Diet

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Mike Benson

images (3).jpg I WAS RECENTLY talking with a friend about a documentary he just watched with his children…
Someone decided to test the quality of food in one of America’s most famous fast-food restaurants. The thirty-day plan was to eat nothing but fast food morning, noon, and evening. Tests were done prior to the experiment and would be done after the experiment to evaluate levels of fat, triglycerides, weight gain, and overall health.
Unfortunately the experiment did not last thirty days. After twenty or so days of steady diet of only fast food, the man’s body began to shut down. The high-sugar, high-fat, fried, and processed food began to build up toxins to such a degree that he had to be hospitalized. Ironically the food tasted great; tragically it almost killed him.
Sometimes what tastes great isn’t very good for us. And what reseachers tell us is that we acquire a taste for certain foods (like sugars and sweets) that can actually become addicting. It may look good, smell good, and taste good, but that doesn’t mean it is good. All those foods promise pleasure, enjoyment, and fun (and an occasional burger never hurt anyone), but a steady diet of foods high in calories, high in fat, and low in nutrition will literally kill you. As someone has wisely said, “We are what we eat!”
THOUGHT: What most Christians don’t realize is that the same thing is true spiritually. If we fill our minds with the world’s value system, we will die. We will experience death or separation in our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. Fast food, it tastes good, looks good, and promises a wonderful time only to deliver death. In order for us to enjoy and get the very best from God, it requires a change in diet. Chip Ingram, “Could Your Mental Diet Be Killing You?,” Living on the Edge, 71-72
KneEmail: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12.2
Bible reading for 02.25.2011: Mark 5.21-43; Numbers 12-14
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Letter

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Mike Benson

IF WE TRULY understood the message of Christ’s love found in the Bible letters, then we would be eager to meet the legal requirements set forth in those same letters…
The New Testament is not just a love letter. It is not just a legal brief. It is both! Are love and law mutually exclusive? Are they incompatible? Obviously not! Jesus tied love and lawkeeping together!
I can well remember as a boy, coming home after school to find a note written to me by my father. The note would almost always have some command written down upon it for me to obey and then close with an expression of love from my Dad. When I read the note, I saw two elements present. There was a command for me to obey given by one who had authority over me. Then there was an expression of love for given by one who had fervent affection for me. There was law and there was love! In college I would often receive a love letter from my Mom and Dad with certain requests for me to obey scattered throughout various points. Imagine that – a love letter with requirements as well.
This is precisely what the New Testament is – a love letter with legal requirements combined. “Precept and promise, law and love combining, till night shall vanish in eternal day!” B.J. Clarke, The Bible: Love Letter, Legal Brief, or Both?
KneEmail: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15; cf. v. 21-24
Bible reading for 09.20.10: 2 Corinthians 12; Ecclesiastes 1-3
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Twitter

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Mike Benson

WE ARE LIVING in the Information Age…or should it be called the Useless Information Age…
The three giant social networking Web sites…Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter allow their users to share their thoughts with friends and strangers. If you want to let people half way around the world know that you just saved $8 at Kroger, you can. You can share your deepest thoughts and your shallowest feelings. You can air your political views or cheer your favorite team. Whether or not people actually care your opinions is beside the point. It is all about sharing what is on your mind.
Twitter’s concept is the simplest of all the social sites. Users can give 140-character opinions on any and every issue. These updates are called “tweets.” The author’s subscribers are known as “followers.”
I wonder what the apostle Paul would have tweeted to his followers when he was writing his thirteen preserved epistles. He might have tweeted these thoughts:
Romans: “All have sinned. All deserve death. But there is no condemnation in Christ.”
1 Corinthians: “A divided church is a poor representative of Christ.”
2 Corinthians: “My apostleship and your benevolence are genuine.”
Galatians: “Moses’ law served its purpose. We now live by faith and walk by the Spirit.”
Philippians: “Don’t let circumstances dictate your faith. Live with joy. Be content.”
Colossians: “Human philosophy distorts the gospel. Live for Jesus.”
1 and 2 Thessalonians: “Jesus will return and many people will not be ready. Be prepared for that day.”
1 and 2 Timothy: “Ministry should protect the gospel and serve the needy. There is no better work.”
Titus: “The grace of God teaches us to live godly lives.”
Philemon: “People from all backgrounds can be useful in the church.” James Hayes, “If Paul Had A Twitter Account,” Glad Tidings of Good Things, Vol. 30/January 21, 2010
KneEmail: “How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house.” Acts 20:20
Bible reading for 05.26.10: John 9:24-41; 1 Chronicles 28, 29
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Know

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Mike Benson

IT SEEMS STRANGE that one can know for sure the basic laws of the land, but he cannot know the basic laws of God…
All people are in agreement that their automobile should have a state license tag. They agree that they should drive their automobile on the right side of a two-way street in the United States. They agree that a traffic light showing red is an indication for them to stop. It may be true that all people do no abide by these traffice rules, but it is not because they cannot know what they should do.
To say that one can know the laws of the land and yet cannot know the laws of God is a reflection on God. Is God incapable of revealing truth that man can understand? Obviously not. The problem is not with the Author of truth, but with man who is the subject of truth. William Wardlaw
KneEmail: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God exceptthe Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11-12
Bible reading for 05.11.10: John 2; 2 Kings 15, 16
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Elijah

