Pro Choice

 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
-Romans 6:16 (King James Version)

We've been talking about nourishing our spirit the past few days. It's your choice as to what nourishment you bring to your body and spirit. What you nourish is what you become. If you bring nourishment to your spirit, you will grow in the things of God. Likewise, if you bring nourishment to your flesh, you will become like the world. I heard a preacher say this past weekend, "I'm pro choice. I choose to follow Jesus. I choose to obey His commands. I choose to give myself to Him." Have you made the choice to follow Jesus? 

Paul writes in Romans 6:16, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Whatever you yield to (or give yourself to) becomes who you serve. It becomes your master. What you choose to give yourself to, that is what you choose to serve. Paul makes it clear that it works both ways. "whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." Whether we choose sin, or we choose obedience, we become the servant of what we choose. 

Earlier in the chapter, Paul writes, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."  What are you giving yourself to? What are you feeding in your life. Do you give yourself to God, or give yourself to sin. What nourishment are you giving yourself? Think About It.

The Nourishment You Need

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

-John 14:23-24 (King James Version)

We talked yesterday about our spiritual diets. We read that we don't live just by bread, but by the Word of God. Friends, we must feed our spirit, we must feed our spirit the nourishment from the Bible. We must feed our spirit the Word of God. Anything less, and our spirit will be malnourished and our faith will be weak and non existent. 

Jesus, in teaching His disciples just before His betrayal taught them about the importance of His teachings. Numerous times in John 14 alone, we read Jesus telling them to keep His commandments. It's by keeping His commandments that we prove our relationship with Him. John 14:23 says, "Jesus answered and said unto them, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." We get the nourishment our Spirit needs when we keep the words of Jesus, keep His commandments. Look at what happens: Jesus will make His abode with us when we keep His words. An abode simple means a place in which one lives. Jesus will live in us, giving our spirit the nourishment it needs to develop a great and strong faith. 

But, while verse 23 provides a great promise, verse 24 gives a warning, "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." We prove our love by keeping the commands of Jesus. This results in Jesus living in us. When we don't keep His commands, we prove that we really don't love Jesus. Do you show your love for Jesus by keeping His commands? Think About It.

Food For Thought

31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

-John 4:31-34 (King James Version)

I must confess-I like to eat. As long as the food isn't spicy, I like to eat. In our Scripture for today, the disciples had returned from purchasing food, and they were encouraging Jesus to eat with them. Jesus, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to teach them an important lesson. It's a lesson that you and I need to hear today, as well.

After the disciples urged Jesus to eat something, he replied, "'I have meat to eat that ye know not of.'" What's this? Could Jesus have some kind of secret stash of food that He was hiding from them? No, not exactly. To completely understand, we have to do some backing up in Scripture.

When Jesus was being tempted by satan in the wilderness, we read these verses: " And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:2-4 KJV)" Jesus was in the desert and fasted for 40 days and nights. He knew the time was at hand to begin His ministry, and I'm sure that He was spending time with the Father getting prepared for His work. Afterward, at the time of temptation, Jesus was hungry. Of course He would be, he fasted for 40 days & nights. It was at that point, when He was hungry and possibly tired and weak, that the tempter came. The tempter knew that Jesus hungered, that's why his first temptation involved food. The tempter challenged Jesus, in verse 3 "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Could Jesus have done that? Of course He could, but what would it prove. This is why I think there is a deeper meaning to John 4:32. Jesus replied to the tempter by quoting a verse from Deuteronomy 8:3. "that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." 

Here is what I believe the deeper meaning is. Food provides nourishment to the body. It enables us to function, it provides us the energy we need to go about our day to day lives. There is some food that is good for us, and other food that is not beneficial to us. The Word of God provides nourishment to our soul. The Word of God enables us to function in the work of God, it provides for us the energy we need to do what God has called us to do. Jesus had fasted from for 40 days & nights in the wilderness, and then was challenged in His hunger. Yet, I believe His soul was filled. When Jesus replied "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," I believe He was teaching about the importance of the Word of God. We have the Bible, we have God's Word for us. Those words teach us the way to life, they provide for us instruction in how God expects us to live. We need nourishment from food to function day to day. We need our nourishment from the Word of God to help us live the life that God expects.

Jesus said "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)." In other words, Jesus is saying that His nourishment is to do the will of God, to finish the work He called me to do. One can only do the will of God, and finish the work He's called us to do, if we are properly nourished spiritually. It reminds me of something Paul said, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (First Corinthians 9:27)" Paul is speaking about the importance of being nourished spiritually, so that we he could finish the work. How bad would it be if you preached the Word, led others to Christ, only to have missed the mark and be condemned to Hell because you never accepted Jesus. Paul also said these words, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (Second Timothy 4:7)." 

Are you taking time to nourish your soul each day? Or is your soul starving for nourishment? Think About It.