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Fasting and Alms-giving



Fasting 

If you ask the average Joe on the street if he knows anything about Lent, the majority will talk about “giving up something” or fasting some type of food or fasting on a particular day. It's so popular that restaurants actually advertise their fish options during Lent. Have you noticed the number of fast food places that are pushing fish sandwiches?

Traditional fasting is denying yourself food for a period of time. The purpose is to deny the physical and focus on the spiritual. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before starting out in ministry (Matthew 4). He was so hungry that Satan actually used bread as a temptation. Jesus kept his spiritual focus and responded to each temptation with scripture.

But what about alms-giving and why tie it to fasting?

If you fast and give up red meat, only to replace it with a meal that consist of a 1200 calorie Filet-O-Fish combo, or give up sweets and use 15 packs of aspartame, I don't think you've accomplished what you were after.

I think the early church leaders understood this. So they encouraged Alms-giving. That's an old English term for giving to people who have less than you. Both fasting and giving go hand in hand. They both take the attention off of ourselves. When you give money, food, clothing, and time you take away from what you have give it to someone else. Putting fasting and giving together help us to keep the emphasis on God and others.


Jesus fasted food for 40 days, but he continued to give of himself as a way of life. Acts 10:38 sums up His life as “doing good.” That should be our goal during Lent! We should look to cut away the excess, refocus our lives on the spiritual, and look to see how much good we can do for others! That is the greatest commandment, to love God and to love our neighbor (Mark 12:38).

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