September 1999 Issue

The Essential Nature
of A Good Spiritual Diet
By Charles Law

Diet is about food or nourishment. We are usually somewhat concerned about our physical diet because of the relationship between what we eat and the effect it has on our body or physical health. Just as it is important to eat properly in order to maintain physical health we must have a good spiritual diet. It is an essential part of maintaining our spiritual well being. We have to learn what is good for us spiritually. We have to learn where we can find this spiritual food and then we must eat thereof. When it comes to determining what is good for our soul we need help.

Jer. 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

We need to let the Lord be our spiritual dietitian. No one knows us better than he who made us.

Ps 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

The Lord shows us the importance of spiritual food.

Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

John 6:27 Labor 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.

The Lord provides for our spiritual needs.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 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.

Jesus is the source of our spiritual food.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

The Father hath declared whom we should hear.

Matt. 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

The Lord speaks to us today through his word, providing us with all of the spiritual nourishment we need.

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The table has been spread. It is up to us to partake and live. Just as in the physical body there must be desire for food before we will seek it out so it is with the spirit. We have to hunger and thirst after the word.

Mt 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We must be careful not to fill our soul with the junk food that the world has to offer, or there will be no room for the word.

Luke 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

Mk. 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Our desire needs to be for the word of God that we may live.

1 Tim. 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

We must love it.

2 Thess 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Psa 119: 97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Psa 119: 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

We must stay away from substitutes. Only the wisdom from above can nourish our soul and save us from the wrath to come.

The wisdom of this world leads away from God.

1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He
taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

1 Cor 1: 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

We need to remember who is the creature when we are tempted to substitute our own conceits for the wisdom of God.

Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

We need a steady diet. We need to feed our souls daily from the word. This can be done through personal bible study, singing, prayer, meditation, even physical fasting.

Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

This is one of the goals that we should be shooting for in our assembling together as the church.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1 Thess 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

As we feed on the word of God we will grow and develop as his children.

We will be able to discern between good and evil being able to rightly divide the word of truth.

Phil. 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Spiritual growth and development does not come with out effort on our part. We must be diligent in study and application of the word.

2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Spiritual growth takes time and a proper diet. We come into the family of God as babes and begin our growth with milk of the word. These are the first principles of the word. From there we are to grow on to the meat.

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.

Just as our physical body needs different kinds of food depending on its level of growth so it is with the soul. We are not able to digest the meat of the word until we have mastered the milk. In our spiritual development it is first things first.

We need to examine our spiritual diet to see that we are feeding our soul properly lest we become malnourished and die.

[Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Charles Law for good article written above! Charles can be reached via email at belindalaw@juno.com ]

Email the Editor at markjward@yahoo.com