conference through July 31, 2012. I am tracking it sort of as I was able to do with a recent Ligonier conference for free. See 20 quotes from conference. The digital age is amazing. Now I am not going to pay the $35 to listen to the Vision Forum conference, but you can if you wish with the above link. Meanwhile, here are a few of my thoughts about food, diet and the Christian I did not see in the conference blog posts:
- Romans 13:14 tells us to put on Christ and to not make provision for the flesh. Some think of this verse as applying to pornography but it might also apply to food. Gluttony is a biblical term. So is fasting, yet fasting is for the purpose of drawing closer to our LORD, not for the purpose of fitting into a certain size of clothing. Take me to a conference digitally on putting on the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
- Like all obsessions, food and dieting with certain foods can wreak havoc on our spiritual life. Why are we doing it? So our behavior will be better, so there is less hyperactivity in our children? So we live longer as if heaven is not our hope? Does the fruit of the Spirit come from what we put in our mouth? So we can avoid suffering? I think not. See what Christ said in Matthew 15 and Mark 7. It is from the heart that evil things come--not from what we put in our mouth.
- Christian celebrities such as Michelle Duggar (yes she was at the Vision Forum conference) do not inform my theology.
- Even exercise has its limits. We are to train ourselves in godliness, according to 1 Timothy 4, whereas exercise has some benefits. Sanctification (godliness) is our part, not abs of steel.
Granted we Christians probably do not take care of our bodies like we should. Go to a gospel concert and look all around and you will most likely see many obese people, unlike a secular rock concert.
At this Vision Forum conference Doug Phillips said,
- “With the demise of family mealtime as a staple of household culture, we have watched the corresponding demise of the family. In the Bible, we see the family table as a place for feeding the body and the soul, as a beacon of hospitality, and as a centerpiece of godly culture. It is time to put away family-segregating lifestyles and return to family."
- “We are suffering from the accumulated consequences of many generations forsaking Biblical law and prudence on the issues of food and family.”
- “We view addictions primarily as a clinical problem rather than as a sin with clinical implications.”
- “Too many shepherds and pastors refuse to address gluttony or are themselves gluttonous."
What are the four contributing factors?
1. Centralized production.The conference goes on to talk about hospitality, exercise and toxins. The suggestion is to pay your grocerer, not your doctor. I don't know about Vision Forum, but this conference is certainly of interest. However, food is not my sanctification.
2. Centralized processing.
3. Long-distance transportation.
4. Sub-therapeutic antibiotic use on livestock.
What are the four solutions?
1. Local production, family farms.
2. Local processing, community canneries.
3. Don’t transport it anywhere. Keep it local.
4. Raise animals that are healthier so they have a better immune system and won’t need antibiotics. Honor God’s design in creation.
Dear LORD,
Detoxify my soul
Make me more like Christ
If my food is not whole
Still make me more like Christ
Do a reformation in my heart
Justification You have done
Sanctification is my part
Help me run Your race
Help me run Your race
Make me glorify YOU
In all I say and do
and in all I eat.
and in all I eat.
Amen.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
Added November 10, 2013: Vision Forum has now shut down. See http://www.visionforumministries.org
Interesting topic. While we live as spiritual beings the care and respect we have for our bodies comes from the fact that we are created in the image of God.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought here (pun intended). I enjoyed reading your comments on Vision Forum's Food Conference. I received the emails too. I stand where you stand. It seems sometimes in evangelicalism today, one has to struggle to remember that heaven is our hope and that for the Christian, to die is gain!
ReplyDeleteYou said, "Go to a gospel concert and look all around and you will most likely see many obese people, unlike a secular rock concert. " Ouch! True. But that could be because one group abuses drugs in place of eating food.
This post confused me. Yes, food is definitely not our sanctification, but did the food conference allege that it is?? As Christians, we really should be treating our bodies as the temple that it is and not go on being ignorant, thinking: Oh there's grace for that. (As too many do.)
ReplyDeleteGood point, Ginger, about our body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. I am a serial dieter myself and currently have lost almost 25 pounds through healthy eating. I have so much more energy and am walking with a neighbor lady three times a week. Food has been a struggle for me and I have turned that over to the LORD. I need to not have a heart attack so I can be the best possible caregiver for my husband.
ReplyDeleteSee note on post above added about the Vision Forum closing down due to Doug Phillips' scandal in his ministry.
ReplyDelete