Family, Food, and Fun!!!

I’m sitting here rehearsing the events of a great weekend! Memorial Day weekend is the official kick-off of summer, where I live. On Saturday I enjoyed the annual Tea Party festival in my community, stopped by a bridal shower, and ended the evening with family at my cousin’s cookout. Each event characterized by great fellowship with people we know and love, entertainment, and you guessed it: GREAT FOOD! With that in mind I thought about this blog and how I had initially intended to write it over a week ago. But after gleaning more insight this week, I believe now is the time. Perhaps this post will be one of a series, but those of you who know me personally; will understand that I’m going to try to give as much here as possible. I have the same spiritual tendencies as natural ones: when it comes to eating I want to eat to get full.

Over the past couple weeks we have been studying the Book of Acts and discussing ways to practically allow the Holy Spirit to flow out of us like the refreshing waters of a springing well (see John 7:38). As we talked I was reminded of my love for all-you-can-eat buffets. There is something psychologically gratifying about having the liberty to enjoy dozens of foods and desserts by paying one reasonable price. Have you ever said to someone, “I’m so full I can barely breathe”? I thought about that…eating so much until it alters my breathing pattern. That’s what we must talk about today. How many times do we feed and cater to our flesh until the spiritual side of us is literally being strangled to death? Sure, our first thought is the obvious appetites of our sinful nature: the outward sexual impurity, drunkenness, reveling and the like. But, what about the inward snares of jealousy, hatred, strife, revenge, and gossip?! Summer time is a great time to be on guard for all types of flesh desires to rise. As we consider the spirit flowing like waters of a well, let us be on guard against those things that come to stop up our wells: both outward and inward fleshly habits. This past week I heard a teaching by Perry Stone that leaped in my belly. Please forgive the pun. Lol. Perry expounds on God’s dietary restrictions in Deuteronomy 14:3-8. Perry notes that when it comes to the swine it only meets half the requirement. It has the cloven hooves, but its diet is wrong! Hallelujah! The contrast is that swine will eat flesh! Let us consider, we can have the walk (go to church, sing the songs, wave our Bibles) but what do we feast on? Perry notes when we should be feasting on the Meat of the Word, we have a tendency to become like wild pigs, searching out and eating flesh. (Pigs are omnivores) Today, I ask, are you feeding on flesh? Are you satisfying your own fleshly desires or foraging around searching out the flesh(mistakes, flaws) of others to consume them? I close with this thought. Remember how much I love the liberty of buffets; however, that liberty becomes deadly when I do not practice self-control. Hear what the apostle says in Galatians 5, the champion for our Christian liberties: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:13-16. As you embrace the liberties of summer, remember to eat the right things! Don’t starve your Spirit! Your diet needs a healthy dose of kingdom disciplines: Prayer, Bible Study, Fellowship with believers, Worship, and Accountability to name a few.

See you next time----Kia