THE LOST CHILDREN OF GOD

Introduction

Before I begin this devotion, I want to make a special point of giving God the glory for it (and for the others as well). In writing these devotions—this one in particular—I have really felt guided by God. He used a television program to drop several Bible verses in my lap that I probably wouldn't have considered on my own. And He has given me some new insights—not new to everyone, but certainly new to me. Over and over again this week I have repeatedly run across many of the same Bible verses that I had already begun to work into this week's devotion. Having already completed a draft of the devotion by Saturday evening (June 26th), I then ran across some of the same “new insights” in a book I purchased on Sunday (June 27th). Though I must take credit for any errors, the point of all of this is simply to let you know that any good you receive from this devotion is not from me, but rather from God. “To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

ccc Last week, we focused on our heavenly Father. This week I want to focus on His children. Generally speaking, there are two ways to become someone's child. You can be a child by birth or you can become a child through the process of adoption. This week I want to talk about the first of these two possibilities (being a child by birth) in order to set us up to talk about the second possibility (adoption) next week.

ccc Let me begin by reminding you of the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were brothers—they were twins in fact. Esau was born first with his brother Jacob clinging to his heel (Genesis 25:26). Genesis 25:29-34 tells us the following story: “Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' ...Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.”

Children by Birth

A birthright is something we are entitled to by birth. (For example, when a baby is born in the U.S.A., they are citizens by birth.) Adam and Eve were not “born” in the same way that you and I were. They didn't have any earthly parents. Instead, God Himself was their father. Because God was their father, their birthright consisted of the things given to them by God—both their present gifts and their inheritance. By birth (creation), they were children of God. Their status as God's children was a part of their birthright. In addition, God gave them authority over the earth (Genesis 1:28-30) and the right to eat from the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:16). But, in the same way that earthly parents set boundaries in order to keep their children safe, so also God sets boundaries for us. God's boundary for Adam and Eve came in the form of a command and a warning (Genesis 2:17): “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

ccc Many people would criticize God for putting this dangerous tree in the Garden of Eden, but I believe it was necessary. You see, God wanted us to have free will. He didn't want us to be robots, programmed to do His will, but rather people with the freedom to chose. Because of the presence of the tree and God's command not to eat of it, Adam and Eve had the option of disobeying God. Without options, we have no choices to make and there is no free will. Without options, we are slaves by virtue of the fact that our circumstances are fixed and we do not have it in our power to change them.

ccc Anyone who relates to other people should understand this concept of choice. When you love someone, you want to be with them and you want them to love you back. But you don't want them to be with you because they have no other choice. Nor would you want to force them to be with you. But what if you could give them a love potion to make them love you? No, even that would take away the sweetness of love. Love does not enslave people, it sets them free—free to make their own choices. In the same way, God loved us so much that—in spite of the mistakes He knew we would make—He gave us the freedom to choose for ourselves whether or not to give our love to Him in return. In many cases, God's story is a story of unrequited love. It's a story of how He so loved the world (John 3:16), but how the people of that world have rejected Him time and time again.

The Land of the Lost [Children]

There is an analogy to be made between what happened in the Garden of Eden and what happened between Jacob and Esau. Just as Jacob tricked his older brother Esau into selling him his birthright (Genesis 25:29-33), so also the devil tricked Adam and Eve into disobeying God. They essentially did what Paul describes in the following verse: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). The created thing that they served was first of all themselves. Satan's false promise to Adam and Eve was “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). By eating of the tree, Adam and Eve sought to serve themselves by elevating their position. But Satan's “promise” was far from the truth. Humanity was much more like God before the fall. The second created thing that Adam and Eve served was the serpent—Satan. They believed his lie and acted upon it, just as we Christians are to believe the truth of God's gospel and act upon that (James 2:17, Titus 1:16). In acting upon the lie, Adam and Eve made themselves obedient to Satan. Essentially, in that one act, Adam and Eve—like Esau—sold their birthright to Satan for a meal (Genesis 3:6).

ccc By rebelling against God, Adam and Eve inadvertently gave up their God-given rights. They lost their status as children of God and, through their sin of disobedience, they gave Satan a new foothold over humanity (Ephesians 4:27). On that day, they also lost their right to eternal life (Genesis 3:22). In one day, humanity's great inheritance was lost. Therefore, although God created all people, we are no longer His children by birth. Adam and Eve's birthright came from God, but our birthright comes from Adam and Eve. Through them, we are born into slavery. But, unlike the Israelites' physical slavery in Egypt, ours is a slavery to sin. Through Adam and Eve we have inherited a world of sin and a life plagued by the power and influence of the devil.

ccc In spite of the rotten inheritance that Adam and Eve left for us, we still have a choice. Because of Adam and Eve's sin—and the authority that Satan gained over the world through that sin—perfection is no longer attainable (1 John 1:8). However, we can still chose who we want to obey (see Romans 1:5, 6:16). The Bible makes it clear that there are two options: obedience to God or obedience to the devil (Romans 6:16, James 4:7). There are two fathers: the Father of truth (Psalm 31:5, John 14:6, 16:13, 17:17) and the father of lies (John 8:44). There are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:12-13)... Truth or lies, light or darkness, sons or slaves, life or death...

