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Isaiah 58
The true fast
58 Cry out loud, do not stop; raise your voice like a trumpet, and announce to my people their rebellion, and to the house of Jacob their sin.
2 Who seek me every day, and want to know my ways, as people who would have done justice, and who would not have left the law of their God; They ask me for fair trials, and they want to get closer to God.
3 Why, they say, did we fast, and you ignored it; We humble our souls, and did you not understand? Behold, on the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, for strife and debate you fast and to strike with the fist wickedly; do not fast like today, so that your voice is heard on high.
5 Is such a fast as I have chosen, that by day a man afflicts his soul, that he bows his head like a reed, and makes a bed of sackcloth and ash? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to Jehovah?
6 Is it not rather the fast that I have chosen, to untie the bonds of wickedness, to release the burdens of oppression, and to let the broken go free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not that you break your bread with the hungry, and the wandering poor in shelters at home; that when you see the naked, you cover it, and do not hide from your brother?
8 Then your light will be born like dawn, and your salvation will be revealed soon; and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will hear you; You will cry out, and he will say: Here I am. If you would remove from the middle of you the yoke, the threatening finger, and the speaking of vanity;
10 And if you give your bread to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, in the darkness your light will be born, and your darkness will be like noon.
11 Jehovah will shepherd you always, and in droughts he will satisfy your soul, and he will strengthen your bones; And you will be like a garden for irrigation, and like a spring of waters, whose waters are never lacking.
12 And yours will build the ancient ruins; you will build the foundations of generation and generation, and you will be called repairer of gates, restorer of roads to inhabit.

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Here is the part of the story that many religious and legalists do not like to preach, but it is one of my favorites, the fact is that there are so many people worried about fasting, vigils, not because they think of being better but because they think that That way they can choose or pay for the favor of God. It has taken me a lot of time and processes, experience with God to know that everything is by his grace and mercy, we will never be able to pay the sacrifice of his love, although doing fasting and vigil It is not something that this evil, sometimes it is necessary to intercede to look for answers and to have communion, let's analyze a little what the word tells us in Isaiah 58.

It is a powerful word that God is speaking through the prophet, he does not want sacrifice but obedience, we cannot think that by fasting God will accept us, what God does not reject is a contrite and humiliated heart, because humility is part of its nature, sometimes when I have been going through situations, there are many brothers who have told me Darlenys, start a fast of 3 days for the Lord to speak to you or reveal such a thing, or give you a way out, my spirit knows who our God is He who is slow to anger and great in mercy, today I want you to understand that the righteous man will look at the face of the Lord, we are saved by that unmerited favor that is his grace.

The true fast is that of the heart, that of love, you cannot stop eating and then see your brother, enter into strife, I love this word of God, it is not religious formalities that the Lord wishes, "Is it not that you share your bread with the hungry, that to the poor wandering shelters at home, that when you see the naked you cover it and that you do not hide from your brother? "

SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS…


1.- Don't go ahead and fast just because it sounds like something that is "a very good thing to do"
a.-Take matters seriously and piously
b- Fast only on serious occasions
c.- An occasion in which I desperately want God's help

2.-If you have never fasted ...

a.-Start slowly, fast only for brief periods of time
b.-End slowly, gradually breaking your fast with fresh fruits and vegetables in small amounts

3.- Fast when you have time to devote yourself to godly meditation
a.- Remember the purpose of fasting
b.- Humble himself in the sight of God; seek a favorable response to an important request

“When you fast, do not be austere, like the hypocrites; because they change their faces to show men that they fast; I swear you that the have already got their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so as not to show men that you fast, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public ”.
Matthew 6: 16-18

How much we need a personal relationship with Christ!

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WITH LOTS OF LOVE!

MOTHER OF THE CROWDS