PUT AWAY EVIL! - Reflection of the Word

   PRAY FOR US SINNERS, OUR MOTHER MARY, "FULL  OF GRACE"
 

 Mary, Our mother, to whom the angel addressed as "Hail Mary! Full of Grace", being the New Eve born Immaculate, the mother of the new humanity (Christians) through the New Adam in Christ, our Redeemer, we implore your help in this world ruled by 'the powers of darkness', so that we may be victorious over them, over sin and death as Your loving Son had been victorious through His obedience to His Father, through His humility and suffering.       
   Being so 'Full of Grace' as gifted by the almighty God, we turn to you to receive the gifts of love, faith and hope, peace and joy which will make us worthy to become the beloved children of God, through whom all good things come. Amen.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS  OF "DIVYA JYOTI"

 With this February Edition, DIVYA-JYOTI (the English monthly newsletter published by JEEVAN DHAM, Faridabad) completes its THREE YEARS.  Praise the Lord! Alleluia! We sincerely thank all those who have helped us in presenting you this monthly newsletter in every way through their prayers and contributions. We request you to keep us in your daily prayers and give us your moral and spiritual support through your prayers in future.

     MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

For articles, witnesses, prayers & suggestions, write to : THE EDITOR, Jeevan Dham, 696/Sec-22, Faridabad-121005, Haryana. 
OR
E-mail to: justcallanthony@yahoo.com

THE POWER OF  FASTING!  
THE disciples of John the Baptist (noted for their practice of fasting) once asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast. Jesus answered them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?  (Matt. 9:15) The answer was obvious. As long as Jesus was present with His disciples, they didn't fast. Jesus then said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." (v. 15).
 Obviously, the bridegroom is no longer present on earth in His physical body. He was taken up to heaven at the ascension (see Acts 1:9). Jesus assumed that after He ascended into heaven, those who believed in Him would fast: "then they will fast on that day." (Mark 2:20); "And whenever you fast" ( Matt.6:16). Now that the bridegroom has been taken from us, we should be engaged in disciplines of self-denial enabling us to enjoy something of the closeness to Him enjoyed by the original disciples when they walked and talked daily with their Lord.
 Fasting can not only draw us closer to the bridegroom, but it can also accomplish beneficial results in the lives of others who have deep needs. Fasting has transpersonal or social benefits and God honours fasting and prayer. Although we can not say that fasting is mandatory for believers today, yet it is certain that the discipline of fasting is available to strengthen us spiritually and to help us overcome barriers that might keep us from living the victorious Christian life.

WHY SHOULD WE FAST:
At the present time as this when we lack peace, security, love, harmony, freedom and equality, the spiritual discipline of fasting is needed for the followers of Christ. Why?
Because more than ever before, believers are in bondage to demonic powers and need strength to stand against sin.
Because believers throughout the world need solutions to many complex problems and threatening situations they are facing.
Because the Church is in desperate need of revival, and every tribe and tongue and nation is in desperate need of evangelization.
Because the world in general and the Church in particular are crying out for people of character and integrity-people who have found in Christ the emotional healing and strength to overcome sinful and destructive habits.
Because the abundance of food has insulated many people from the realities of starvation and malnutrition in the two-thirds world.
Because the media has so captured the national attention that even believers are operating according to principles completely alien to God's will for their lives.
Because even with the abundance of food and medical technology, people are not necessarily healthier.
Because a great many believers have become so entangled in economic and social pursuits that they need to be set free to establish their testimonies and to influence others for Christ.
Because of the growing influence of demonic forces and the power of darkness ruling the world, the believers need protection from the evil one.
...and so on and so forth. We should not look for the reasons for fasting but the situation in which we are should inspire us to keep fast.
 According to the Bible, the following Circumstances led to fasting [kept by an individual (a leader or a prophet) or a by a group of people]:
a) When facing the Judgement of God - see 1Kings 21:27; Joel 1:14; Joel 2:12; Jonah 3:4,5
b) During Periods of National Mourning - see 1Sam. 31:11-13; 2Sam. 1:12; 2Sam. 3:35; 1Chron.10:11,12
c) When Communion with Christ Is Broken - see Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19, 20; Luke 5:34, 35
d) When Concerned for the Welfare of Others - see Ps. 35:13
e) When Challenged by Personal Concerns - see 2Sam. 12:15-17; 2Sam.12:21-23
f) When Facing Danger - see 2Chron. 20:2,3; Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:15,16
g) When Engaged in Spiritual Warfare - see Matt.17:21; Mark 9:29
h) When Ordaining Ministers of the Gospel - see Acts13:2,3;14:23.