Two Fathers—Two Kingdoms

When Jesus was being tempted, the devil “led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to [Jesus], 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to'” (Luke 4:5-6). In this passage, the devil is claiming authority over the earth. Jesus Himself confirms this reality by referring to Satan as “the prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) and by making reference to Satan's kingdom (Matthew 12:26, Luke 11:18). Within this kingdom Satan has power over all those who have been made subject to him. As 1 John 5:19 says, “We know that... the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” And in Ephesians 2:2 we read that “the ways of this world” are governed by “the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient [to God].” So we see that Satan's kingdom is a worldly kingdom—a kingdom that has power over those who are disobedient to God.

ccc After Jesus was arrested, He was interviewed by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. John 18:33-37 reveals a conversation that took place between them regarding Jesus' kingdom: “Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'Is that your own idea,' Jesus asked, 'or did others talk to you about me?' 'Am I a Jew?' Pilate replied. 'It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?' Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'” So we see that Jesus' kingdom—also referred to as the “kingdom of God” (e.g., Mark 1:14-15)—is “not of this world.” Instead, it is—at present—a heavenly kingdom (e.g., Matthew 4:17, 6:9-10). And yet this kingdom is coming to earth right now through those who live in obedience to God's will (Matthew 6:10). We also see that Jesus' kingdom stands for truth. In contrast, the enemy's kingdom is based upon lies. This is what Jesus is talking about in John 8:43-47:

“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

These may seem like harsh words, but Jesus is simply expressing the true nature of things. “Why is my language not clear to you? ...If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?” Jesus poses these questions in order to explain to the people the truth of their reality. And this is the truth: Because of our fallen state (Romans 3:23), we belonged to the devil and were, therefore, unable to accept the truth on our own. We have been deluded by Satan's lies. As 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Captives of the kingdom of darkness

In 2 Timothy 2:26, Paul indicates that Satan's kingdom is like a trap. Those belonging to this kingdom have been taken captive to do Satan's will and are therefore enslaved by him. This is what Jesus means in John 8:34-36 when He says, “...everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Paul adds an extra dimension to this concept in Romans 6:16: “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” What does Paul mean in saying that you “are slaves to the one whom you obey?” Whom do we obey when we sin? Satan. Whom do we obey when we do what is right? God! We are slaves to the one whom we obey.

ccc There is, I believe, a basic principle in this passage. Sin is submission to Satan and disobedience towards God. When we sin, we make ourselves subject to Satan's will. In other words, by our sinful actions, we show ourselves to be subjects of the “prince of this world” (e.g., John 12:31) and slaves of his “dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). This is why sin is so damaging to the Christian life. Through sin, we are showing Satan—rather than Jesus—to be our true master because, as the Scripture says, we are slaves to the one whom we obey. Although we (as Christians) claim Christ as our Lord, Master, and King, when we sin, we are essentially handing the reins of our life over to Satan and giving him the authority to once again reign over our lives! Our sins give Satan renewed influence over us. This is why in Ephesians 4:27 Paul warns the believers: “...do not give the devil a foothold.” What is a foothold? It is something for Satan to stand on as he accuses us (Zechariah 3:1, Revelation 12:10). Our sins give Satan a foothold! The title of this section is “captives of the kingdom of darkness.” This is what we would be without God's intervention.

Final Thoughts

Let me be clear. What I have said in this devotion is only part of the story. My purpose in writing it is (1) to help you understand why we are no longer God's children by birth and (2) to set the stage for next week's devotion. It is also important to recognize that the loss of our status as God's children was not because of anything God did, but rather, it was the result of our own rebellion against Him. As I have tried to show in this devotion, sin is not only rebellion against God but also submission to the devil. As such, our rebellion against God has given Satan the authority to rule over our lives. Make no mistake! There are two kingdoms, and we all belong to one or the other. We either submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7) or we submit to the devil and resist God. One of these kingdoms is ruled by a King of love, life, truth, and peace (Jesus). The other kingdom is ruled by a tyrant who represents hate, death, lies, and torment (Satan). Understanding the helplessness of our situation gives us an appreciation for what God has done for us. And this is what He has done (Colossians 1:12-13): (1) He “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” and (2) He “has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” This is what we will talk about in next week's devotion.

