Today is the episode where we tackle all sorts of countercultural concepts, like fasting, silence and solitude, and rest as a form of worship. So let’s get to it!
First, Stephanie reminds us that fasting is expected – not mandated. She also says that fasting requires a biblical purpose – otherwise it’s just going hungry. Fasting is a fast-track to intimacy with God, for the primary reason that He has declared it so. He has wired us to be body, soul and spirit, and in some mysterious way when we go without food, it nourishes our spirit. So fasting has to be undertaken with a deeply-rooted purpose that has to be biblical, otherwise it doesn’t fall under God’s ordained blessing, and don’t expect anything from it except going hungry and being miserable.
You can watch Stephanie give this lesson on video format on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/3qGg1gv7z2o
She says, "Fasting is an accelerator of spiritual growth." Stephanie shares that fasting is a joyful privilege. WE GET TO FAST and when we do, as Christians, we access the ear of God in ways that He said work mysteriously. If you want the ear of God attentively tuned to your words, then fast. He always listens and hears you, of course. But He also promises that He bends His ear in undivided attention when we fast. Why would we not enjoy this privilege?
Stephanie gives us the details of fasting – what it is and what it is not; the purposes within it; and some tips and best practices for the proper focus and perspective. She says, “Fasting is super-charging God’s answers to our prayers, so fasting is also us inviting God to answer prayers as HE sees fit in even more powerful ways.”
She also reminds us that “fasting is an acquired taste” and it will require practice and growth. Fasting is a way to discover easter eggs in God’s plan for you—extra, special blessings that He will reveal only to those who enter into this most intimate privilege. So the question is not, Should we fast? But the question becomes, When do we start?
Throughout the rest of the episode, we cover Bible memorization, the disciplines of silence and solitude, and then focus on rest and sabbath. Rest is another countercultural concept, like fasting, silence and solitude. Stephanie focuses on the aspects of rest and the deep-seated freedom it brings. She brings up a few points: First, rest feels like it goes against our nature. Also, rest is countercultural. And finally, rest puts us face to face with our sin. Rest requires perseverance, and promises a plentiful yield of peace and harmony. Rest requires accountability, before God, before one another, as well as before our own souls and hearts.
How intentional are we about setting time to rest, and just as importantly, entering true rest in experience?
Stephanie says, “Rest is doing something you don’t normally do during the week, something you really enjoy, not to escape your life and empty your mind, but to live life to the fullest and fill your mind and heart with what brings you joy and pleasure.”
Let’s then focus on Jesus, who was after all, the Lord of Rest, the Lord of the Sabbath. Rest is a mindset. Just like work is a mindset. The world would have us believe that we should always work. That is bondage and slavery. But rest in Christ is available every day – not just once a week, or whenever you choose to incorporate patterns of rest in your life. A good rule of thumb, like with silence and solitude, is to incorporate daily rest, weekly rest, seasonal rest, and annual rest. Weave rest into your rhythms.
As you travel the pathway of rest deeper into God’s presence, you begin to acquire the perspective or worldview of heaven on rest. It is constantly available to the Christ-follower. Follow Christ on this pathway of rest because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He knows the way. He will show you what it looks like for you specifically in your current season of life.
We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.
Identity in the battle | Ephesians
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/74762/link/
Centering on Christ | The Tabernacle experience
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/94182/link/
Shades of Red | Against human oppression
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/115017/link/
God's glory, our delight
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/126051/link/
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!
First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.
Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast.
And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!
NEW!
Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example,
- a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours.
- a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.
MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:
Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.
Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.
We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.
Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.
We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!
Do you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us.
1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup
2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice
3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!
4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address contact@gospelspice.com. It is our privilege to pray for you!
So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:
1- signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup
2- find us on YouTube, and see what content we’ve put together to help you grow closer to Jesus - at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice
3- rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!
4- and finally, tell us how we can pray for you!
Support us on PayPal!
