FOOD BY FAITH PREFACE

 

Instruction for Health and Nutrition is all through the Bible.

There is good news. Are you ready? All our food can be good, healthful, nourishing, energizing. It is there, coming from the earth, the trees, the vine, coming from rain from heaven. But of late, if we have been hurting ourselves because we are taking the “wide road” with devitalized food.  Why just quick and easy? Why processed food, chemical additives, and addictions? It is making us unhealthy, sick; making us less than we want to be and can be. There is another way.

This “other way” has been a profound subject for me, almost too high, too broad, and too deep. At the same time, the worthiness and fascination of it calls me. It has been a lifelong interest. I believe this “Way” because the Bible is correct in every respect about spiritual food and physical food. What has been inspiring as I study the subject is that one type of food (spiritual) teaches about the other type (physical).

The Bible has profoundly influenced my life. From the first day I was born, and every day thereafter, my father and mother and their family of eight children read the Bible aloud together. Seven siblings and I learned to read this way. It influenced me, even before I realized, it directed my life. By my twenties, my health pursuits became an adventure primarily because of Scripture.

At one point I traveled to Texas. I could type well and got a job at Link-Temco-Vought (LTV) in Dallas. There all the ways of the culture came up, including food and alcohol. Instead of going rogue, I decided to follow the Bible already planted in my head and heart. My spirit, soul and body needed to be fed. I saw good food described in Scripture.  For example, Ezekiel’s bread. God told Ezekiel, "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof..." (Ezekiel 4:9). Food is also figurative, "And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35).

The Bible has vital information about food and health sprinkled all the way through. We can go to it with certainty that here is dependable wisdom and knowledge because our Creator designed it all. It is the “bottom line” in nutritional wisdom. Believe this with me.

The more you learn about real and nutritious food, and the value to your health, the more you will enjoy it. Get it into your head and heart. Once convinced, eating knowledgably, eating wisely becomes a habit. Habitually eat what is good, you will soon look forward to it, even crave it. Grab salted almonds or a crisp apple and cheddar cheese or grapes. Two pieces of Ezekiel Bread, available in grocery stores (freezer section), with butter heated in the microwave for 30 seconds, then honey added, with it a half cup of grass-fed milk is one effective way to begin the day. You and your body are happy.

"And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the land." (Isaiah 7:22).

Put together an aromatic loaf of whole wheat bread for yourself in little more than an hour (see Chapter two). Make beef meatloaf with old fashioned oats, onion, and salt. Healthy things become desirable. Our daughter in law, Roxy wanted her birthday cake to be Oatmeal Cake. Whole wheat blonde brownies with whip cream are good. All the desserts have whole wheat flour, butter or olive oil, maple syrup or raw sugar.

All of us desire good health, satisfying food for our spirit, soul, and body. Is this physical or figurative? The Holy Spirit calls to us in Isaiah 55:1: "Ho, every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come, buy, and eat; yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:1,2).

Finding what is healthy and good and pleasing to God, and you, are what this book is about. Feeling better. Looking better. Being wise. By achieving goals of weight, physical endurance and knowledge, this pursuit has been an adventure.

FEEDING YOUR SPIRIT:  THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE BIBLE. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16).

There are times that I have gone to the Bible late at night, hungering for encouragement and comfort. "For the word of God is quick, (alive) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12). “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4).

FEEDING YOUR SOUL: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Love. The powerful pursuit so intricately connected with relationship to God and healthy relationships with our neighbor.

FEEDING YOUR BODY: The person you are deserves your best effort to nurture, to strengthen and feed in this one life you are living this side of heaven.

There are “voices” claiming to have the best, most authoritative health regimen. My recommendation is as you study any of them hold Scripture up as the first consideration. It is the final authority.

“What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:19,20).

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WHOLE GRAIN BREAD ... GETTING SPIRITUAL ABOUT IT

 

No matter what State in the lower forty-eight our family of ten traveled, quoting Bible stories, and singing hymns, my mother baked whole wheat bread. The rented house might be humble, the kitchen old, but our mother’s bread baked in a discovered pan of some shape sent an aroma wafting in and around our “new home”. Suddenly there was a comforting sense of home.