THE HEART OF A FATHER

Introduction

There are many titles we could use to describe God—Creator, Savior, Comforter, King, etc—but this week I want to consider God's role as our “Father.” Not only did God create us and, figuratively speaking, give birth to us, but also He is our Father (Deuteronomy 32:6). What does it mean to be a father? To be a father is to have a child, to care for a child (Deuteronomy 32:10), to raise a child (Isaiah 46:3)—if necessary, to discipline a child (Hebrews 12:5-6). It is to provide for your child (Nehemiah 9:19-21), to sacrifice for your child (1 John 4:9-10), to experience your child's heartaches and wipe the tears from their eyes (Isaiah 25:8). To be a father is to delight in your child and to rejoice over them (Zephaniah 3:17). And sometimes, to be a father is to endure a broken heart. Your child may rebel (Isaiah 1:2)... They may despise and reject you (Isaiah 1:4)... They may run away from home (Luke 15:11-13)... But, to be a father—to be a parent, really—is to pour your love out onto your child, regardless of whether or not they love you back. I hope in this week's devotion you will marvel at how God has the heart of a Father—that He loves us unconditionally and that, like any good Father, He only wants the best for us.

Foreknowledge

I can only imagine the emotion of the father of an unborn child. All the hopes and expectations rolled up into some very big questions: “Who is my child going to grow up to be? What is he or she going to be like? Will they disappoint me? Will I disappoint them? Will they love me? Will I love them?” Even though the father may fall instantly in love with his child the moment they are born, still he cannot say, “I chose you.” This is why, no matter how great our human fathers may be, God's love for us is always better. Why? Because God, knowing who we would be and all the mistakes we would make, still chose to make us. As Psalm 139:13-16 says: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb... My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

ccc God did not use an assembly line to create you. You were hand-crafted, uniquely and individually shaped in the hands of the Potter. You are a custom piece that God was delighted to make. There is no one else quite like you, and you can be sure that God wanted you, individually, to be born. The same thing cannot be said of our earthly fathers—as wonderful as they may be. So, what is the difference between our earthly father and our heavenly Father? In a word—foreknowledge. For each one of you, God can say, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).

God's Fatherly Qualities

I titled this section “God's Fatherly Qualities.” But really I should call it “a fathers' godly qualities,” because God does not take after fathers, but rather, fathers take after God. The Bible says that we are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27)—not vice versa. It also says that we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). In the same way, all of the good qualities that we see in our earthly fathers are qualities that come from God. Our heavenly Father is the perfect picture of what a father should be.

ccc Hosea 11:1-9 provides us with a beautiful picture of how God feels about His children (in this example, Ephraim and Israel): “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms... I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them... How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? ...My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused... I will not come in wrath.” I hear, in this passage, a deep longing. I sense how God's heart aches for His rebellious children. Not only have they gotten in with the wrong crowd and put themselves in harm's way, but also they have forsaken their Father... their Father, who raised them from birth, who gave them His love, who taught them to walk, and stooped over to feed them.

ccc Several times in Scripture we hear that God “will never leave... nor forsake” His children (e.g., Deuteronomy 31:6). There are few things a father wouldn't do to help his child. A father would jump into a raging river to save his drowning child. And if his child were lost, he would stop at nothing to find them. The story that I am going to share with you is not quite so dramatic, but I think it illustrates my point. When I was in High School, I decided to get involved in caving. (Some people are more familiar with the term “spelunking.”) Being the impulsive young adult that I was, I wrote to all of the caving groups in my home state of Illinois (and even a few in some of the surrounding states as well). Receiving a good response from one of the groups in particular, I decided to become a member. The meetings for this group were held on Friday evenings. Unable to drive myself at the time, my dad drove me to the meetings so I could pursue my passion for the underground. (Did I mention that the meeting place was 2 hours from home one way?) I quickly started going on caving trips, but I was still underage. As a result, the leaders of the cave trips required my father to come with me. He did.

