Truth Seekers Newsletter
September 16, 2007: Food, Blessing or Curse???
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Food, One of God's Gifts to Us
The first reference to food in the Bible was in the very first book. Genesis 1:29-30 tells us that right from the beginning, God provided food for His Creation.
Do you think of food as a gift? Because of America's obsession with food, (either the consuming of it or the attempted avoidance of it through various diets), we may have ceased to think of food as a gift. But it is a gift from God!
God continued with the gift of food, even after His initial gift to Adam and Eve. There are countless examples all through the Bible of God's provision of food and drink for His People. Some of these examples are God's provision of manna to His People in the desert, David's 23rd Psalm, where David noted that God provided delicious food for him to eat and even Jesus' provision of wine at a wedding. Jesus noted God's Provision in the Lord's Prayer, when He asked God to "give us this day our daily bread."
Don't Even Think About Eating That!
After giving man wonderful provision of food, God laid out one significant restriction. In Genesis 2:16-17, we are told that God told Adam and Eve they could eat from ANY tree in the garden, except one. God also laid out the consequences of what would happen if they ate of that one tree. They would die.
If you were told that you could eat anything in the whole world, but one thing, how would you feel? With a world full of things to eat, would it bother you that you could not eat that one thing? Would you want to know more about why you could not eat it or would you just accept the reason you could not eat it was simply that God said, "Don't eat it."
Why Did Eve Eat That Fruit?
(Interesting aside ... was it an apple? You check out the Bible and let me know if you find where it says it was an apple!) Satan got to Eve with a very careful plot. Let's look at how it happened.
The Plot ... Tactic One ... Doubt
First, satan planted doubt. He simply asked Eve if God really said they could not eat of that fruit. When sin is hovering at the mouth of the Body of Christ, satan will say, "Did God really say what you thought He said?" Know what God said!
The Plot ... Tactic Two .. The Lie
Next, satan just flat out lied to Eve. He told her that what God said was not true. Notice satan did not try to dispute that God said it. He simply tried to get Eve to believe that what God said was not true.
At some point, we come to the crossroads of what we believe. Do we know what God said and do we believe that God's Word is true and can be trusted?
The Plot ... Tactic Three ... The Bait
Eve knew what God said. So how did she get suckered in? Satan put in the kicker. "If you eat this, you can be like God, knowing good and evil." To Eve, the first part of that sentence must have sounded wonderful ... to be like God. Wow!
Could you be tempted to have just one bite to see if it would give you all the Knowledge God has? Think of it! You could know the answers to all those questions you have about why life happened as it did. You could know the future. You could know everyone else's thoughts. If one believed that he could become like God, it might be very tempting.
Is It So Bad to Want to be like God?
Being conformed to the Likeness of God is a good thing. But we become like God, as Jesus demonstrated for us ... by submission to the Will of the Father and Obedience to Him. We don't love God simply to get access to His Power. We love God for Who He is, not just for what He can give us. Eve was not interested in being closer to God. She was tempted by believing she could have God's Power.
The Plot ... Tactic Four ... Be Careful What You Ask For. You Just Might Get It!
The prohibited fruit came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why would anyone want to have the knowledge of evil? Think how many things we worry about. Literally everything we worry about is because we have some knowledge of evil concerning it. If we had never heard of cancer or knew anyone who ever had it, we would not worry about it.
If we could take a survey of everyone getting ready to leave this world and we could ask them, of the many things they worried about in life, how many came true, there would be a staggering number of things worried about that never materialized. But getting us to worry is exactly what satan had in mind with his knowledge of evil. If we are spending our time worrying, we will have less time to concentrate on spreading the Gospel of Christ.
Eve bit. She got what she asked for. She didn't become like God, in all His Power. But she did get the knowledge of good and evil. Bingo! Satan moved in for the kill.
The Plot ... Tactic Five ... The Guilt Trip
The Bible refers to satan as the accuser. Once a Christian has fallen to temptation, satan accuses. The knowledge of good allows us to know how far we have fallen into the hands of evil. Even good Christians are k-o-ed by the one, two sucker punch that says, "Look how far you've fallen. God will never love you again." Be aware that it not true.
