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back into the all-important work ahead with renewed vigor and
power.
The IMPORTANCE OF FASTING
I wonder if you realize the importance of FASTING? Very few
do today. We have drifted SO FAR from God, and His ways as
revealed in the Bible, and are so entwined in these modern
paganized ways!
You know, of course, that Jesus fasted. Peter and Paul
fasted. So did Moses, Daniel, the prophets of old. But have most
of you not thought that was just some ceremonial custom for them
way back there, and not for us today? Have we not forgotten that
those men lived by God's laws and rules, while we live without
realizing by the rules and traditions of this paganized society we
call civilization? Jesus said we should actually LIVE BY every
Word of God. He set us an example that we should follow His steps.
Jesus, and the men of God mentioned in the Bible fasted FOR A
PURPOSE---in fact, there are two vital reasons for occasional
fasting. One is for health and physical fitness. The other is for
spiritual reviving. Fasting and prayer together is the most
effective means of drawing closer to God, re-establishing the vital
contact and close communion most of us have drifted away from.
I could write a whole book on the subject of fasting. But
let me just briefly condense some vital truths on the subject which
may help you greatly.
First, its connection with PHYSICAL HEALTH. Most people have
come to believe today that it is NATURAL for people to be sick.
THAT IS NOT TRUE! Sickness and disease is not natural, or
accidental, but caused in every case by destructive habits.
Sickness and disease cannot be eradicated until good habits---
living according to NATURES LAWS as set in motion by the Creator---
are substituted for bad ones. Bad habits of thought may be a
contributing cause to sickness and disease or impaired health.
Insufficient exercise, lack of drinking enough pure water, lack of
deep breathing of fresh air, lack of sunshine, lack of sleep,
faulty elimination, often contribute to poor health. But above all
WRONG FOOD is the great outstanding cause. Few people realize
this. Doctors seldom tell people this vital truth. Yet the
nation's most famous physicians and surgeons---men like Dr.
McCollum of Johns-Hopkins, the famous Mayo brothers, Dr. Sherman---
later Senator Sherman of New York, Dr. Kellogg and others---
estimate that from 90% to 95% of all sickness and disease are
caused by faulty diet. Dieticians have exclaimed that the average
American table is a dietetic horror! People eat things they would
never think of feeding their cows or their dogs. God has revealed
to us which animal meats He created to be properly digestible in
the human stomach. (Lev. 11). Some day we will learn to our
astonishment that the eating of filthy swine's flesh has been a
major cause of cancer, fast becoming the nation's number one
killer! I want, as soon as we can enlarge The PLAIN TRUTH to 16
pages or more, to have an interesting, vigorous article every month
on FOOD, and on sickness, disease, and the laws of health. We can
SIN physically as well as spiritually. We sin physically by