Cloth and fasting

Isaiah 58:7b ...when you see the naked, to clothe him...

What is God talking about here? This little phrase is in the context of God rebuking His people for physically fasting while all the while cheating their workers, beating on each other and fighting and quarreling. They claim to have humbled themselves before God, but are acting anything but humble toward one another. They bow their heads and lay on sackcloth, but their hearts are not changed or humbled in any way. They expect God to look down and say, “Oh, look at them...aren't they wonderful for abasing themselves?” They expect God to appreciate their attempts at getting His attention, but all for their own selfish ends. So He lays out for them the purpose of fasting...not to deprive themselves for the sake of show, but to change their hearts toward Him and others.

They are to love their brothers by treating them justly, feeding the hungry and clothing the poor. They are to pay them a livable wage and make sure they are provided for, including clothing them. They should be taking care of their own family members (I take this to mean the orphans and widows in their family tree, or relatives that couldn't make it on their own).

Clothing the naked is fasting. Who knew?

Fasting is depriving oneself of food or anything, really, that would be enjoyed or provide for ones own needs in some way. Food is most thought of. We could eat...it is available and our bodies want it, but we tell ourselves NO for a time to help us focus on the important things in life like prayer. But we can also fast in other ways. We can NOT buy something, using that money to provide for the needs of others. We can give away our clothing, our possessions, to meet the needs of someone else. We can say NO to a trip, to a TV program, to doing something for ourselves, in order to get closer to God or to meet the needs, physically and spiritually, of those around us. And this is the fasting that God prefers. It is the fasting that gets His attention. The result of this fasting is that He does hear us when we pray. He meets the needs of everyone through this type of fast. Don't bring more stuff to Me, He says here, but reach out to the family and neighbors who have been deprived of what they deserve. We all know people who, due to no fault of their own, can't make ends meet. Their kids get sick, their spouse dies, something happens and they are scraping to make a go of it. God tells us that this fast will change the whole culture. Instead of pointing fingers and gossiping, we meet needs. Instead of worldly people looking on and seeing judgmental and selfish attitudes in the church, they see light, and the light rises, lifting their thoughts to a good God. Then God guides them and meets the needs, the deeper needs, of the givers, giving them the strength to do all sorts of rebuilding in their lands. Everyone wins and God is glorified and delighted to provide more for everyone.

So how do we fast with cloth? Do you sew? Make blankets, clothes like Little Dresses for Africa (or wherever you want to send them, school clothes and uniforms for foreign children to be able to get an education, or chemo caps, hats, scarves, or coats for those who need covering. Do you knit or crochet? Knit hats, sweaters, dresses, or socks or scarves for the cold and needy. Do you not work in cloth? Send cloth to missions that make quilts or clothes for such causes. Project Linus, orphanages, county homes and shelters...donate clothing or cloth so they can be warmed. Spend your money on socks and underwear to donate. Buy coats and shoes and jeans. Give them where the need is in your community or around the world. Ask visiting missionaries what cloth needs the people they minister to have. If it costs you something while depriving you of something that you would rather have had or done, it is fasting...And really, are we deprived of anything? Not really. We think so some days. That new thing that we would have like to have had. That lunch out with the girls. That new pair of shoes for us...we have sooooo much and yet think that we don't have enough. But it is not the not having that makes for a fast, but the telling self NO. Telling God YES, that what He is asking us to give up temporarily is better for us, for Him, and for others. For giving up that thing that we really wanted to have or keep, and giving it to someone who really needs it, that is the fasting that God uses in both the lives of the giver and the receiver...both experience God's loving touch. And that is receiving a blessing, not being deprived of one.

What fast can you and I partake in this week to help us get God's perspective, meet a need, and give out of the abundance that God has blessed us with?

Clothed in Humility

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, for GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

1 Peter 5:5

No I am not shouting...that is the NASB way of quoting another scripture passage, in this case Proverbs 3:34. But it is worth shouting about. Having God on the team you are fighting against is not a great place to be. The definition of resist is to exert oneself to counteract or defeat! It is not just sticking His hand up to keep you from passing, it is taking that hand and pushing you back, or taken a step further, to wipe you out...scary stuff.