It is obvious in the Bible that bread is important: it is a picture of Jesus, The Bread of Life. In the modern era bread is not like it used to be. No longer whole, the vitamins, minerals, protein and bran, are taken apart and sold separately. The vitamins and minerals are often bleached out. The three parts of the grain, so health building in the form it grew in, is separated: the endosperm is bleached, devaluing its nutrition. When the whole grain, in three major parts, the bran, endosperm and germ, are made into bread together the result is powerfully healthful.

Looking deeper, the three parts of the wheat illustrate the Godhead: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Whole grains are bran, endosperm, and germ.

God, who wrote the Bible gave us “The Bread of Life” who is Jesus. "In him was life," John 1:4. He feeds us spiritually, in our spirit, soul and body. God created bread, made as a healthy major food to feed us physically, to strengthen the heart, give vitamins and minerals, protein, and fiber. Major health food.

Psalm 104:15 “And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart.” The heart as the most interior organ.

What is a Whole Grain? | The Whole Grains Council

https://wholegrainscouncil.org 

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE

1.“FOOD AND FAITH GO TOGETHER”

 

The Bible is a Guide to food. From the beginning God planned for our health and wellbeing. "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."  Genesis 1:29. And more than that: the Scriptures have spoken of food within the very essence of its message to us: "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." Isaiah 55:2

It starts with faith: does the God Who created the world and everything in it, the One who formed your personhood and very breath of life, have a Plan for you? For what you eat? Since God planned history from the past to now, look for wisdom in every area of your life. “You will show me the path of life…” Psalm 16:11.

It makes sense that God would plan for the intricacies in our lives, including health. “So, God created mankind in His own image…” Gen 1:27. You will never find a mistake in the plan of the Bible. What is being discovered continuously, math in the heavens and the earth, the flowers, herbs, trees, and leaves, all “declare the glory of God.”

Your body is amazing, the more it is understood the more complexity is revealed. Even physicians often concentrate on one part of the body.

The body’s DNA is a map of sorts of your personhood.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and all other organisms. Every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. Most DNA is in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA ormtDNA).

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/basics/dna - Genetics

Discernment kicks in here. Does the man, who is a creation, or God, the Creator have the final word?

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Since Jesus is the bread of life, take that from a profound, spiritual truth to a practical one. He is the giver of health to your spirit, soul, and body. Walk to the light...."if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin." I John 1:7.

YOUR MARRIAGE: TOGETHER YET INDIVIDUALS

One week before my thirtieth birthday, I married Eric. He was impressive:  well-educated, well spoken, a musician and handsome. He had pursued me quietly, persistently. I loved him.

 

Two weeks after our three-day honeymoon, I was sitting on the front steps of our thirty foot mobile home we had rented from my parents. With downcast eyes, chin in hand, I asked myself, “Could I really love this man for a lifetime?”  Panic set in. What if he was not who I thought he was, no more dates, no other man forever!  Right then, my older sister walked past me on the dirt road in front of the trailer. (She had married Eric’s brother Stanley years before and lived on the land our parents developed and offered their eight children. Five of us were still on that street.) She sensed my discouragement, stopped and said, “Go in and make a home for Eric, or you will lose everything you ever dreamed of.”  A bit frustrated since my new husband was making the lowest salary allowable by law, I said, “With what?”  Her answer was profound, “With what you have.”

 

 A dream began:  if any wife has ever lived by the Bible, I will. And so, the process to learn what that meant began. 

 

Forty-eight years later, I smile at my idealism, yet somehow that determination solidified into hope: I would live by the Bible.  Eric and I had more to learn than we imagined, but now we have experienced that God is right.  He is good.  Through the years and trials we learned to work through disagreements and hurts. We are still motivated and have more unity than ever. Our three grown sons are successful contributors to the world around them. Eric retired after thirty-five years as a Logistics Manager for the Navy. The story of how his career started is amazing.

 

What happened between the beginning of our marriage and today, is the story of “Submission Is Not Silence”.  It is instruction that I have written to myself. More importantly it became my philosophy as I studied and learned what I believe the Bible says directly to and about women.

