Sunday, March 6, 2016

Feed with Truth, I of II

Feed with Truth, I of II
March 7, 2016
Hebrews 5:12  "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!"

You need food to live, which should come as no surprise.  The body of a human is a peculiar thing, though, it does what it must to survive on the food it has.  It does not always live in the ideal state, with the proper balance of vitamins and nutrients coming from the food sources it has available.  Today, most of us live in a society where we can eat properly, feeding our bodies the healthy foods needed to thrive.  Sadly, many choose to eat poorly, taking in bad calories and an insufficient supply of a proper food source.  This is especially true of protein.  While I'm not espousing an Adkins type diet, the human body requires a protein source to stay alive.  This is scientifically undeniable, but an appropriate amount of protein is often mishandled.  There are many sources of proteins, each carrying its own measure, which must be consumed by a human in the amount required by his or her body.  But what is that required amount?  It's more than you think.

A female growing a baby inside of her needs plenty of protein, way more than most people understand.  Remember she is providing a food source of protein that must be sufficient to increase her blood volume, create and sustain a new organ (the placenta), and feed the baby, all while maintaining her own body's required amount.  In round numbers, the average female needs 100 grams of  protein a day during a pregnancy (please consult your doctor as to your specific amount).  Let me put that in perspective.  A pregnant female needs to eat four to five chicken breasts or sixteen eggs PER DAY to get the required amount of protein.  That's way more than most pregnant females actually consume.  Likewise, if a man is trying to maintain a certain percent of muscle mass, he must consume at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight.  If he weighs 200 lbs, then he needs 200 grams of protein which is almost three dozen eggs or eight large bowls of oats per day.  Regardless of your preferred source of protein, the amounts seem huge when put in perspective, allowing you to realize how difficult it is to get all the protein into your body that is required during certain times in your life.

This is also true with spiritual food.  Your soul needs nourished with the Word of God in order to survive.  Your soul must be fed with Truth, God's Truth.  Most of us are slightly aware of it, but few understand the amount required.  Like your body, your soul needs constant food.  Also like your body, you can feed your soul poorly or you can feed it properly.  Your body will consume any type of calorie you feed it, but how it processes that specific calorie is up to the type of calorie you give it.  Your soul is constantly being fed everyday, whether you realize it or not.  But is needs proper protein to thrive; it needs the Word of Truth.  Most of us don't feed our soul everyday with the Word of Truth; we feed it with poor musical lyric choices, social media, distracting gossipy opinions of co-workers, and negative self-talk.  Without realizing it you can have a malnourished soul.

So, how much does it take?  How much spiritual protein do you need everyday?  The amount can be determined by your ailments.  Like a properly nourished woman, she develops few if any medical complications during the time of caring for her unborn child.  The moment she has physical symptoms the primary care provider is going to ask about her protein intake.  If you, as a Christian, live with worry, doubt, fear, and heartache then you are not getting the appropriate daily amount of God's Truth.  If you live in a constant state of paranoia or are unable to focus on the Lord's plan for your life, then you aren't getting enough daily Truth down to your soul.  If you cannot forgive but instead hold on to any amount of bitterness or resentment, then you haven't had your required amount of Truth recently.  If you lash out at the person who cut you off in traffic then you could stand a larger daily dose of the Lord's Word.  You alone control how much Truth you consume a day and that Truth is what is required if your soul is to thrive.  You might go to church every Sunday, but if you aren't feeding your soul Truth everyday, then you probably aren't getting enough of God's word.  If you need to be reminded of God's truths on a frequent basis, then you aren't getting enough of it.

While most of us get some amount of spiritual truth on a regular basis, few of us get the full daily amount we need for proper living.  Examine your life and consider the fact you aren't getting enough daily Truth for thriving.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:
Ps 25:5, Ps 119:11, Pr 23:23, Jer 7:28, John 1:17, John 8:32, John 16:13, 1 Cor 3:2, 1 Peter 2:2

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