Repentance

I've been talking about repentance, fasting, and wearing sackcloth lately. I think it is a fascinating topic. One of my sons wrote out some questions for me based on the stuff I had been talking about, and I thought they were terrific questions, so I am sharing them here:

Q. what is the reward for fasting?

A. Generally, a burning heart, but also wisdom and revelation and a sense of being loved. It is longing for Jesus to return (Mat 9:15) so that is what you get…the reward. But, a lot comes with that.

Q. how do you gain a better heart posture?

A. By positioning yourself before God. He’s the fire. We are the wood. If we want to burn, we get close to the fire. This happens by asking, receiving, and testing out if we are getting anything (talking and listening to God, worshiping, and reading the Bible). The testing is essential. If we just ask, and don’t test, its really hard to know if we are receiving.

Q. are you saying that when you are praying and fasting it should be in sack cloth?

A. No. Sackcloth is for extreme times of zeal or repentance. Fasting all the time is what we call “dieting”…doing it sometimes is actually what makes it a fast. Same with sackcloth…it’s just a temporary “push” beyond normal…otherwise, its just bad fashion…IMO

Q. how do we make room for jesus in this?

A. We do it really "light"…don’t put too much emphasis on the “rules” of it… What I mean is, we dial it down and just do it, looking for HIM to do more in the response than we do in the action.

Q. what do the ashes have to do with this?

A. Sign of mourning. I haven’t thought much about the ashes. Ask David Kyhn. He’s got something on the ashes.

Q. does the rest mean rest in the Lord or actual rest?

A. Both. Taking a rest from normal. Taking a rest. And, resting in Jesus (sitting in His presence to get something. Active Rest).

Q. how do you speak this message without offending others?

A. Impossible (Psalm 69:1-13). But, We should try. So we pray.

Q. why do you fast without others knowing?

A. For the reward to come only from God (Mat 6:16-18). Others celebrating our reach for God is a way satan uses to short circuit it. If we give in to that, we stop reaching for God and extend our arms to others for more praise. This misses the whole point.

Q. what happens if you break your fast?

A. That makes you a real person. You sign back up and resist the internal condemnation. God loves this kind of child-like faith.

Q. is everyone called to fast?

A. Everyone following Jesus. Yep. For sure. (Mat 6:16-18, Mat 9:15, Mar 2:20, Luke 5:35)

Q. is everyone called to wear sack cloth?

A. Those who know they are under judgment (Isaiah 22:12, Joel 1:8) are "called" but often don't know it. Bible history shows that leaders sense this and do it as intercessors (Like Daniel in Daniel 9). Otherwise, no one is called to wear sackcloth. Sackcloth is a choice of the truly desperate/concerned. Entirely voluntary.

Q. how do you get to a child like faith?

A. Ask and try to not think too much on the rules…know how broke you are. Think about today as much as possible and not tomorrow. Don’t worry how people look at you. Be like a little kid and try to make Jesus the friend you want to play with.

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