What Kind of Food Are You Eating?

"Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But He said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about'...Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work'" (John 4:31-32, 34)

If you had asked me this question several months ago, beloved, I would have had to sheepishly admit that I had not always eaten what was nourishing and good for me. That practice is now thankfully gone and I am hopefully on the right track where food is concerned.

The disciples had taken the time to travel into the Samaritan village of Sychar to buy food for themselves as well as for their Master. When they returned to Jacob's well, however, and tried to get Him to eat some of the fare they had brought back with them, He refused it and said the strangest thing to them: "I have food to eat that you do not know about." It wasn't until they belabored the point by asking whether perhaps someone else might have brought Him something to eat that He revealed to them that the "food" about which He spoke was nothing less than busying Himself with doing the Father's will.

Sharing the good news of His coming sacrifice with the Samaritan woman was to Jesus like eating a 7-course dinner! It refreshed Him and rejuvenated His weary body. It blessed His spirit and strengthened Him for greater work that lay ahead. His focus was clearly not on whatever they might have brought back with them, but rather on the needs of those whom He met along the roadway of life.

What a wonderful example He is to us in this regard today, beloved! Sometimes as Christians our gaze is set so rigidly upon ourselves - our needs, our dreams, our desires - that we miss the opportunities to feast on the manna of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who cross our paths. That is precisely why He urged them to "lift up" their eyes and see what was right in front of them. People from Sychar were already on their way to Jacob's well, having heard the news from the woman that she had discovered the Messiah. Those people would need that good news and it would be the privilege of the disciples to share it with them. The disciples did not understand, beloved, but they were just about to feast on the food of heaven! They were about to have their spirits refreshed and their batteries recharged as well.

What kind of food are you eating, beloved? If it is from the world's menu, then know this - in short order you will hunger and thirst again for nothing that the devil has can satisfy. In fact, all of his dishes are empty! But the one who follows the example of Jesus and chooses as his daily fare the carrying out of the Father's will for his life will discover spiritual nourishing that satisfies completely and eternally. Reach out and touch someone in the name of Jesus, beloved. And as you do, enjoy your food!

Ron

The Robe, the Ring, the Sandals and the Fattened Calf

"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry'" (Luke 15:22-23)

No more tender story was ever uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ than this one, beloved! Believers from every generation have plumbed its depths again and again and still it discloses to us the most precious truths about the nature of God and His love for fallen man. Just look once again with me at the response of the father to his son's return and you will see how God feels about you.

The robe: Once he had run down the road to meet his returning son, the father gave the command to his servants that "the best robe" be brought from the house and placed around his shoulders over those tattered sin-stained garments he had worn for so long. The robe was a symbol of his sonship, his full acceptance back into the family as a true son. For us today as Christians, we are immediately clothed in the "robe" of the righteousness of Jesus Christ at the very instant that we humbly repent of our sins and turn in faith to the Savior.

The ring: I believe that the ring that was brought and put on that young man's finger was a signet ring bearing the family crest and used to authenticate business documents signed on behalf of the family. That dad bestowed upon his wayward son that day the symbol of full authority as a member of the family in good standing. As Christians today we wear the "ring" of the authority of Jesus Christ as we represent Him in our world. I have heard the term "King's kids" often used over the years to describe believers and it is an apt term, indeed!

The sandals: Whatever may have been on that young man's feet when he left home were long gone, having worn away and been discarded with his travels in a devil's sinful world. Barefoot at last, he returned to his father and instantly received the sandals of a free man. You see, only slaves went barefoot in that day and, though the son felt that he deserved only to be made a servant in the household, the father would have none of it. His forgiveness set his son free to be his son again! As sons and daughters of God, beloved, through faith in Jesus Christ we have been declared to be free from the bondage and penalty of sin and have been welcomed fully into God's family.

The fattened calf: Robed, ringed, sandaled and welcomed - what else remained except for all of them to make merry with a great banquet celebration? And that is precisely what they did! It was "shouting time" for them and they made the most of it. God's Word teaches us that there is great joy in heaven over one sinner who genuinely repents (vv. 7, 10). The marriage supper of the Lamb is coming, beloved, (Revelation 19:7-10) and we who are His own by grace will wear the garment of righteousness as we make merry with the King of Kings.

All that the father of the prodigal did for him, God has done and will do for you and me and more! So great is His love, so vast His desire to forgive that if we take but one step of true repentance in the direction of home, He will meet us out on the road! We are the beloved of God and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the measure of just how much we are loved.

Ron

Recognizing That Heaven Rules

"And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules" (Daniel 4:26)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! Now there is a statement that is the most far-reaching and life-impacting in all of the Word of God, beloved! When Daniel spoke those words to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, as he interpreted one of the king's dreams for him, he was speaking on behalf of the Creator of the universe. Nebuchadnezzar was having one of his "I am the greatest!" fits and God had determined that it was time for him to learn at long last who truly "rules" in heaven and on earth. And, true to His word, when the king continued to bask in the glory of his own grandeur, God spoke the word that sent him into the pastures to eat grass with the royal cattle. And there he stayed until at last he could stand on his two feet again as a man and declare to all the world:

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, exalt, praise, and honor the King of heaven; for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride" (4:37)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! If ever a divine truth needed to be echoed again and again across the length and breadth of Planet Earth, beloved, this is that truth. We have become inundated with the teaching that man stands at the center of the universe, that man is the focal point of all that is life, that there is no Creator, that this world exists solely by chance and for man. No wonder that so many people live their lives today, then, by the same philosophy that ruled the life of the king of Babylon!

