eat

Eat your fill

/ EllieJ

Read: Leviticus 24-25, Mark 1:23-45

Who doesn’t want to have their cake and eat it too? In a culture where consumption of nearly every kind is at an all-time high, we want what we want, and we want it now! When we live our lives like that every day, it’s hard not to let that same attitude seep into our relationship with God. We use Him like a genie in a bottle, only rubbing away when we want something and then getting upset when we don’t get it right away. We forget that there were some stipulations or precursors placed on our getting.

Leviticus 25:18-19

If Israel wanted the prosperous land God had promised to them back in Egypt, a few things were required of them. Okay, maybe it was more than a few since the entire book of Leviticus is an instruction manual, but you get the picture. If Israel wanted the land to prosper like they’d been promised, they had to abide by the laws God had laid out for them.

Now, before you get all but-that-was-the-Old-Testament-under-the-law on me, Jesus said something rather similar in nature.

And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after such things and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Luke 12:29-31 (NIV)

When Israel entered the Promised Land, God had promised them so much that they would only harvest six of every seven years. That seventh year, they’d reap only what grew in the unplanted fields, and that would be enough to sustain them through the year. In the 49th year, they wouldn’t reap at all, but the previous year’s harvest would be three year’s worth! All of this, if they followed God’s decrees and kept His laws.

God knows we need stuff. We need food. We need clothing. We need shelter. We need. We need. We need. We know that. He knows that. Us telling Him we need that stuff probably won’t make that big of a difference. But what I believe will make a difference is how (and how often) we approach God. Do we go to Him because we need something or do we go to Him because we need Him? Do we go to Him because we want something or do we go to Him because we want Him?

Jesus said that if we sought after the kingdom of God first, everything else would fall into place. This wasn’t a new principle he was announcing to the world. He was only reiterating what his Father had said centuries ago. Obey. Seek God. You’ll be fine.

If you want to eat your fill, you have to first do His will.

Carried away

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

As we humans grow from infancy to adulthood, there is little we can do to stop or alter the process. We get carried away on this journey called maturity. As we age, our bodies mature. All we have to do is ensure that we do what we can to sustain ourselves—proper food, activity, rest, and those things change as we age.

We cannot prevent our bodies from maturing, but why do we stop our spirits from going through the same process?

So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start all over again with the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

Hebrews 6:1 (NLT)

The term go on here is not so much a call to action, but a call to let go.

…the thought [would not be] primarily of personal effort, but of personal surrender to an active influence. The power is working; we have only to yield ourselves to it.

The International Bible Commentary

No one wants to see a 40-year-old man still acting like the high school football jock. It’s embarrassing. So why is it okay when it comes to our Christianity? Why do we allow ourselves to remain in spiritual infancy when we’ve been called to maturity? By continually going over the basics of Christianity, we essentially anchor ourselves to spiritual infancy. We become malnourished because, while we should be growing, we’re only feeding ourselves the bare necessities required to keep us alive.

Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.

Hebrews 5:14 (NLT)

Like giving solid food to a baby for the first time, the experience may not be the easiest, but it must be done if that baby is going to grow into an adult. Little by little, new foods are introduced that help a child grow and mature. Our faith works exactly the same. We’re not expected to go from milk to steak, but we do need to go through the difficult process of introducing new truths from the Word of God if we ever expect ourselves to grow.

We don’t have to make ourselves grow and mature, we just need to be sure we’re doing what we can to properly sustain ourselves through the process.

So, go ahead, let yourself get carried away. Just don’t forget to back your lunch.

Daily Bible reading: Jeremiah 51-52, Hebrews 6

Eat what you want

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.

Mark 7:15 (NLT)

Eat what you want. Food won’t affect your spirit (unless you’re a cannibal…). One must give the Pharisees A for effort, but it was misplaced. At every turn, they tried to prove Jesus wrong. All they wanted was one instance where they could point their fingers and tell the world that he was wrong. But in every instance, Jesus had the perfect response.

While the Jews were very much stuck on the rules and regulations regarding what was and what was not acceptable to eat, Jesus came right out and said that it didn’t matter! What goes in (and out) of our stomachs has no bearing on eternity. It’s what goes in and out of our hearts that makes the difference.

It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.

Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)

Before we ever take part in any sinful action, it begins in our heart—our soul. If we allow it to dwell in us, it will come out eventually. This is why we are told to let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Don’t get caught up in the laws of the flesh, but rather be sure to guard the door of your spirit.

Daily Bible reading: Numbers 21-23, Mark 7:14-8:10

Cannibal

/ EllieJ / 1 Comment

Imagine you were in Capernaum in the time Jesus walked the earth. You follow him because he performs miracles. You listen to him because he is wise. And then he says this:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

John 6:53-55 (ESV)

Whoa there, Jesus. You want us to what?

One can easily see how the people were a bit offended by these words. Here was a man pretty much encouraging cannibalism. But there was no revelation. Remember that this is before the Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit showed up and filled the believers.

Mosey on down a few verses.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:63 (ESV)

Remember back to this post (or read it if you haven’t). Jesus and the Word are one and the same. And if you go one step further, Jesus and the Spirit are the same. God is Father, Spirit, and Son. Each are separate. All three are one. There is no way we can really wrap our minds around the concept of the trinity, but we know that the three-in-one has been around since before time. In Genesis, the first instance where God is mentioned, the Hebrew word used is actually plural. More than one. Three in one.

So if Jesus is the Word and Jesus is the Spirit, can we go one step further and say that Jesus isn’t really telling us to literally eat him (because, let’s face it, that’s gross), but rather to consume the Word. His words are spirit and life. By keeping his Word in us, we have life in us. We have the Spirit in us. We have Jesus in us.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Kings 20-22; John 6:45-71