I had the opportunity to get away with my family for a week. I knew it would be a sort of busy time, even though relaxing- because I wanted to spend time focusing on my children, and being there for them- I didn't want to just seclude myself with a book or such. But I asked God to speak to me, even if I wouldn't have a lot of extra time to devote to Him, and to just listening.
And what I found, was that as we did our family bible times, and as I did my personal devotions, I kept finding scriptures pop out at me. Scriptures on food, and eating, specifically. Which is why I post them here- one of the reasons I started this blog. When I record these scriptures it helps me to chronicle what He's teaching me- it makes it more clear.
Luke 6
1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" 3And Jesus answered them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?" 5And he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."*I think what stuck out to me here, was that Jesus had a biblical command that was to be followed, and yet He was ABOVE it. I believe that this idea is something He wants to get across to me, and I've seen it in some of my previous posts. He gave instructions in His word about what to eat, and not eat, and when to eat it, etc. But He is also showing here, that the Kingdom is even bigger than the following of rules!! I can eat the wrong thing at the wrong time, and still be entirely encompassed by His immense grace.
Luke 733For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."*I loved the way Jesus showed the difference between two ways of approaching faith and relationship with God, and He didn't say that either was wrong! To be exuberant, or ascetic, our focus must be on the Father. Even Jesus wasn't disconnected from relationship to His Father because of what He ate or didn't eat. I know Jesus ate the Torah, but I also see here that His "feasting" lifestyle wasn't the issue. It was His heart, it was His faith, it was His love.
Luke 7:23And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.*Blessed is the one who does not stumble because Jesus was not what they expected Him to be...? Only who He said He was....
Ephesians 513But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.*The part here I was noticing, is not to depend on alcohol, but on His Spirit. But have I been depending on the TV, the Internet, my snack cupboard, my raw food diet, my credit card, my leisure.... Oh it hurts somehow to say it. Please forgive me Lord. Maybe I haven't been drunk on wine, but have I been drunk on my own will? On the very food that I eat? Have I bowed down to what I should have given Him thanks for, and been willing to surrender into His hands?
1 Timothy 523(No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)A couple of years ago when I was still battling irritable bowel symptoms, Jed prayed for me, and then said: I think the Lord is saying that you should have a glass of wine every day. (I am smiling, because you can't imagine how that surprised me!) Now I was very, very puzzled. My sister has battled addiction; I have alcoholism in my family history. Was it even possible that God would say this to me, or was Jed just a little off track? I am still thinking about it I guess, because this was one of the verses that really stuck out to me this week.
I did a brief search on the Internet, and read that if a person was to naturally (no yeast, etc.) ferment raw, unprocessed grape juice, they would have to drink about a gallon in order to raise their blood alcohol level by the same amount that an ounce or two of whiskey would do. Hmm.
Another thing that I puzzled over was: that the wine Paul would have been referring to would have had to be raw and unprocessed, for they had no other kind. In that raw wine, there would be all sorts of healthy probiotics. Probiotics are another thing I've remarked on briefly, here and there. Probiotics help our immune system; help us digest protein; help us digest fats; help us ward off yeasts, etc. Is my Heavenly Father trying to say something to me about probiotics, not necessarily wine?
Zechariah 7 4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: 5"Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?"
8And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9"Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."*I noticed especially verse 6. I believe what I am supposed to notice here, is that it was the
eating for self that was the problem. It was their love (verses 9 and 10) that mattered most. I've seen that link before. It's not what you eat, it's love that counts with God.
Luke 942While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43And all were astonished at the majesty of God.*The part that stood out to me here, was that Jesus delivered this boy and healed him. Healed, AND delivered. Nothing missing, nothing broken! Hallelujah! It can be that way for us- Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. His word still heals and delivers.
Luke 108Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'*Notice that if you just take the middle part of the two verses, it would say:
Eat what is set before you. Heal the sick.
That's another common thread here. He knew we would need to be healed ourselves, and that it was our mission while here to heal others. I like that. Eat anything you are given, and heal whoever comes into your path. It reminds me of another scripture that Jed would remind me about: "Get up Peter, kill and eat." Acts 10:13. I would always tell Jed that the scripture was referring to evangelism, not a carnivorous diet, but today I give pause. That scripture in Acts 10 also goes on to say "What God has made clean, do not call common." Yes, the scripture refers to the Gentiles, who were to receive the message about Jesus, BUT! Isn't it also a parallel scripture to the one in Luke 10, in where Jesus is saying: eat everything; heal everyone. It's all yours.
Hmmm.
Luke 11 5And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, 6for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"*No food intolerances for me: He said He would give me the bread I need.
Luke 11 33 "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers 37While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.*Firstly, He's saying He doesn't want me confused. What I don't know, I am to know. Second, He wants my attitudes, my perceptions, my mindsets. He wants my entire focus to be on Him. Not on diet. Not on food.
Not on self. When my focus is on Him, my body will be whole too.
I especially love the part where Jesus doesn't wash His hands. I think I've posted on that before. Once again, He is saying that our LOVE is more important than the avoidance of germs. YES! Oh Lord, help me to focus on You always. Help me to put you ahead of the avoidance of "germs". Amen!!
Joel 218Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. 19The LORD answered and said to his people,"Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
20"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.
21"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! 22Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
24"The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
26 "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.*The part in verse 22 about how the tree bears its fruit, made me imagine my digestive system (also a creation of God) in its optimum condition- doing what it's supposed to do perfectly- like a tree that bears the proper fruit.
Then, in verse 25 I see the restoration of everything I've lost due to illness. It took a toll on my marriage; my household; my mothering and teaching; it took a toll on my friendships. But the Lord is declaring to me a FULL restoration. Not just healing, not just deliverance, but a RESTORATION of what has been missing; of what caused the lack in the first place. He will not settle for my moderate wellness: in verse 26, it says I will eat in plenty and be satisfied! I will feast again!! This is possible through Jesus, our Lord. He took all of our sins and diseases, and curses upon Himself, so that we wouldn't have to. So that we could have His total righteousness, and cleanness. Because we have been forgiven by God (Jesus took our punishment), we can also be totally healed!
The last verse where He says "I am in the midst of her", I imagined God inhabiting not just my spirit, but my entire digestive tract. My entire body! I want Him, in all His goodness, to dwell in the midst of me, that there never be disease again.
I will never again be put to shame (verse 27). Yes. His word is true.
Zechariah 9 16On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.*I know these scriptures can be a prophetic picture of the kingdom of God (the coming of the Saviour, Jesus Christ): the Holy Spirit would be the Wine, maybe the word of God is the Bread in this passage. But it also made me think of how God is a feasting, exuberant, celebrating (loving, good, and happy) God! Feast foods are good for us, but nowhere in His word do we see that people (on earth I mean, not in heaven) would feast every day. Maybe too much rich food isn't good for us. Wheat is good; naturally cultured raw grape juice (bible wine) is good for us; the fattened calf is good for us; so are curds and honey, BUT, perhaps not every day. Maybe this is where the standard North American diet has erred. The typical North American eats feast foods every day! Think about a drive thru meal: A burger is a fattened calf, on wheat, with curds. A pop is the excessive intake of honey. A side of fries is to eat the fat.
I'm just pondering here. I do believe He wants our utter freedom, but probably not our excess.
