The Meal (Part 1 of 7)
The Meal (Part 1 of 7)
“Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”
John 6:26-27
There are many parts to making a great meal or establishing and maintaining your walk with God.
Ingredients
Preparation
Cooking
Serving
Giving Thanks
Eating
Cleanup
In this seven part series we will take a look at each part of the meal and the importance it plays in your relationship with God.
So let’s start at why I’m writing this devotional. I love to cook. It has been a hobby of mine for a very long time. In the beginning I was horrible at it. Now I do almost all the cooking, all the time. In fact our son tells my wife, she makes the best salads. If that tells you anything.
It all started because I wanted to make meals I remember my grandmother making, but I didn’t have the recipes. I tried and tried and tried and could get close, but never got it right. This practice began to pay off. I enjoyed cooking so much that it began to be something I turned to that relieved stress.
The one thing I realized is that just one wrong ingredient in a meal can throw the whole meal off. Or too much of an ingredient can ruin it completely. Not enough of one thing can take a dish and make it completely inedible.
Ever have a dish that was too salty or too bland? Too many onions? Not enough this or that?
So I believe that the ingredient are the most important part of preparing a meal.
Take your relationship with God for example. In the beginning of my serious relationship with Him it was important that I used the right stuff and kept the wrong stuff out.
The Bible was the most important ingredient. I couldn’t use a Bible translation that was watered down or was based on philosophical interpretation. A lot of Bible translations out there are not based on word for word translations and this can be very dangerous. Many Bible translations omit actual Bible verses.
Sermons were also an important ingredient. Listening to sermons preached by reputable pastors and preachers was extremely important in growing my knowledge and relationship with God. If I could get Into the word of God, even by listening or watching it, it added value. But again, I had to be careful. So many preachers out there can be legalistic, fanatical and even worldly. Research on this ingredient is very important. Quality here is more important than quantity.
I had to take some ingredients, like old friends, out of the recipe completely. There were no exceptions. If I was going to grow my relationship with God and pursue Him, I couldn’t continue to be influenced by them.
Music, movies, alcohol and tobacco were also things that had to change or be removed completely. There are biblical standards to these as well, but I won’t dive deeply into that in this devotion. I took alcohol and tobacco out completely. No room for error here. I changed the music I listened to and what I put in front of my eyes. If you add an ingredient to your meal, your whole meal can adapt to that flavor.
Ever add fish to a meal? Bacon? The whole meal takes on that flavor. Some things are better left out.
These are the basic ingredients for my walk with God; the Bible, reputable preaching, biblical music and devotions, changing what I watch and who was influencing my life.
These are just the basics, what I started the meal with, the ingredients. The other parts of this devotion will cover the other parts of the meal.
Remember if you’re not sure about an ingredient, research it, ask someone you trust or pray about it.
Next up is preparation.
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 KJV