Thursday 2 July 2020

Diet

If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. - 1 Timothy 4:6

Diet and exercise are things that we all need to be aware of. We see it everywhere – get plenty of exercise and watch what you eat. Verse 6-8 talk about our spiritual nourishment and spiritual exercise.

Nourishment is first on the list. I love physical nourishment. Obviously, from looking at me, I REALLY enjoy my physical encouragement. I don’t miss meals, I just don’t.

But I wonder if I pay that kind of attention to my spiritual diet. If I don’t eat the right food in the right proportions my physical health is surely going to suffer.

Spiritually we also need a good diet. What we nourish our hearts and minds with is vital. There is all kinds of junk food that we can gorge ourselves on today. A lot of folks are gorging themselves on Netflix, or YouTube, or Facebook, or Instagram, maybe even mind numbing hours of television. I don’t hate those things, I use them and may even overuse them myself,  but if they become my regular diet I am going to get sick. My spirit is not designed for junk food. I’ve been having a little bit of a stomach ache, but I suspect it could be partially cause by the big fat juicy burger and chips I had the other night that are playing. The same thing happens when I not feed my spirit properly.

There are not of things that need to be a part of our spiritual diet. Paul mentions two of them to Timothy here, the words of faith and doctrine.

Interesting that both of these are found in the word of God. Faith come by hearing, and hearing the word of God. True teaching that pertains to life and godliness are found in His word.

What part of our spiritual diet is from the word of God? How much time do I spend there compared to how much time I spend on social media and the internet? What am I stuffing myself with?

Proper nourishment for out spirit comes from His word. What will I be eating today?

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