27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:27-28)
No one has ever been more worthy of emulation than Jesus. Over the last five days we have been blessed to observe Jesus practice the Disciplines of Bible Study, Prayer and Fasting. There are so many lessons to learn. However, the objective of our journey is not to attain knowledge only. Rather, we want to put what we learn into practice so that we can “Be like Jesus.”
Please review the thoughts that have been shared this week and respond to the question below.
Today’s Question:
What have you learned this week that you can use to improve your practice of the Disciplines of Bible Study, Prayer and Fasting?
February 27, 2016 at 2:53 am
I was sick for one week, had sore throat and cough but still able to read the lessons. I’m not commenting all the time but reading the message and comments of others truly help me to grow in my walk with God. I’ve learned a lot from this week. I really want to practice fasting but my stomach problem is preventing me from doing so. When I was small my Catholic family fast during the Lent by eating only fish or vegetables on Fridays. Living here in Oman, so hard for me to do fasting especially when we have many official functions in the diplomatic corps.. I think I should do fasting involving other areas, like not going to gym or not using my computer for social media for at least some days. Being sick for a while prevented me from going to gym but that’s not fasting at all. For me I really have to be determined to discipline my self in this particular (fasting) area. To be honest, it’s really hard especially if you live in a non-Christian country as all the dates and events of the official functions of other embassies (from Middle East and some African countries) are not minding Christian holidays or events. Also, at this stage of my life exercising is also one good thing for me to fast but then, with my age, exercise is like a medicine to me especially I had shrapnel in my lung and leg from my accident in Pakistan before. I tried not going to social media but it’s hard too because i need to check “what’s up” for messages of my BSF (Bible study fellowship) co-members. Some of them also communicate with me thru FB, as well as those colleagues in the diplomatic corps and international community of Muscat. So, maybe watching TV (well, I only watch CNN all the time) is one thing to cut for me, or listening to music…but the music I listen to is mostly Christian songs from K-LOVE station. Maybe not to use the AC is another thing to fast here in Oman…oh my! I don’t know if I can handle that – SUPER HOT here! Anyway, I am so grateful I am doing this 40 days of Discipline as it allows me to ponder on my shortcomings and areas in my Christian life that need to be improved for my growth. Please include me in your prayers. Also Hiro is going to Saudi Arabia for some days on official trip to our embassy there. He will leave on Monday. Please pray for his safe trip too. Thank you and I miss you all there in West Side Community Church of T&T.
February 27, 2016 at 9:18 pm
Aurora – I hope you have a full recovery soon. We will remember you and Hiro in prayer. I am sure you are not alone in trying to decide what to do about fasting. I know you will keep working this out with God, with the Bible as your guide.