ccc Of all the caves I dragged my father into, perhaps the one most worthy of mention is “Wayne's Cave.” Although the first little stretch of the cave is fairly mild, it quickly reaches an apparent dead-end. The astute caver, however, would probably notice the small hula-hoop-sized opening at foot level. The only way to continue on into the rest of the cave is through that opening... so my dad got down on his hands and knees—and at times on his belly—to navigate his way through “the crawlway” towards the more open cave passages on the other side. The length of the crawlway is 1500 feet—that is to say, all crawling and no standing for 1500 feet. At the tightest point of the crawlway, your belly touches the floor, your back touches the ceiling, and—at least with the typical caving helmet on—you have to decide which wall (right or left) you would like your head to face as you squeeze through on your belly. In total, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour of crawling—30 minutes if you're in good shape—just to get yourself through the crawlway. One way in... one way out. And it always took longer once you had worn yourself out. It certainly wasn't something my father would've chosen to do on his own. But out of love for me, he got down on his hands and knees—and even on his belly—and made his way through that cold and mucky stone-encased crawlway.

ccc This story of my father's love for me is a picture of God's love for humanity. The Bible says that “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). We have rebelled against our heavenly Father (Isaiah 1:2). We have run away from home. We—like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24)—have spent our inheritance of eternal life on worthless things and have gotten ourselves stuck in the crawlway of our own muck and sin. No more inheritance—no more eternal life. But God said of us, “How can I give you up? How can I hand you over to death?” And so God came down to earth, joining us in our mucky crawlway, just as the Bible says (John 1:1,14): “The Word”—who also “was God” (verse 1)—“became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (verse 14). God the Son took on flesh and died that He might redeem us from the entrapment of our sin: “For God [the Father] so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son”—God the Son—“that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God did not abandon us to our fate. As He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Final Thoughts

This week, I hope you will join me in giving thanks to God for your earthly fathers and all of their God-given qualities. Not only that, but I hope you will also be thankful that God Himself is your father—He is a father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5-6). Please know that God holds you close to His heart (Isaiah 40:11) and cares for you deeply. For those whose earthly fathers have passed away, may God give you comfort in His unfailing promises (Isaiah 46:4): “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Happy Father's Day!

GOD'S CHOSEN FAST

Introduction

This week, we continue our biblical investigation of fasting by looking at a unique passage of Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-7. Before you continue reading, I highly recommend that you read Isaiah 58 through in its entirety. In this week's devotion, we will examine the first half of this chapter (verses 1-7), which is most relevant to our topic. For the purpose of this devotion, I have divided this section of Scripture into two parts. The first part, Isaiah 58:1-5, is a description of faulty fasting. The second part, Isaiah 58:6-7, is God's description of true fasting. Although we are not going to consider the last half of the chapter in this devotion (Isaiah 58:8-14), it describes the benefits of obedience.

Isaiah 58:1-5: (1) Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. (2) For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. (3) 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. (4) Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. (5) Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

Faulty Fasting

Isaiah chapters 40-66 are prophetic writings that foretell the exile of the Israelites by the Babylonians. Presumably this is the context for their fasting—they were seeking deliverance from God. Yet in spite of their fasting, God was silent to their cries. Why? “For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.” The Israelites' sins had separated them from God (Isaiah 59:2). They claimed to know God, but by their actions they were denying Him (cf., Titus 1:16). If they had really known God, they would have known God's commands, and they would have, therefore, recognized the error of their ways: “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Instead of recognizing what God was asking of them, they were fixated on their own desires—what they were asking of God: “They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.” Having forsaken God's commands and having therefore rebelled against God Himself, the Israelites were in no position to ask God for anything. To give an analogy, what they did was like quitting your job and then asking your ex-boss for a raise. It makes no sense. Before fasting “for just decisions”, the Israelites needed first to turn to God in repentance. Before asking for God's blessings, they needed to stop being rebellious.

ccc The Israelites' response to God's silence expresses their indignation: “Why have we fasted... and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” Although outwardly the Israelites appeared to be people of God (through their sacrifices, their prayers, and their observance of the various fasts and festivals), all of their religious activities were only a pretense. They were not really seeking God Himself, they were seeking relief from their troubles. They wanted the benefits of God without the relationship—without the obedience. Their seeking was a selfish seeking. They were idolaters, because their hearts were not set on God. As Martin Luther has said (in his Large Catechism), “...whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god.” Describing the Israelites, God said, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13).

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This heartless form of religion was also a problem in Jesus' day. To the Jewish leaders He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:23-27). Jesus has harsh words for those whose seeking of God—and, therefore, of Him!—is only pretense.

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The Israelites had asked, “Why have we fasted... and you have not seen it?” Although God had indeed seen the Israelites' fasting, He certainly didn't approve. In the second part of verse 3, God gives His rebuttal: “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.” Even as other nations had oppressed them, they were disobeying God by oppressing one another. The Israelites' fasting—indeed, their whole “religion”—was faulty. God speaks against this kind of religion in Jeremiah 7:9-10 when He says, “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, 'We are safe'—safe to do all these detestable things?” In these verses, God is saying that if we live of a life of sin, we cannot continue to come before Him with our sacrifices, expecting to be rewarded. Isaiah 1:11-13 expresses God's view of all such sacrifices: “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me? ...I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings!...” The Israelites' religion was faulty because God was no longer at the heart of it. Their religion consisted only of empty rituals.

