an occasional carbonated water, bullion to cleanse the digestive tract, and an apple cider concoction. Let me start by stating that I do not recommend a fast like this unless you are specifically directed by God, but then again we shouldn't be doing anything outside of God's direction anyway. However, God revealed this fast to me in prayer not as a directive, but a step He welcomed me to take. I asked Him in a previous fast if He would allow me to see demons so that I could cast them out. He told me that it would cost me 40 days, which concerned me. After a week or so, I told Him that I could do it, so He told me that I also could never drink another drop of alcohol. This also concerned me, and to a greater degree. I like beer and wine. However, I like God more, so I embarked on my 40 day fast.
I experienced weight loss of almost 40 pounds, having only started at 187. The only reason I weighed that little was because I had already fasted a few weeks previously. I spent a great amount of time without physical energy, freezing cold, and getting rid of everything in my life that distracted me from Him. I no longer play online video games, watch television or movies, listen to secular music, read secular books, or indulge in other secular entertainment. I also married my wife on day 9, which made for a very nonexistent honeymoon. On day 30 I experienced horrible nausea that would not go away until I realized the cause a week later. I'll discuss that below. On day 38 I felt true hunger, which is a constriction of the throat. I started drinking juices and was able to have my first real meal on the night of day 40. Two days later I was eating normally, but still experiencing a bit of difficulty swallowing. Less than three months later I now weigh 187, but my body fat has not increased much. I have all my strength back and more because I went straight to the gym afterward. To look at me now you wouldn't guess that I fast at all, ever.
I could detail the miracles and revelations I experienced throughout this period, but that would make a very long post. Suffice it to say that God, through my surrender, found a great deal of room to do His work that He wouldn't normally have had. Fasting revealed sins I didn't realize I needed to acknowledge. The nausea I mentioned earlier did not go away until I felt prodded to cast out demons. So I did. I immediately felt better for a few seconds. So I did it again and felt better again for a few seconds. Come to find out they keep coming back until you establish some holy real estate. Sometimes you can't even make them go away without renouncing a devotion you have made to a particular sin. Mine was vanity. When I got sick of not being able to sleep I asked God to give me rest from the sensitivity. After that I only felt it when I had put myself in situations involving overwhelming demon presence, which is common in the town of Washington, D.C.
At the end of the fast I planned to pray with my ex-wife for God's Great Revival. We had a big fight over money instead. I ran back to God for Him to fix it so that my visit with my kids wouldn't be ruined. When I drove the kids back I had an interaction with their mother that had never been possible before. God showed me how He sees her, as a vulnerable, loving mother or my children. I never loved her like that during our marriage. She and I continue to have respectful co-parenting dialogue in the best interests of our love for God and our children. I no longer feel the nausea. Instead of showing me demons, God showed me the true power behind the gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as Evangelism. Without love it's all meaningless. As long as there is one person on Earth you wouldn't willingly and happily share eternity with you will remain stagnant in your spiritual growth.
Jesus said not IF you fast, but WHEN. My fast and fasts in general are for the purpose of breaking earthly ties so that you can focus on what God wants. Fasts make room for God to do work that would require His competition in areas without the fast in place. A year ago I would have told you that fasting is nonsense and unnecessary. My advice is to disregard advice about fasting from anyone who hasn't done one, much as I ignored the me that existed a year ago. Fasting is an atomic bomb for your prayer life. It directs your focus on what God wants instead of what you want and opens your eyes and ears to whatever that Will is that should be number one in your life. If anyone wants to hear more, please message me. My directive is to spread the message He gave to me in the very manner befitting of His Holy Spirit.
God's Blessings upon you in His unfathomable Love.
Not phenomenologically.He is already as close as could be.