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Mike Benson

a elijah.jpg WHEN WE THINK of Elijah, we never think of him as one who would doubt because he was strong and bold when he encountered the false prophets at Mount Carmel…
He proved that God was the true God of Israel, even to the wicked King Ahab.
He returned to Jezreel in such high spirits that he ran before the king’s chariot. But once he met opposition from both Ahab and Jezebel, Elijah ran for his life in a different direction.
He even prayed to God to take his life because he was sure that he was the only faithful prophet left.
Elijah lived long ago, but he was so human. We are very much like him. When we are on a high, it is easy to praise God, and yet when our life takes a complete turn, we cry, “God, where are you?” Let us remember that God has not left us; we have distanced ourselves from Him. No matter what is going on today, run back to Him. Jewell Clarkston
KneEmail: “God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.” Psalm 48:3
Bible reading for 01.28.10: Matthew 18:1-20; Exodus 19, 20
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Beware

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Mike Benson

THE VERB “BEWARE” is used in the New Testament 31 times…
That in itself shows that there is constant danger in living the Christian life.
The prophet Ezekiel warns of the same danger mentioned here. God’s people were in danger of being over run by physical enemies because of their sins. God informs the prophet He is calling Ezekiel to the task of warning people. They needed to repent and return their commitment to God.
The same spiritual danger is confronting every child of God. It is true that false teachers often present themselves as being very faithful to God and His Word, but–as Jesus Himself said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).
Each of us must be on guard lest we led astray by what may sound good and appealing, but we must constantly be aware of what is being said. We must carefully study what is being said in light of the written word of God which is only found in the Bible. Leon Crouch
KneEmail: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15
Bible reading for 01.13.10: Matthew 9:18-38; Genesis 31, 32
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BIG

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Mike Benson

Mystery on the Desert, Maria Reiche describes a series of strange lines made by thte Nazca in the plains of Peru, some of them covering many square miles…
For years, people assumed these lines were the remnants of ancient irrigation ditches. Then in 1939, Dr. Paul Kosok of Long Island University discovered their true meaning could only be seen from high in the air. When viewed from an airplane, these seemingly random lines form enormous drawings of birds, insects, and animals.
Similarly, people often think of the Bible as a series of separate, unrelated stories. When we view the Scriptures as a whole, however, we discover that they form one great story of redemption–from the first “In the Beginning” of Genesis to the final “Amen of Revelation. Weaving through all the diverse strands of the Bible is a divine story line, the overarching story of how God has rescued, redeemed, and restored humanity, from the first nanosecond of creation through the final cry of victory at the end of time. (Mike Macintosh)
KneEmail: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth–in Him.” Ephesians 1:3-10
Bible reading for 08.18.09: 1 Corinthians 1; Psalms 100-102
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Garden

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Mike Benson

AS A MAN Thinketh by James Allen is arguably the best non-inspired book ever written on the power of thought…
Allen compared the mind to a garden and its owner to a master gardener. A good character is not the product of chance any more than a beautiful garden could happen by accident. Integrity is a natural result of continued effort in right thinking.
The overarching theme of As a Man Thinketh is that individuals control the development of their character through controlling their thoughts. At the very moment one chooses his thoughts, he also chooses his destiny. Allen’s garden analogy well-illustrates this cause and effect relationship. Just as plants come from seeds, actions grow from thoughts. The challenging part is getting the right seeds into the garden of the mind. Useless seeds find their way there all by themselves, but useful ones must be purposely planted. Good thoughts must be deliberately sown and carefully nurtured to produce the fruit of righteousness. Bad thoughts must be eradicated in the same way one removes weeds to preserve a well-kept garden. Good thoughts cannot produce bad acts and bad thoughts cannot produce good acgts. The law of sowing and reaping is as true in the mental and moral realm as it is in the plant world (Galatians 6:7-8). Holiness, like husbandry, requires planning, effort and diligence. (Aubry Johnson)
KneEmail: “Keep your heart will all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23; cf. Romans 12:2
Bible reading for 08.11.09: Romans 11:19-36; Psalms 81-83
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Reap

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Mike Benson

EVER PLANT A garden…?
Or maybe just a few flowers in a bed or a plant in a pot? Something makes it possible for the gardener to function, or a farmer to produce a crop is a “law” of nature. “Law” really isn’t a very good word, but because it really is just an observation of the consistency of nature. Whatever kind of seed is planted is the kind of plant that will be produced. A farmer can know that when he plants wheat, that wheat is the plant that will grow. It is not random or arbitrary. Wheat seed produces wheat plants and corn seed produces corn plants. Farmers and gardeners can count on it.
What is just as true, though not as readily recognized, is that this same “law” applies in all of life. Whatever a person sows, that is what they will reap. To think otherwise is not only ludicrous, it also mocks God.
We have two choices. We either sow to the flesh or the spirit. This same letter outlines the differences between living according to the flesh and according to the spirit (Galatians 516-18). Sowing to the flesh is involvement in the “deeds of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). The consequence os involvement in these is corruption and exclusion from God’s kingdom (Galatians 5:21; 6:8). This is the harvest resulting from sowing those seeds. Just as surely as planting wheat seeds results in a harvest of wheat. We can count on it. (David Deffenbaugh, Bill McFarland)
KneEmail: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7
Bible reading for 07.21.09: Acts 23:1-15; Job 29, 30
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Absolutes

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Mike Benson

FOR RELATIVISTS JUSTICE is simply the plaything of the courts…
Or, in the words of Charles Evans Hughes, “the Constitution is what the judges say it is.” Even more disturbing were the words of Chief Justice Fred Vinson, in the case of Dennis v. United States (1951), when he offered this dictum: “Nothing is more certain in modern society than the principle that there are no absolutes.” (Pat Robertson)
KneEmail: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

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