Spiritual Gourmet Satiate (feed) the Spirit, Starve (fast) the Flesh

Spiritual Gourmet Bon Appetit! What is your spiritual appetite? What have you been eating? Matthew 5:6 (The Message) 6"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.  What can quench hunger for God's Word. Satiate (feed) the Spirit, Starve (fast) the Flesh  Pray for a good appetite for Christ When you have got that appetite for Christ, indulge it Starve the Flesh The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”—Proverbs 27:7.. First, that Jesus Christ is in himself sweeter than the honeycomb  Secondly, there are those that loathe even him Thirdly, blessed be his name, there are others who appreciate him.—“To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” It is a great blessing when food and appetite meet together. Some have appetite and no meat, they need our pity; others have meat but no appetite, they may not perhaps win our pity but they certainly require it. We have heard of a gentleman who was accustomed to take an early morning walk and frequently met a poor man hastening to his labor. One morning he said to him, “I have to walk thus early of a morning to get a stomach for my meat.” “Ah,” said the other, “and I have to trudge to work thus early to get meat for my stomach.” Neither of them was quite satisfied with his position: the happy conjunction of the appetite and the food could alone secure content. Are we thankful enough when we have both? by C. H. Spurgeon,  Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death. Your appetite for the flesh feeds the covetous nature. It is the spirit of greed. Greed for anything-everything but God. It manifest in the appetite for food, sex, and other addictions. The Mountain of your  transfiguration comes by prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting shuts down your carnality. Prayer and fasting will... Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. Prayer and fasting drives away unbelief. Prayer and fasting drives in supernatural faith. Prayer and fasting brings God out of hiding. Prayer and fasting solved the wilderness power struggle in the wilderness for Jesus, Moses, Hannah. Luke 4  1THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit 2For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry.   A psalm of the sons of Korah  Psalm 42:1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;    I want to drink God,       deep draughts of God.    I'm thirsty for God-alive.    I wonder, "Will I ever make it—       arrive and drink in God's presence?"    I'm on a diet of tears—       tears for breakfast, tears for supper.    All day long       people knock at my door,    Pestering,       "Where is this God of yours?" Middle English apetit, from Middle French, from Latin appetitus, from appetere to strive after, from ad- + petere to go to -- more at FEATHER  1 : any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life ; especially : the desire to eat 2 a : an inherent craving <an insatiable appetite for work> b : TASTE , PREFERENCE <the cultural appetites of the time -- J. D. Hart The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. Appetite exists in all higher lifeforms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia (or "hyperphagia") is increased eating. Disregulation of appetite contributes to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating, and binge eating disorder. Fasting was an expected discipline in both the Old and New Testament eras. For example, Moses fasted at least two recorded forty-day periods. Jesus fasted 40 days and reminded His followers to fast, "when you fast," not if you fast. Fasting and prayer can restore the loss of the "first love" for your Lord and result in a more intimate relationship with Christ. Fasting is a biblical way to truly hu mble yourself in the sight of God (Psalm 35:13; Ezra 8:21). King David said, "I humble myself through fasting." Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition, resulting in brokenness, repentance, and a transformed life. The Holy Spirit will quicken the Word of God in your heart and His truth will become more meaningful to you! Fasting can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience. Fasting can result in a dynamic personal revival in your own life-and make you a channel of revival to others. Fasting and prayer are the only disciplines that fulfill the requirements of II Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." If you fast, you will find yourself being humbled as I did. You will discover more time to pray and seek God's face. And as He leads you to recognize and repent of unconfessed sin, you will experience special blessings from God. Through your fast, and that of many other believers, God will heal our land.