Food Is Not My Sanctification

Vision. Hmm. There is Federal Vision, American Vision and now Vision Forum. I am not up-to-speed on all these vision organizations. Not too much to write about here until numerous VISION Forum posts in the last several days came on my dashboard already cluttered with too many blogs.  I could get more of the conference for $35 with live streaming of

The Reformation of Food and the Family

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Christian celebrities such as Michelle Duggar (yes she was at the Vision Forum conference) do not inform my theology.  
4. 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."

Joel Salatin, a Christian farmer, said that there are both contributoring factors and solutions to the problem of food born illnesses.

What are the four contributing factors?

1. Centralized production.
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.

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.

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

Make me glorify YOU

In all I say and do
and in all I eat.

Amen.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _  _

Added November 10, 2013: Vision Forum has now shut down. See http://www.visionforumministries.org 

Digital Nativity

Digital Nativity

The above link shows how our world has changed.

I don't like "Jingle Bells" in the background,

but then this modern version almost makes light

of the birth of Jesus.

Another Social Media Take on Christmas

This one is better and to the tune
"Oh Come, O Come, Emanuel".

I wonder if our youth only respond to Social Media now.
However the gospel is still relevant.

What is your reaction?

The Hypersocial World

A pre-conference, BITS, TYTES, BLOGS & BIBLES, was held this morning at the 2010 Ligonier Conference. I mention this because  most all who will read this post are Social Media consumers. I believe some important things were said  this morning. Here are some from my notes.

ED SETZER in "The Brave New World of New Media" mentioned that the population of Facebook is larger than the population of the USA. Social Media, he said, can assist in creating community, but is no substitute for the church; he has concerns that the wrong people are "drive-by posters"--that important things are trivialized--that this is a false community that can't come over to our house (or chat on our front porches with us). Social Media can promote narcissism and pride. It's all about ME. (I'm thinking Twitter and Facebook people need to know what I did, want to do, what I acquired, and what my gripes are?!) He asks, "Would we say these things if people were sitting right next to us?"

TIM CHALLIES spoke eloquently on  "Principles for Conduct in Communication". Tim also expressed concern that Social Media lets people go "beyond Gibraltar" thereby lacking accountability. Quoting Ephesians 4:15 he said speaking, truthing and loving need to be guarded. People who post anonymously often show immaturity. He said we need to be real, visible, slow to speak (write), and to strive for godliness.

BURK PARSONS' presentation was called  "Taking Captive New Media for the Church". He had seven points. 1. Make the best use of our time.  2. Set our minds on heavenly things. (Oh yes, have those times in Scripture and in prayer! I'm thinking do we have more time on Social Media than we spend on heavenly things!) 3. Use media to edify, to stir people up to love and good works. 4. Use media to maintain unity and purity of the church. No gripes. 5. Subdue the earth and and fill it with the knowledge of God. 6. Use media to glorify God. 7. Don't use media for our own kingdom--glorify His kingdom. Ask, "Are you using media to glorify God?"

AL MOHLER spoke on "The Hypersocialized Generation". He talked specifically about the obsession of teens and recommended that parents not allow a cell phone in bedroom at night and no Internet-connected computers in the bedroom at all. Incredible statistics he presented. We can do 7 1/2 hours of Social Media and clock it up to 11 hours--we multitask (e.g. listening to our iPod while texting). 75% of teens have cell phones. One third of teens send and receive more than 100 texts a day.  Boys tend to use Social Media as entertainment and girls tend to not want to miss out on any news and have to keep checking. For teenagers, he says, some think that not being connected is worse than death. What's the cost--the reality of human experience! We are missing two realities he says: 1) silence for prayer and directing our mind; 2) book reading. We fill our soul with distractions. Or we withdraw or over-relate. We feel that people should immediately respond to our postings.  We have lost the ability to empathize by reading facial expressions. He challenged the church to be both connected and faithful. (For me I am trying to make more phone calls and write more letters.)

An excellent panel discussion followed. Everything is now! How about patience and discipline, the panelists asked. Challies menioned the "idolatry" of the immediate. Mohler told us to spend time with books that require long-term investment.

Got to meet TIM CHALLIES himself at the end of the morning. He graciously stepped off the platform and met my husband and myself. During the break I laughed when, for the first time ever that I have noticed, there was a line to the mens room but not to the ladies room.

For viewing the conference go to:  http://budurl.com/2010lnc