WHAT IS FASTING?
 The word "fast" is derived from the Hebrew term tsom, which refers to the practice of self-denial. The New Testament using the Greek word nesteia for the fast, also refers to self-denial.

KINDS OF FASTING
1. The normal fast is going without food for a definite period during which one ingests only liquids (water and/or juice). The duration can vary from one day to even 40 days.

DURATION OF FAST: Biblical fasts were held for-
a) one day - see Lev. 23:27; 1 Sam 7:6; 14:24; Jer. 36:6
b) three days - see 1 Sam. 30:12; Matt. 15:32; Acts 9:9
c) one week - see 1 Sam. 31:11-13; 2 Sam. 12:15-18, 21-23
d) two weeks - see Acts 27:33
e) one month - see Zech.7:3, 5; 8:19
e) forty days - see Deut. 9:9, 18; Matt. 4:1-2
Extreme care should be taken with longer fasts (fast for one month or 40 days are supernatural fasts which need divine intervention and strength), and medical advice from one's physician is necessary.
2. The absolute fast allows no food or water at all, and should be short. Moses fasted for 40 days (Exod. 34:28); but this would kill anyone without supernatur­al intervention, and should never be attempted today. Be sure to test the spirit that tries to talk you into a 40-day fast, even if it includes liquids.
3. The partial fast is one that omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating. It may consist of omitting one meal a day. Eating only fresh vegetables for several days is also a good partial fast. John Wesley ate only bread (whole grain) and water for many days. Elijah practiced partial fasts at least twice. John the Baptist (Luke 1:15; Mark 1:6) and Daniel (Dan. 10:2-3) with his three friends are other examples of those who participated in partial fasts.
4. The rotational fast consists of eating or omitting certain families of foods for designated periods. For example, grains may be eaten only every fourth day. The various food families are rotated so that some food is available each day.

FASTING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
 Most scholars believe that the practice of fasting began with the loss of appetite during times of great distress and duress. Hannah, who would later become the mother of Samuel, was so distressed about her barrenness that "she wept and did not eat" (1 Sam. 1:7). Also, when King Ahab failed in his attempt to purchase Naboth's vineyard, he "would eat no food" (1 Kings 21:4).
 Fasting apparently began as a natural expression of grief; however, after time it became customary to reflect or prove one's grief to others by abstaining from food and/or showing sorrow. David fasted to demonstrate his grief at Abner's death (see 2 Sam. 3:35). Many references in Scripture describe fasting as "afflicting" one's soul or body (see Isa. 58:3,5). Fasting came to be practiced as an external means of demonstrating and later encouraging an internal feeling of remorse for sin.
 Fasting was a perfectly natural human expression of human grief; therefore, it became a religious custom to placate the anger of God. People began fasting to turn away God's anger from destroying them. Eventually, fasting became a basis for making one's petition effective to God. Thus, every fasting accompanies a purpose and a result.

PURPOSE OF FASTING
According to the Bible, following were the motives behind fasting:
To Chasten the Soul- Ps. 69:10.
To Humble the Soul- Ezra8:21; Ps.35:13.
To Seek the Lord- 2Chron. 20:3,4.
To Prepare for Spiritual Warfare- Matt. 17:21.
To Express Personal Repentance- Jon. 3:5-10.

