What are the simple things we do every day?

Get up, wash our face, brush our teeth, get dressed, drink coffee, and go to work?

Get up, wash the children’s faces, make breakfast, dress the children…pick up dishes….get the children ready for school, make sure their teeth are brushed…then get dressed and maybe go to work, or go to work teaching the children at home.

I’m focusing on something that the government,  society, and all the people that have tested our foods have said.  Multi-Vitamins.  Just google for “does everyone need a multi-vitamin?” and there are a lot of opinions.  One thing is certain – everyone needs vitamins daily.  That’s the whole purpose of food!  And the government tells us what we should eat with the Food Pyramid and USRDA.

Here’s a food pyramid for diabetics from Diabetes Diabetic Diet:

An interesting article on Discovery Health explains a bit about multi-vitamins.  They have good points, and bad.  The bad being, one can lean on the multivitamin, and become malnourished by not eating.

A vitamin A capsule cannot replace the benefits of a carrot.

A vitamin B complex cannot replace the benefits of whole grains.

A vitamin C tablet cannot take the place of a fresh orange.

They are for supplementing, because, it is hard to gather and eat enough food to provide the complete nutrition.  They are to fill in the gaps between good meals and snacks.

BREAD –

Matt 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Jesus said that we needed ‘bread’ daily.

God gave the children of Israel “manna” every day. (Ex 16)

Even as important as bread is, when Jesus was tempted after 40 days of fasting, he said “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt4:4)

I have a collection of Daily Vitamins of God’s word:

Some of my favorite things

Nuggets by Sylvia Gunter, Commands to Keep before Your eyes by  IBLP,  Prayer Cards by  Stormie Omartian, Praying God’s Word by  Beth Moore, and the little bible verse “credit cards” you can get at any Christian Bookstore.

These are daily vitamins.  When I need some extra help, an extra reminder….here are a few more:

Those Truth Tags available at CBD are cute, and so easy to keep around.  Put the little tag on your key chain, and you will see it all day long.  The circle necklace is Ps 23, and this was a very special necklace that helped me to remember Ps 23 through a very hard time. The leather bracelet comes in handy when I am talking about salvation with someone.  It keeps me focused on the plan of salvation. I also have a key chain that is an eagle, reminding me that if I wait upon the Lord, I shall renew my strength, I shall mount up with wings as eagles!

There are apps on the phones, FB and twitter that will send you a Bible thought a day.  All of these are VERY good!  These are like the Vitamin C that we take every day and the Zinc and the Echineacea that we pop when we are sick…these are hiding God’s word in our heart, as Ps 119:11 says:

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

These are like the flashlights we carry in our purses so we can see in the backseat of the car, find the door lock, or read the menu in a dark restaurant.

Ps 119:105 Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

It is a good thing to keep the Word of God before our eyes….but even better to keep it in the midst of our heart.

• Pr 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
• Pr 4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
• Pr 4:22 For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Which would you rather do at a restaurant dinner table?

1. Eat a great prime rib dinner, with lobster on the side, with a baked potato with sour cream, butter, chives and maybe cheese, perfectly cooked green beans on the side, and a huge portion of triple chocolate cake with fresh made ice cream for dessert.
2. A multivitamin, maybe some specialty vitamins, and a glass of water.

I think most would rather eat the meal.  But so often, I get hung up on the little sound bites of scripture, that I get lax on the memorization.  Sometimes I get so hung up on memorizing ONE passage(green beans), that I forget READING(the whole meal plus dessert).

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Jude 24-25.

This is my memory verse for the first two weeks of January.  I just flubbed it up, typing it into the computer.  Today is the 13th.  I’m supposed to be able to recite it on the 15th. This is a GOOD tool…keeping me active in memorizing scripture, but, this is the green beans!

A third option at that dinner table –  just a menu.

All you have to ‘eat’ is the menu.  Someone else telling you what the food has in it, and what it’s going to taste like.  But you walk out, saying the menu says the prime rib is delectable…I’m satisfied that the prime rib is delectable…the menu knows what it’s talking about!

Did you taste the prime rib?  No?  then how do you KNOW the menu was RIGHT?

