If you are evaluating whether or not to get The Lord’s Table workbook, then I hope you won’t allow my descriptions to stand in the way! They really fall far short of the real thing. There is something so powerful about sitting down with the Word, a journal, a pen, a workbook and allowing God to move in your heart personally. These daily summaries are woefully inadequate in effectively stating what God can do through this material.
Today’s lesson raised the question about why, when God was preparing to take the Israelites out of Egypt…why did they have to eat the Passover Lamb while they had their sandals on, staff in hand and their loins girded (Exodus 12:11)…while they were ready to head out? What was the significance of this and is there a modern day lesson to glean from this?
Truly, it was like the Lord ordered them to have a feast, but simultaneously ordered them to pack up the car and to have the engines running as they ate! So what was up with this? It definitely sounds counter to “conscious eating!” 🙂
Mike Cleveland does an excellent job of pointing out that the way OUT of slavery first comes by partaking of, ingesting in, feasting on THE LAMB OF GOD. This is the heart of The Lord’s Table message. As we take our hunger to the Lord, to Jesus, to His Word and truly allow HIM to satisfy and sustain us…as we put THAT in our lives as FIRST priority, eclipsing all others…we are taking the first steps out of our slavery. The way out of our slavery to sinful eating habits and a heart that is locked on to food is to feast on what will really nourish us…the Lord Himself.
The Israelites literally ate their way out of slavery! And so can we! This is the message that is taught to us today: When we feed on the Passover Lamb we will leave slavery. Amazing how we can win the battle of overeating, by eating! (TLT, p. 65)
There is a way out of slavery to sinful habits! It is through feeding on Jesus Christ. As we become full of Him, through meditating on the Bible and living it out, we will discover our freedom. Freedom follows fullness. (TLT, p. 65)
I think for a long while I have had this backwards. It is like I think…well, when I am tempted, I will feast on the Lord. The truth is, I must LIVE feasting on him. I must partake of him constantly. Then, the temptations won’t be as strong. Controlling my food intake just makes me fixate on the food all the more. If I place those energies on turning to GOD, I sort of think that I will be heading on out in that moment…out of that place of temptation, out of the moment of struggle with indiscretion and blatant sin.
…correct eating habits and honoring the Lord with our bodies are by-products of “feeding” on Jesus Christ through thinking on, meditating on, and acting on Scripture. (TLT, p. 65)
After establishing this in the lesson, the author offered numerous passages for contemplation and response. The passages focused on Christ’s sufficiency to be our sastifaction. This is what we really YEARN for! This is what we really want. HIM! We take HIM in, we chew on and digest HIM, when we sit still for a bit and read and ponder and pray over His Word. I know this is true in my own experience.
Yesterday was a difficult day. Nothing earth shattering compared to what normal people experience. I tend to lead a very sheltered life. I have very few trials that have faced me in my adult life. In fact, I have this attitude of expectancy…that something horrible is going to happen. 🙁 Not a good thing. But when it comes to trials, it doesn’t take much for me to think I am suffering. Yesterday was one of those days when I felt pushed emotionally (and because of circumstances, this is likely to continue today as well). Had I allowed myself to be drawn to the WORD, the BREAD of LIFE, the life-giving WATER, I am convinced that I would have never even thought about food. Instead, I was restless, agitated and had a couple of eating occasions where I ate outside of my boundaries. It wasn’t about the food. It was about my heart…I want to interpret my trials as a personal call–an invitation–from God to come and sit at His table–even before I even have a chance to consider sitting at the dining table (or standing at the counter) to eat physical food. I want to interpret unsettled emotions as God’s invitation to recline with him, to lean against his chest. To be still and KNOW he is God. To rest in His embrace. To quietly hear Him rejoice over me with singing…
Today, Lord, let this be.
AHA! Thank you, thank you, thank you! “I must LIVE feasting on Him.” Hmmm….I think I’ve had that backwards, too. I get all excited and *proud* of myself if I turn to the Lord when I’m tempted to eat when I’m not hungry! Seems silly to say it, now. Yes, we must feast on HIM without ceasing. Thanks for helping me to think about it this way.Diahn
I have that same expectancy that something bad is going to happen too. I read the blogs of other Christians who are enduring so many trials and wonder why not me? I too want to “interpret my trials as a personal call–an invitation–from God to come and sit at His table–even before I even have a chance to consider sitting at the dining table”. That is something I can totally relate to doing.
“I want to interpret unsettled emotions as God’s invitation to recline with him, to lean against his chest. To be still and KNOW he is God. To rest in His embrace. To quietly hear Him rejoice over me with singing…”God desires to bring us to a place where NO MATTER what we are facing, we will not be MOVED by those circumstances, trials, afflictions but “To rest in His embrace. To quietly hear Him rejoice over me with singing”We are doing a Bible Study on Monday nights were we are Fasting from Foreboding Thoughts (assumptions and premonitions of evil tidings). It’s been quite a revelation to me how I have lived for so long with nagging negative thoughts, “oh something bad is going to happen, nothing gets better, what else can happen now, what did I expect,etc.”. When negative thoughts come to me, lately I cry out,,”Lord, I’m fasting from negative thinking, as I fast from food, I fast from this type of thinking”. I also Philippians 4:8 it! if my thoughts do not align to things that are true, noble, righte pure, holy, righteous, admirable, anything that is excellent or praiseworthy, that out it goes!!((hugs))