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And so God asks, “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?” This is a question for us as well. Is it only a day that God is asking for—one day of fasting, one day of worship, one day of sacrifice? Is He not asking for our entire life? And is it only outward religion that God is asking for—“for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes”? Is He not asking for our entire self—heart, soul, mind, and strength? Are we not “to offer [our] bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” as a “spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1)? From these passages we see that fasting is not something that is done in isolation from the rest of our lives. We can't use fasting as a way of making up for a sinful lifestyle, nor should we think that God will disregard our sinful lifestyle just because we have “humbled” ourselves with fasting. Clearly there is much more to fasting than abstaining from food. This brings us to the next section of Scripture that we will consider:

Isaiah 58:6-7: (6) Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (7) Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

True Fasting

In Isaiah 58:6-7, God asks two rhetorical questions. One thing we must consider is whether or not this is a stand-alone passage that we can use as a definition for true fasting. To consider this, let me pose a question: If we do all of the things described in this passage, and nothing else, are our lives pleasing to God—are we fasting? Since biblical fasting is fasting for God (Zechariah 7:5), the answer to my question must be “No.” A person can do all of these good things and still fail to acknowledge God. What God really asks of us is “...to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees...” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). And all of these commands are summarized in Jesus' statement to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-40). And when Jesus says that “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” He means to say that if you obey these two commands, all the others will follow.

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More than anything else, the rhetorical questions in Isaiah 58:6-7 suggest that these things in particular—loosing the chains of injustice, sharing food with the hungry, etc—were commands from God that the Israelites had failed to obey (e.g., Exodus 23:9, Deuteronomy 15:7-8). In these questions, God was speaking to the spiritual deficit of the current generation of Israelites. Reading between the lines, I can start to make out the multifaceted thoughts and intentions that God was (and is) communicating through this passage: (1) God didn't approve of the way the Israelites were treating one another, so it's as if He's saying to them, “Woe to you, you hypocrites! You seek Me with fasting, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (cf., Matthew 23:23). (2) God was also frustrated by how quickly the Israelites had forgotten and strayed from His commands. Through these verses He says, “Don't you remember what I've been telling you all along? That I want you to love Me above all else? And to love your neighbor as yourself?” (cf., Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18). (3) I also hear within God's questions a warning that says, “Abstain from your sins and your excesses! Stop taking advantage of others, and start standing up for the needs of your fellow man! Take an interest in the poor and the homeless! Don't you realize that to love Me is to love all of them as well?” Surely this is what Jesus meant when He said, “whatever you [do] for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you [do] for me” (Matthew 25:40).

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Isaiah 58:6-7 is God's plea to the Israelites of Isaiah's day to reform their ways—to give up their empty religious practices and to seek Him with their whole heart. God wanted them to exchange their false religion—devoid of love—for a relationship with Him. This is still what God wants from us today: to respect and trust Him, to walk in His ways, to obey His commands, and—most importantly—to love Him with all of our being. It is only when we do these things that our fasting (and other religious practices) can have any meaning.

Conclusion

In the last few devotions, we've scratched the surface of biblical fasting. It was not my intention to provide a detailed explanation for how to fast, nor was it my intention to provide a comprehensive description of Bible passages dealing with fasting. Instead, I have simply tried to answer a few basic questions: (1) Is fasting relevant for Christians today? Is it something we should even consider? (Yes.) (2) What is the purpose or significance of fasting? (It is not just an empty ritual, but an attitude of humility and total dependence on God.) (3) What are some reasons for fasting? (Mourning, Repentance, More focused prayer.) (4) Is there a wrong way to fast? (Yes! Mindless and hypocritical fasting are unacceptable to God.) The conclusion? Seeking God wholeheartedly is more important than any other thing we can do. Although fasting is an appropriate method for seeking God, it must be sincere.

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In light of this week's Scripture, I encourage you to fast from your indifference. Consider the poor, the homeless, and the oppressed around the world and take a moment to pray for them. Take the time to find out more about the persecution, poverty, and injustice that is taking place in the world right now. Request a free copy of the book "Tortured for Christ" to learn more about persecution. Browse the websites already listed or read “The Hole in Our Gospel” (by Richard Stearns) to learn more about how to get involved. Just remember that Jesus has commanded you to “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).