I completed a 40 day fast in March. I consumed only water, some salt, an occasional carbonated water, bullion to cleanse the digestive tract, and an apple cider concoction. Let me start by stating that I do not recommend a fast like this unless you are specifically directed by God, but then again we shouldn't be doing anything outside of God's direction anyway. However, God revealed this fast to me in prayer not as a directive, but a step He welcomed me to take. I asked Him in a previous fast if He would allow me to see demons so that I could cast them out. He told me that it would cost me 40 days, which concerned me. After a week or so, I told Him that I could do it, so He told me that I also could never drink another drop of alcohol. This also concerned me, and to a greater degree. I like beer and wine. However, I like God more, so I embarked on my 40 day fast.
I experienced weight loss of almost 40 pounds, having only started at 187. The only reason I weighed that little was because I had already fasted a few weeks previously. I spent a great amount of time without physical energy, freezing cold, and getting rid of everything in my life that distracted me from Him. I no longer play online video games, watch television or movies, listen to secular music, read secular books, or indulge in other secular entertainment. I also married my wife on day 9, which made for a very nonexistent honeymoon. On day 30 I experienced horrible nausea that would not go away until I realized the cause a week later. I'll discuss that below. On day 38 I felt true hunger, which is a constriction of the throat. I started drinking juices and was able to have my first real meal on the night of day 40. Two days later I was eating normally, but still experiencing a bit of difficulty swallowing. Less than three months later I now weigh 187, but my body fat has not increased much. I have all my strength back and more because I went straight to the gym afterward. To look at me now you wouldn't guess that I fast at all, ever.
I could detail the miracles and revelations I experienced throughout this period, but that would make a very long post. Suffice it to say that God, through my surrender, found a great deal of room to do His work that He wouldn't normally have had. Fasting revealed sins I didn't realize I needed to acknowledge. The nausea I mentioned earlier did not go away until I felt prodded to cast out demons. So I did. I immediately felt better for a few seconds. So I did it again and felt better again for a few seconds. Come to find out they keep coming back until you establish some holy real estate. Sometimes you can't even make them go away without renouncing a devotion you have made to a particular sin. Mine was vanity. When I got sick of not being able to sleep I asked God to give me rest from the sensitivity. After that I only felt it when I had put myself in situations involving overwhelming demon presence, which is common in the town of Washington, D.C.
At the end of the fast I planned to pray with my ex-wife for God's Great Revival. We had a big fight over money instead. I ran back to God for Him to fix it so that my visit with my kids wouldn't be ruined. When I drove the kids back I had an interaction with their mother that had never been possible before. God showed me how He sees her, as a vulnerable, loving mother or my children. I never loved her like that during our marriage. She and I continue to have respectful co-parenting dialogue in the best interests of our love for God and our children. I no longer feel the nausea. Instead of showing me demons, God showed me the true power behind the gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as Evangelism. Without love it's all meaningless. As long as there is one person on Earth you wouldn't willingly and happily share eternity with you will remain stagnant in your spiritual growth.
Jesus said not IF you fast, but WHEN. My fast and fasts in general are for the purpose of breaking earthly ties so that you can focus on what God wants. Fasts make room for God to do work that would require His competition in areas without the fast in place. A year ago I would have told you that fasting is nonsense and unnecessary. My advice is to disregard advice about fasting from anyone who hasn't done one, much as I ignored the me that existed a year ago. Fasting is an atomic bomb for your prayer life. It directs your focus on what God wants instead of what you want and opens your eyes and ears to whatever that Will is that should be number one in your life. If anyone wants to hear more, please message me. My directive is to spread the message He gave to me in the very manner befitting of His Holy Spirit.
God's Blessings upon you in His unfathomable Love.
Is it true that if you really want to get close to God you must fast? Does fasting somehow bring you closer to God?
Something I say whenever the subject of long fasts comes up. I would add "clearly" directed by God, too. And if the context is appropriate, "if health permits."... Let me start by stating that I do not recommend a fast like this unless you are specifically directed by God, ...
and his implication that "specifically directed by God" applied in this case.... However, God revealed this fast to me in prayer not as a directive, but a step He welcomed me to take. ...
Was it paganism when Jesus did it?I'm almost speechless. Your post is quite shocking. What you've described is not Christianity. It's paganism. You did a "rain dance" to make god give you what you wanted.
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