truth finder
Senior Member
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 2
Sometimes I fast to know God more closely and intimately. On one occasion I fasted a few weeks in which I skipped lunch, and ate early breakfast and late dinner. It is similar to Ramadan for Muslims. Because of my own experience I know fasting is a hard discipline. Do you know some Christians fast 40 days without eating anything except for water for survival? Our pastor in our church is one of them. Because it requires extreme discipline, people would fail or even die if they start fasting on their own will power. I was told that typically they hear God’s message for fasting in a dream or vision. We usually fast in order to know God more intimately and find God’s purpose in our life, not to become better Christians or to be accepted to God due to our hard disciple. Although there may be hundreds of those believers who have successfully performed 40 days of hard fasting, they are not considered real role models in our home country. We believe that our love for God is best demonstrated through our love for fellow human beings instead of performing hard religious disciplines. Mother Teresa was one of good examples who had spent her whole life living with lepers and caring for the social outcasts. Here is a man in our home country who is considered as a role model by many Christians.
There was a bloody civil war in our home country about 60 years ago. A believer in Christ lived in a remote area and was respected by people for his generosity and loving care for the social outcasts such as lepers. When the communist rebel captured the area, their number-one target was this believer because even the underprivileged respected him more than the communist ideology of equal share. Because they could not find any fault in him to accuse of, they found some in his two sons. They carried out public execution of his sons in front of the father and other people. Some time later the area was recaptured by the government troop and the rebel leader was arrested by the army. For his atrocities including the execution of the innocent two sons, he was about to be executed by the army. When the father learned about the execution, he went to the army captain to beg for the life of the rebel leader. He told the captain that the death of two lives would be enough and that he did not want more death of precious lives. Eventually the captain was persuaded by his honest and genuine request for the release of the rebel leader. Later the father adopted this man as his own son, because he did not have his sons anymore. More surprisingly this heartless man was moved and touched by the genuine love of his new father to become a follower of Jesus Christ. In his biography the father wrote that he learned this unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial love from Jesus Christ, his Savior and Lord. Here are two of his favourite verses in the Bible.
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
Due to the choice of forgiveness (instead of revenge) of a believer in Christ, one more precious live was spared from execution and furthermore became a messenger of forgiveness and love for other human beings. This man is the role model of many Christians including me in our home country. Please feel free to share with me a role model in your community.
There was a bloody civil war in our home country about 60 years ago. A believer in Christ lived in a remote area and was respected by people for his generosity and loving care for the social outcasts such as lepers. When the communist rebel captured the area, their number-one target was this believer because even the underprivileged respected him more than the communist ideology of equal share. Because they could not find any fault in him to accuse of, they found some in his two sons. They carried out public execution of his sons in front of the father and other people. Some time later the area was recaptured by the government troop and the rebel leader was arrested by the army. For his atrocities including the execution of the innocent two sons, he was about to be executed by the army. When the father learned about the execution, he went to the army captain to beg for the life of the rebel leader. He told the captain that the death of two lives would be enough and that he did not want more death of precious lives. Eventually the captain was persuaded by his honest and genuine request for the release of the rebel leader. Later the father adopted this man as his own son, because he did not have his sons anymore. More surprisingly this heartless man was moved and touched by the genuine love of his new father to become a follower of Jesus Christ. In his biography the father wrote that he learned this unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial love from Jesus Christ, his Savior and Lord. Here are two of his favourite verses in the Bible.
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
Due to the choice of forgiveness (instead of revenge) of a believer in Christ, one more precious live was spared from execution and furthermore became a messenger of forgiveness and love for other human beings. This man is the role model of many Christians including me in our home country. Please feel free to share with me a role model in your community.