Do you read my blog, Beth Moore’s blog, or Billy Graham’s blog, and say “the Bible says this because Beth Moore says it does” or “I know that Jesus lives because Billy Graham’s book says the bible tells us so”?

That’s not nourishment – that’s vicarious – that’s like walking away with the menu…and saying the food was delicious.

Reading the Word is the meal!  Faith is a muscle.  It needs exercised, yes…but muscles also need to be NOURISHED!

Rom 10:17KJV So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I’ve heard this all my Christian life…hearing, and hearing…what?

Rom10:17  NIV Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Now, that makes sense.  Hearing the message of the word of Christ.

A side note…I am so frustrated with the people that go to sporting events and hold up the sign “JOHN 3:16”.  That’s like holding up a sign that says “I-10 W”.  Only those that have been on I-10 have an idea where that is, but it doesn’t tell them much at all!  THE CHAPTERS AND VERSES ARE NOT DIVINELY INSPIRED!!! They are NOT the Word of God!

Another frustration is those that do have signs that say “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”.  This is scripture.  BUT THERE IS NO MEAT!!!  Someone sees this, and, so what?  What does repent mean? Which God?

To me, this is like sitting down at that prime rib dinner, and letting someone sit at the table, and only giving them one green bean or giving them a piece of the menu!  You have this huge, fantastic meal, and all you hand them is a green bean?  They are going to starve to death…and you pat yourself on the back saying “I shared my dinner with them!”

But that is not my point in this blog.  My point is are WE eating the whole meal?  Jesus said man shall live by every word that proceeds from the fathers mouth. Mat 4:4

EVERY WORD.

The food pyramid falls apart if you don’t eat part of every section.  That’s the point of the food pyramid, to show you what you need to eat in what proportions to get WHOLE nutrition.

The Bible falls apart, if you only take one piece, and then another – because you do not get the whole story.

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 word of God, in it’s fullness, provides, from Prov 4:22 and 2 Tim 3:16 –

• Life
• health(to all our flesh)
• wisdom
• instruction

Well, here, I’ll let God say it through King Solomon (Ps 19:7-11)

• The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul
• the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple.
• The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart:
  
• the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes.
• The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever:
  
• the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether.
• More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
  
• sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
• Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
  
• [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.

God has given us a buffet of wondrous words with which to nourish our spiritual selves.  God has promised that as we nourish our souls, our bodies will see benefits.

We need the tools to remind us – they are like snacks that help us over difficult or rough times.

We need the tools to help us memorize – they help us build spiritual bones to hang our faith upon.

We also need to read the whole Bible – cover to cover, to get the fullness of the gospel of God.  There is milk.  There is meat.  There is dry toast.  And there is the water of the Spirit that will wash over us. It is all necessary.

There are several ways to start reading through the Bible.

• Get a Daily Walk Bible – or
• Through the Bible.
• Daily Walk and One Year both have a Chronological Bible
• Stormie Omartian has one called The Power of Praying Through the Bible

Online there are quite a few options.  Here are two that I am familiar with:

• The Blue Letter Bible has a selection of  Bible Reading plans.
• I am using YouVersion to do my Read the Bible in 90 days goal. ~I am stuck in Numbers right now…but it is ALL God’s word, I’m working through it.
• Stormie Omartian has a blog for praying,
• Beth Moore has a blog for Memorizing Scripture,
• The Father’s Business has weekly devotionals.

However you choose to nourish your soul and spirit – just do it.  A person that is dehydrated doesn’t register thirst – but they are dying all the same.  Take time, 10 minutes, 15, 30 – whatever you have and just read the Bible.  Your thirsting soul will thank you for it!

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:31-34

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. …The Prince of Peace… Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Numb6:24-26; Phil 4:7; Is 9:6; Phil 1:6; Rom 8:38-39)

In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi

Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

1. 100 days challenge – moving – check
2. 100 days challenge- blog – check
3. 90 days Bible Reading – check-tackling Numbers, then Deut
4. 50 days T-Tapp – check
5. 21 days Fasting for Food – check – I made 15 bean soup!