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! No one said it any better than the king himself, beloved, once he had learned just who the one true God truly is. His declaration put it all into the right perspective for us today:

"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" (4:35)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! Whether man today wants to acknowledge this divine truth or not, beloved, it stands just the same. We each stand before Creator God in full accountability to Him, the One who rules and reigns over all that is, has ever been, or ever will be. If the king of Babylon, the most powerful man on earth in his day, could be driven to eat grass with the cattle for seven years, what do you think will be the result of our foolishness and pride today?

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! I find in that reality the single greatest source of comfort and security that is imaginable, beloved. God holds my life and your life in the hollow of His omniscient hand. He moves us here and there at His good pleasure and for His personal glory. It is our destiny in this life and our great privilege to serve and honor the One who made us and whose own possessions we are by grace. Unless we begin to live in a manner that will "exalt, praise, and honor the King of heaven" (v.37), we will find out to our utter dismay how completely "He is able to humble those who walk in pride"!

Ron

Sticking to It in a Non-stick World

"Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure" (2 Thessalonians 1:4)

How many of you remember when Teflon was first introduced to America's kitchens, beloved? How cool was that to watch fried eggs and pancakes slide off a tilted cooking surface and onto your waiting breakfast plate? No doubt "non-stick" has been one of the most far-reaching and practical inventions of the mind of man!

Unfortunately, we seem also to have found a way to introduce Teflon into our spiritual lives as well. How vividly I recall hearing a preacher say one time concerning Paul's term "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) that the only problem with a "living sacrifice" is that it wants to keep crawling off the altar! That same thing can be said of the "non-stick" quality that the lives of many professing Christians exhibit in living for Jesus Christ today. Simply put, we seem to have a problem staying put! In his second recorded letter to the saints in Thessalonica, the apostle joyfully spoke of his boasting to others concerning the Thessalonians' "perseverance" in the midst of much persecution and affliction. The Greek word hupomone means literally "an abiding under" and focuses specifically upon one's patience under trial. While it is true that today the word "patience" often brings to mind something passive - just sitting there, so to speak - nothing could actually be any further from the truth.

In this verse Paul mentioned the "persecutions and afflictions which you endure." The Greek verb anecho means "hold up" in the sense of them holding themselves "upright" in their faithfulness to the call of God and in their trust in Him despite horrible living circumstances. In the midst of intense hostility aimed at them by the enemies of the gospel and its accompanying painful suffering, the Thessalonians had chosen to "stick to it" and to serve Jesus Christ unashamedly and faithfully.

How much Teflon has gotten mixed into your living today, beloved? Do you tend to "slide" spiritually from here to there? Paul had this very spiritual instability in mind when he spoke to the Ephesian believers concerning their being "tossed here and there" (4:14) by the false teachings of men and the pressures of trying to stick to it in a non-stick world. Today more than at any other time in the history of the church of Jesus Christ, the world needs to see believers who "stick to it"! Let's leave the Teflon in our cookware, beloved, and just determine to hold fast no matter what.

Ron

Don't Cut Satan Any Slack!

"And don't give the devil an opportunity" (Ephesians 4:27)

"Cut me some slack!" How many times have you ever heard that, beloved, or even said it yourself? One early use of this term was by mountain climbers who used ropes for ascending and descending heights. Sometimes when roped together, one climber might need some space to move around or reach another level, so would say to the one controlling from above or below: "Cut me some slack!"

Metaphorically, then, the term has come to mean to give space for something. Here in the words of the Apostle Paul to the believers in the city of Ephesus, we find him writing to them about the importance of not giving way to unrighteous anger in their daily living. To that end, he cautioned them against unwittingly "giving the devil an opportunity" in their lives. The word translated "opportunity" is the Greek topos from which we derive our English word "topography." The word literally means "a place" and has been applied by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates as used here by Paul to mean "to give place to" or more simply "to make room."

Whenever we do not follow the leading of God's Spirit and live by His Word, beloved, we unintentionally "make room" for Satan to operate in our lives. I have heard it used to mean giving the devil room to operate. That is an excellent translation and is the intended meaning here by the apostle. He was warning the Ephesian saints not to make room for the devil in their living, not to "cut him some slack" and, thus, room to move about. So how do we as Christians make sure that we do not ever give the devil any room to operate in our lives, no opportunities to work against the plan and purpose of God? Consider what this same apostle wrote to the believers in Philippi about guarding themselves spiritually:

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things" (Philippians 4:8)

As followers of Jesus Christ, we do not ever "back off and cut some slack" to the devil! We need to set our minds and hearts on the things that Paul mentioned to the saints in Philippi, beloved, to guard our thoughts and our hearts from Satan's ever-vigilant efforts to worm his way in and lead us astray. Whether it is unrighteous anger or the physical enticements of this lost and condemned world-system, we who are Christians need to post "No Trespassing!" signs around our lives and be always alert for the devil's attempts to invade our holy living and lead us astray.

Don't give the devil an opportunity! Stay in constant touch with the indwelling Spirit of God and allow Him to control every thought, word, and deed. Practice the Lordship of Jesus Christ, beloved, and Satan will never be able to mount an offensive that will steal you away from the One who rightfully rules in your life.

Ron