Purposeful Fasting

This passage in Isaiah 58, especially verses 6-9 really caught my attention today.  Earlier in the chapter, the people were complaining that, even though they were fasting, they weren't experiencing God's presence and direction in their lives.

God told them the kind of fasting they were doing didn't please Him.

But the kind of fasting that would please Him would find the people:
- "Sharing your food with the hungry,
- "inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
- "putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
- "being available to your own families."

He said, "Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.  Your righteousness will pave your way.... Then when you pray, God will answer ...."

That passage really spoke to me on whole spectrum of personal colors God's been trying to shine into my life.

God is such an Action Figure.  His desire and tendency towards Action totally outshines every wanna-be action figure out there.  Fasting with Action.  Fasting with purpose.  Not a time of fasting to make ones self look holy, thereby creating more than an empty stomach but also an empty soul.  But a time of fasting that seeks the power of God to move and break injustice, exploitation, oppression, debts (v. 6).

That's what Jesus came to do.  And what Jesus did was what He saw His Father doing.  Mirrored Dad's actions and got powerful results.

Now, we get to mirror Jesus' actions and see results.