Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

Day 184

September 14, 2025 • Aneel Aranha • Season 3 • Episode 184

0:00 | 17:05

Explore how authentic faith integrates social justice, urgent prayer, and practical love through Isaiah 56-59, Psalm 70, and 1 Corinthians 16, discovering how true religion impacts our daily actions.

Day 184 – The Fast That Feeds Someone

Isaiah 56–59
Psalm 70
1 Corinthians 16

It's possible to be very religious in the morning and very unkind by the afternoon. Today's readings sit right in that gap. Isaiah 56 names two people the law had kept at a distance. To the eunuch, who has no children and no name to pass on, God promises a memorial and a name inside his own house, better than sons and daughters. To the foreigner he says the temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Then chapter 58 asks the question that has made religious people uncomfortable ever since. The people are fasting and can't understand why God doesn't seem to notice. His answer is blunt. They fast and quarrel. They humble themselves and exploit their workers on the same day. The fast God wants is to loose the chains of injustice, to share food with the hungry, to bring the wandering poor into the house, to clothe the naked when you see them. Do that, he says, and your light will break forth like the dawn. Chapter 57 has already told us where God lives, in a high and holy place, and also with the lowly and contrite in spirit. Psalm 70 is the prayer of the very people chapter 58 describes. I am poor and needy, come quickly to me. And Paul, ending a letter full of theology, gets practical about money and tells them to set something aside on the first day of every week. Seen as a whole, these readings reveal where real worship is supposed to end up.

Underneath it all lies a single truth. God measures worship by whether it ever reaches a hungry person or an outsider. The God who lives in a high and holy place has chosen to live with the lowly too.

So where does this leave us today?

First, do one concrete thing about hunger today. A bag of groceries left with someone. A meal paid for. A monthly gift set up. Something done, not added to a list of things you intend to get to.

Second, follow Paul's instruction this week. Fix an amount and fix a day, and set it aside first, so your giving comes off the top rather than out of whatever survives the month.

Third, think of one person who assumes they're on the edge of your church, because of their past, their situation, or their questions. Say something to them today that assumes the opposite.

Wherever today takes you, hold onto this. A fast that feeds nobody is just a diet.

Thank you for joining me today. May God give you open hands, a wider table, and eyes that find the person standing at the edge. Until tomorrow, let your worship end up in somebody's hands.