But I digress!

Clothed in humility...not Him clothing us, in this case, but us clothing ourselves. This term, I am told, is different from other terms of clothing...it is wrapping a servant's apron on oneself. It is not dressing for regular daily purposes, but making oneself the slave and servant to those around us. This is serving one another...and in the context of being subject to the elders of the church, it is serving God's people. We are not to consider ourselve more highly than we ought Phil 2, but put on the garments of truly doing whatever we are called to do to serve God and His people. It is humbling. It may be menial. It could get dirty. But however we are called to serve, we must do it. We must say, We are only slaves to you, Lord, and only doing our duty. We are not worthy to serve you AT ALL, and are humbled that you consider us worthy of even being your servants. That passage kind of puts us in our place. We as people think at times that we deserve stuff, respect, payment, or some sort of reward for what we do on a daily basis. God reminds us that that is nonsense! He allows us to work to earn a living (try getting sick and disabled and see how much of a blessing being functional is!). He gives us every breathe we breathe. He allows us to continue living when the wages of sin is death. And yet we moan instead of praise. We are a sorry lot.

Even though we are not worthy of serving, we are called to honor those that God has put into positions of spiritual authority in our lives. It is not that they deserve it, but that we are called to it. Again, we think we are the exceptions to these rules...and He reminds me daily how I fail in this area. I judge instead of honor. Do they deserve my loyalty? My admiration? My devotion? Good grief, girl! So when those under MY authority rise up and question me, I get mad, and then I realize that this is a picture of ME doing that to others. And the humbling process begins. It is painful. It is hard to see the sin in others and realize that we do the same thing. And that is where the rubber meets the road.

Pride is a terrible thing and it is such an ingrained part of us that it goes back to Eve listening to the immoral words...you will be like God. We think we know what's good for us...we think we can know more...and we think we are right and righteous in our own judgements. It is overwhelming. There is no thought that I can think that is not tainted with it. If I think God tells me something, I start to think that maybe it is I who is clever or smart...or that I am special because God honored me with this knowledge. There is nothing I can think that is not tainted with pride. We think of ourselves, and that is where we get into trouble.

I think of the 12 apostles...there they were, just ordinary guys who were honored and probably a bit taken aback by having Jesus chose them to train in His little traveling seminary. How could they not begin to think of themselves more highly than they ought, at least amongst themselves? They probably didn't consider themselves as good as priests or Pharasees, but they fought for positions of power amongst themselves a few times that we are told of. And that is when Jesus opposed them. He even rebuked Peter with severe words, calling him Satan, when he decided that Jesus didn't know what He was doing and gave him a little advice. He tried to tell God what to do, and that is not usually a good idea. Peter didn't ask how he could serve the Lord during the upcoming trial...he considered himself smart and a leader of the group...he would voice his opinion loud and proud, showing the others that he had things in control...that he would call the shots when Jesus had His priorities and plans a little mixed up. The shame he faced over the next few months was excruciating, but shaped him to be a leader in the church. His pride got him in trouble later with Paul, so even then Peter thought about himself, and not about the people he was serving. That is when the troubles mount and God works His humbling.

So here I sit, computer on the lap, hoping to be humble, and knowing that it is impossible to think any thought that is self-free. I write because God is gracious, not because I am smart or insightful. I write because I am amazed at what God has to say to me in scripture that I have not seen before by using the clothing and fabric words. I ask that you bear with me if I show through, because it is God's Word, and His thoughts and revelations that I want to ponder, not to promote myself or any agenda.

The only confidence I have in any of what I say is that it is based on God's Word, and that is infallible, not me. I fail, my interpretations may not always be gospel truth, but it is what I see when I open the Word that day. And I hope it gets you to search the scriptures to see if these things are so. Don't take my Word for it...take His! He will speak to you without my assistance if you just read it instead of this blog. That is the only authority...and it is your humble service that you can clothe yourself for.