GOD'S PURPOSE OF FASTING
   The well-known and often quoted passage of Scripture in Isaiah 58:6-8 gives a veritable laundry list of warnings as well as positive results that can occur when we submit ourselves to the discipline of fasting. It is as important to learn from this passage the kinds of fasts that do not please God as it is to understand those fasts He desires. God's people in Isaiah's day had been fasting, but without results. The reason, God says, is that they ignored the way fasting should change their lives, treating it as an empty ritual:
  "Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?"            (Isaiah 58:3-5)
   The purpose of all worship, including fasting, is to change the worshipper in ways that have social and interpersonal impact. We worship not just to gratify ourselves, but also to become empowered to change the world! God goes on to specify the kind of fast He chooses:
   "Is not this the fast that I choose: *to loose the bonds of injustice, *to undo the thongs of the yoke, *to let the oppressed go free, and *to break every yoke? Is it not *to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then *your light shall break forth like the dawn, and *your healing shall spring up quickly; *your vindicator shall go before you, *the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard." (Is. 58:6-8)
  Thus we find in Isaiah 58, a model for the nine fruits God expects to see from genuine faith and devotion. Rightly used, fasting can help us present Him with those fruits.
 It is important to note that fasting is less important than doing God's will. As Micah points out, what the Lord truly requires of us is devotion to Himself. "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) Fasting is a means, not an end in itself, by which we can worship the Lord and submit ourselves in humility to Him. We do not make God love us any more than He already does if we fast, or if we fast longer and we could not manipulate Him.

RESULTS OF FASTING:
 We fast and pray for results, but the results are in God's hands. Fasting has both physical (like elimination of unwanted and poisonous substances from our body and unclogging of the cell system overloaded by the waste products thereby providing healing and relief) and spiritual benefits. One of the greatest spiritual benefits of fasting is becoming more attentive to God, becoming aware of our own inadequacies and His adequacy, our own contingencies and His self-sufficiency. Christian fasting, unlike others, focuses on God than focusing on the self and trying to get something for a perceived sacrifice. The results are spiritual results that glorify God - both in the person who fasts and others for whom we fast and pray. Following are the results that may be realized through fasting:
Gaining spiritual authority,  
Receiving divine affirmation of ministry,
Obtaining new direction, liberty and guidance in ministry,
Gaining new insights during Bible study that become foundational truths for ministry,  
Getting an enhanced desire to pray,  
Getting an answer to the prayers and apt solutions to the problems and struggles in life,
Receiving new power for spiritual warfare,  
Receiving assurance of divine protection,  
Obtaining an increased sense of God's presence,
Becoming more attentive to God and ready to listen to what He wants us to be and do,      
Obtaining victory over satanic strongholds,
Breaking up of attitudes which hinder progress in a new ministry,
Receiving an open reward from the Heavenly Father.

 A) THROUGH THE POWER OF HIS WORD, GOD GIFTED ALL THESE 7 CHILDLESS FAMILIES WITH A  CHILD AFTER MANY YEARS OF MARRIAGE!

B) 26 -YEAR OLD ASTHMA HEALED

Praise be to Jesus! Thanks be to Jesus! 
 I, Roop Ram, was suffering from asthma for the past 26 years which had made my life miserable. Due to this dreadful disease I could not eat, walk, sleep, or work properly. This started after I caught malaria and later T.B. in my lungs. I was taken to several private doctors in Faridabad and Delhi. In the end, I was admitted in Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. In the meantime, my condition had worsened to such an extent that I had to leave my job. All my life, that is, for the past 26 years, I sought healing through medicine and other treatments on which I spent over three lakh rupees. But my health condition remained unperturbed.
 One day a lady in my neighbourhood told my wife about the healing prayer service held at Jeevan Dham and advised me to attend the Sunday prayer service, assuring me of being healed if I had faith in God. First, my wife attended the Sunday prayer service and heard the powerful Word of God. She took me along the next Sunday onwards with the hope of getting healed through prayers. My merciful Lord heard our prayers and started healing me gradually. Within three months, I got almost completely healed to an extent that I could sleep well, eat and work comfortably. Moreover, I applied for my lost job and through the grace of Almighty God I got it back very soon. I give a million thanks to the living God who heard my cries and answered our prayers.  Roop Ram, Delhi

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  And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”(Isaiah 30:21)