BLESSINGS CLARIFICATIONS 10

My Dear Precious Child,
     Jesus Christ in instructing the keys to the thoughts, attitudes, speech and actions of people that activate My kingdom of heaven in their lives on earth where blessings and rewards come from Me are evident, He gave wise insights into the religious activity of fasting.  It was religious tradition to limit food in fasting and put on sackcloth instead of usual clothing as an outward sign of devotion to Me and in repentance of sins.  The motivation behind that tradition was the belief that I, on My part,  would reward the people for their being sorry for breaking their covenant with Me.  That tradition, as with most religious traditions, had no effect on Me and instead it became a way to signal to other people the hypocrisy of their devotion to Me.  
     Just like what Jesus said about praying, that you should not pray in public to be seen by other people, but instead for you to go into your private prayer room and pray so that prayer is between you and Me only.  The good result in that exercise of communication between us is that you are rewarded openly by Me.  The results in fasting, like Jesus coached you to do, is that instead of looking deprived and gloomy like the hypocrites, that you should put on a happy face, adorn yourself with sweet smelling fragrances and do your fasting in secret.  When you do, I am able to reward you openly.  The secret of your fasting is between you and Me, child and Father.  (Matthew 6:16-18)
    To the Jews at the time of Jesus' ministry in the world, there was a more detailed reference to the kind of fasts that I choose, but still they must be done in secret.  It was spoken about earlier by the prophet Isaiah.  He spoke extensively that the proper fasts are to fast the actions behind your sins, iniquities and your trespasses.  (Isaiah 58) Isaiah even revealed the reason behind the lack of blessings in the lives of people especially when they fasted to get My attention, which was nonproductive.  He wrote that they call upon Me, asking why I didn't reward them for fasting food and for their going around looking sad in sackcloth with ashes placed on their faces.  He said that instead of stopping work on the Sabbath, as the religious Law required, that they extorted a full day's work from their servants.  My instructions for the Sabbath Day through Moses was that they take a day of rest for themselves and their servants so that their bodies would recuperate from their labors.  On that day of rest from physical labor, they had time to study My constitution and bylaws of our covenant relationship, but instead the hypocrites made their servants continue in labor even through they, themselves, took a day of rest.  (Isaiah 58: 3)  I said through Isaiah that it should not be so, that instead they should fast having their servants work on the day of rest also.
     Isaiah also said that even when the Jews themselves fasted on the Sabbath, they sowed strife, engaged in divisive debate and that they would smite people with the fist of wickedness.  He said that because their treatment of their servants and neighbors were cruel that it was impossible for Me to hear their voices.  He said their cruel actions towards their servants on their fasting days are the things that needed to be fasted, not food. (verse 4-5) Isaiah, speaking for Me, listed some of the acceptable fasts that I choose, not ones chosen by men.  He said that people must become humble in fasting.  He said to refrain from these things as a fast: 1. wickedness 2. enslaving people, 3. that they fast their being yoked to attitudes, speech and actions of evil; 4. that they should fast selfishness by feeding the hungry, 5. housing the homeless, 6. covering the naked, and 7. refusing to hide themselves from the needs of their families. (verses 6-7)   
    In enumerating those things that I said are My acceptable fasts for them,  I said through Isaiah that if they would fast those things that their light would break forth in the morning, that any healing they needed would come easily, that their righteousness would go before them bringing peace and prosperity to them and that My glory would be their rear guard. (verse 8)
     Isaiah went further in My identifying what I wanted the people to fast.  He further said for them to 8. to fast oppressing people, 9. to fast pointing their fingers at people in scorn, and 10. to fast every form of false, harsh, unjust and wicked speaking.  He said that when they would pour out their sustenance to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then their light would rise in the darkness and that even their gloom would be like the noonday sun.   I said through Isaiah that if they fasted all forms of evil toward people that I could do these things: 1. guide them continually, 2. I would provide for them even in droughts, 3. that I would make their bones strong, and 3. that they would be like a well watered garden, like springs whose waters never stop.   Another great reward of which I spoke through Isaiah is that: 4. their generational genes would be rebuilt with My genes, that their wasted foundations would be raised, and 5. that they would be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the pathways of their life on which My rewards can flow to them.
     I continued with instructions reiterated to the Jews through Isaiah that they:  11. must also fast traveling on the Sabbath but instead take a day of rest and communion with Me, 12. that they fast doing their own pleasures on the day of rest, and13. that they cease all speaking in idle, negative words.  I promised that if they delighted themselves in Me that I would make them ride on the high places of the earth and that I would feed them with the inheritance of Jacob that I promised to him, making them the inheritors of My blessings.  Isaiah attributed all of those words to Me, saying that My mouth had spoken the words in Isaiah 58 relating to proper fasting.  (Matthew 25:31-46)
     Pay close attention to the words of Jesus Christ and Isaiah regarding fasting.  They are keys to your inheriting My blessings and rewards.  Fasting evil is fulfilled by your resisting the devil until he flees from you and goes to tempt someone who will yield to him; or, better yet, you cast the demons out of you into the fiery furnace by the power of My Holy Spirit. (James 4:7; Matthew 13:36-43)
    Your Father of Great Wisdom