God has loved us from the moment He created us. He recognizes us as His Child, even when we are covered with mud. As dirty as we may become, His Grace can get us clean.
Tempted by Food
The Bible is full of examples of people who were tempted by food. Let's go over to the new testament and see a very important person who satan tried to tempt with food. As I mentioned, satan's tactics never change.
Matthew 4:1-4 tells us of how satan tried the food route again with Jesus. Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. The Bible states the obvious very simply. Jesus was hungry!
Have You Ever Been in an Emotional Desert?
Have you ever been in a bad way for a long time? Have you ever prayed and prayed without relief ... and you were hungry, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically?
When you are in a desert, satan can mess with your head. Things that are real start to seem not real. Things that are not real start to seem real. Satan told Jesus to tell the stones around Him to become bread.
Satan's basic message: God is not going to provide for you. (See tactic two ... the lie.) You had better do something yourself. (See tactic three ... the bait.) Here ... let me tell you what to do. (See tactic four ... be careful what you ask for.)
The Way Out of the Desert
How did Jesus respond? He quoted the Word of God. "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the Mouth of God."
Do you have a situation you don't know how to handle? Quick solution!
- Read the Word. Know what God says. Jesus knew what God said.
- Quote the Word boldly. The "demons" that bother most of us don't have horns and tails. They are the negative thoughts that come into our minds and trouble us. We need to know how to speak to those thoughts in the Name of Jesus, Who demonstrated it so well throughout His Life.
- Know the Word of God has a Power all its own. We have seen already that under the Power of God, even simple food becomes so much more. It is transformed into energy for the whole body. Trust the Power of the Word of God!
The Power of the Word of God
In John 6:35, Jesus said He was the Bread of Life. And this is no ordinary bread! Jesus said whoever ate of this Bread would never be hungry and they would never be thirsty. Notice He does not say we will never have to eat or drink again. He just promises that we will never be in need because He Himself will feed us when we need it. God's Word satisfies, but always leaves us looking forward to the next feeding!
Why Would God Want Us to Be Hungry?
In Deuteronomy 8:3, it says that God caused the people to hunger and then He fed them. He wanted His People to know on a regular basis that He would provide for them always. He does not throw us a one time Gift and then disappear. He reminds us on a regular basis that He is always there and always providing for us.
The Feeding of the Body
The food goes down the esophagus into the vat of acid in the stomach and on through the digestive tract. It is being changed as it goes, shaped and reshaped and parts of it going every which way.
Some parts are used for energy to fuel the body as a whole. Some parts of the food are given as gifts to the various parts of the body to help them fulfill their function within the body. Some parts get used immediately by the body. Some parts are stored for later use. The Word of God is just like that. It is fuel. It is a gift to the Body. It can be used immediately. It can be stored for later use.
What is the Message of Food in the Body?
Choose the right food for the Body. The right food is the Word of God.
Take in fresh food. God's Word is designed to be taken in on a regular basis. Don't try to live on Bible stories you heard as a child. Read God's Word, as if you had never heard it before. Thrive on its freshness!
Know that change is a part of God's Plan. Just as the food gets changed within the body, so we are changed as a part of God's Design to feed His Body.
What About That Waste Stuff?
If we are looking at the trip that food makes through the body, then we have to look at the whole trip. Is anything ever truly lost in the Body of Christ? Is there really such a thing as body waste? No!
Everything comes full circle. That which is lost from our physical bodies goes on to nurture other parts of God's creation. Things we consider waste become the fertilizer that helps other things grow. The carbon dioxide we breathe out becomes life to plants, which in turn make oxygen, which becomes life to us. What does this tell us?
God's Gifts come not just to us. They come through us. Whatever you receive is yours for a season. If it is a Word, it is designed to be shared. If it is a possession, it is designed to be used and then passed on.
Each time we eat, Jesus said to remember Him. He is whispering, "Let this food remind you of Me. All that is Me, I give to you. I am the Bread of Life. I give it to you now. It is fresh. Trust Me. It will change inside you into a Power you can't even imagine ... and if you let it, that Power will fuel every cell in My Body on earth. Enjoy and pass it on!"
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