248 tập
Today is the episode where we tackle all sorts of countercultural concepts, like fasting, silence and solitude, and rest as a form of worship. So let’s get to it!
First, Stephanie reminds us that fasting is expected – not mandated. She also says that fasting requires a biblical purpose – otherwise it’s just going hungry. Fasting is a fast-track to intimacy with God, for the primary reason that He has declared it so. He has wired us to be body, soul and spirit, and in some mysterious way when we go without food, it nourishes our spirit. So fasting has to be undertaken with a deeply-rooted purpose that has to be biblical, otherwise it doesn’t fall under God’s ordained blessing, and don’t expect anything from it except going hungry and being miserable.
You can watch Stephanie give this lesson on video format on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/3qGg1gv7z2o
She says, "Fasting is an accelerator of spiritual growth." Stephanie shares that fasting is a joyful privilege. WE GET TO FAST and when we do, as Christians, we access the ear of God in ways that He said work mysteriously. If you want the ear of God attentively tuned to your words, then fast. He always listens and hears you, of course. But He also promises that He bends His ear in undivided attention when we fast. Why would we not enjoy this privilege?
Stephanie gives us the details of fasting – what it is and what it is not; the purposes within it; and some tips and best practices for the proper focus and perspective. She says, “Fasting is super-charging God’s answers to our prayers, so fasting is also us inviting God to answer prayers as HE sees fit in even more powerful ways.”
She also reminds us that “fasting is an acquired taste” and it will require practice and growth. Fasting is a way to discover easter eggs in God’s plan for you—extra, special blessings that He will reveal only to those who enter into this most intimate privilege. So the question is not, Should we fast? But the question becomes, When do we start?
Throughout the rest of the episode, we cover Bible memorization, the disciplines of silence and solitude, and then focus on rest and sabbath. Rest is another countercultural concept, like fasting, silence and solitude. Stephanie focuses on the aspects of rest and the deep-seated freedom it brings. She brings up a few points: First, rest feels like it goes against our nature. Also, rest is countercultural. And finally, rest puts us face to face with our sin. Rest requires perseverance, and promises a plentiful yield of peace and harmony. Rest requires accountability, before God, before one another, as well as before our own souls and hearts.
How intentional are we about setting time to rest, and just as importantly, entering true rest in experience?
Stephanie says, “Rest is doing something you don’t normally do during the week, something you really enjoy, not to escape your life and empty your mind, but to live life to the fullest and fill your mind and heart with what brings you joy and pleasure.”
Let’s then focus on Jesus, who was after all, the Lord of Rest, the Lord of the Sabbath. Rest is a mindset. Just like work is a mindset. The world would have us believe that we should always work. That is bondage and slavery. But rest in Christ is available every day – not just once a week, or whenever you choose to incorporate patterns of rest in your life. A good rule of thumb, like with silence and solitude, is to incorporate daily rest, weekly rest, seasonal rest, and annual rest. Weave rest into your rhythms.
As you travel the pathway of rest deeper into God’s presence, you begin to acquire the perspective or worldview of heaven on rest. It is constantly available to the Christ-follower. Follow Christ on this pathway of rest because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He knows the way. He will show you what it looks like for you specifically in your current season of life.
We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.
Identity in the battle | Ephesians
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/74762/link/
Centering on Christ | The Tabernacle experience
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/94182/link/
Shades of Red | Against human oppression
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/115017/link/
God's glory, our delight
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/126051/link/
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!
First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.
Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast.
And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!
NEW!
Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example,
- a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours.
- a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.
MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:
Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.
Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.
We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.
Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.
We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!
Do you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us.
1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup
2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice
3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!
4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address contact@gospelspice.com. It is our privilege to pray for you!
So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:
1- signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup
2- find us on YouTube, and see what content we’ve put together to help you grow closer to Jesus - at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice
3- rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!
4- and finally, tell us how we can pray for you!
Support us on PayPal!
248 tập
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