Ask the pastor: the fast God chooses in Isaiah 58
Boova reads Isaiah 58 aloud in full, then asks what to make of the seemingly different fast God describes. Dan cautions against swapping in a new checklist; the room lands on heart posture over ritual — fasting while oppressing workers and quarreling is 'mailing it in' — and traces the recurring scriptural theme: Hosea's 'mercy, not sacrifice,' Sabbath disputes, and Peter on prayers hindered by how husbands treat their wives. The covenant promise 'I will be your God and you will be my people' anchors the discussion, and Boova shares his own repentance pattern and new daily Bible-reading habit of five chapters a day.
More on Fasting
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Ramadan and the cultural behaviors of Christianity
- What are the cultural behaviors of Christianity that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus?
Ben asks what the cultural behaviors of Christianity are that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus, prompted by a Ramadan display at a halal grocery after a daddy-daughter date.
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Lent: fasting, ritual, and embodied faith
- Do I need to give something up for Lent, or am I wrong for never doing it?
- Where does the word 'Lent' come from?
A host asks whether he is wrong for never giving anything up for Lent. Another host answers at length: scripture mandates nothing, but modern fear of 'empty ritual' has cost Christians embodied habits — sackcloth and ashes, anointing, fasting, going somewhere to pray.
From No. 364 · Golden Calf Purity Rings
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Dawson's buddy; Mike on God not repeating himself; the fasting test
Dawson prays not to miss disciple-making opportunities and confesses trying to coerce a struggling friend into his own conversion pattern.
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify
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Can you have spiritual disciplines without a disciplined life?
A host poses the episode's second big question: after noticing that fasting reorganizes his whole life toward intentionality -- while his Bible reading and prayer stay…
From No. 496 · Regrets