 

The Bible provides a dependable philosophy that guides every decision. It comes to life if you take it seriously, as it did for me. In desperation at first, I tried to understand it in black and white. It was cold on the page. But knowing God is always right, I let it deepen into my soul and spirit as I thought it through. Slowly it began to work for me as I put it into practice. It was becoming clearer in my head day by day. Where before I had thought that being a good wife meant the man made all the decisions, I was becoming an initiator toward Eric, more confident; it worked. When our marriage was hurting this guidance drew us closer.  

 

Why should it surprise me? God wrote it as the Handbook. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” II Timothy 3:16. Sometimes it was clear guidance or mysterious instruction, I would live by the Bible. I would rub my nose in the dust if I had to. But that was not what the Bible taught at all. That way of thinking was like a slap in the face of God who created me in His own image, and to have “dominion over all the earth” beside my husband. There is a way: it is in the Bible.

A TRUE CHURCH

 April 11, 2022. Reworked from October 12, 2016 by Lizzie

Sometimes I wonder, “Where is a true Church?” Where is a group of Christians that believe, teach and practice carefully the way to a successful life? The answer will only be found in the Bible. Where is a Church where the bottom line is not numbers and money but the moving of the Holy Spirit in a humble, authentic congregation?

I read about a pastor who stopped in the middle of a sermon, “opened up the floor” to the congregation and never went back to sermons as usual. The people participated together by expounding from the Bible what they had learned. They shared testimonies of Jesus at work in their lives. They departed from the half-hour lecture that no one remembers once outside the doors of the church.

This is not just a bright idea, the format is in the Bible, 1Corinthians 14:26.  "How is it then, brethren? when you come together, every one of you has a Psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying."  This would be a powerful motivation for every person to grow, to deepen, to seek the LORD through Scripture for themselves…and then express this growth for all to be encouraged by.

The Churches we have visited lately are disappointing. The music is loud; my husband gets Vertigo, (it is dizziness and nausea when the sound is above eighty decibels). We have had to leave, walk out of Church services immediately. Neither my husband, nor I can worship sincerely when the decibels are high to the point of feeling it in the chest. The exhortation from Scripture, “Play skillfully with a loud noise” (Psalm 33:3) does not mean a threat to hearing loss.

More than loud music, we left one church we had visited for a few weeks when the pastor invited: “Everybody come to the Communion Table; it does not matter what you believe or where you are spiritually. Just come.” The last sermon we heard there was something like this: “I studied and studied to come up with a message about baptism, but I threw it all out. I will just speak from my heart…” Your heart, pastor? Your message was not even from the Bible!

Here is a prescription for a church which, oddly enough today, is described in the Bible:

“How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”(1 Corinthians 14:26)

STAY NEAR THE SHEPHERD 2

Lately, my hope that God is near and working in every moment in our lives, came into question. Can I, a faulty child of the Father, expect Him to answer every prayer?

 

Yesterday I was riding my bike home…there were six miles between me and home. The weather had reported “no rain” for the day, but it began to lightly sprinkle. I prayed, “LORD, please don’t let it rain (or lightening) until I get home.” It sprinkled on and off but did not begin to rain (lightly) until I was three fourths of a mile away. I walked into the house damp, not soaked. No lightening. Safe.

 

I asked the LORD the question, “How much do You desire to be involved, interactive with me?”

 

Then I read Psalm 23. He is my shepherd: I shall not want (by implication to lack). He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness…I fear no evil for He is with me…comfort is present…a table is prepared. He anoints my head with oil…my cup runs over…goodness, mercy follow me all the days of my life…I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever…

 

Yes. The LORD is interested in every day, every hour, and every part of my life. I wrote this Blog in 2019 and republished it, after a serious bicycle accident on December 21^st, 2021, this interaction with our Creator rings true. People, Therapists, an Orthoptist, our neighbors, and especially our children, have shown that the LORD is near and hears us day and night. Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.” The recovery process is still teaching lessons that are making Scripture come alive.

 

My sister, Char, called right after the accident telling me she was praying for my bones to heal when a song played on the radio about the dead, dry bones in the Book of Ezekiel in Scripture. God asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel’s answer, “O Lord, you know.” Since then I have been smiling over that question and answer.  Can bones come alive and renew? “Lord, you know.” Keep close. Stay near the Shepherd.