July 17, 2013 - EXCESS!

Good mid-week morning to you all, I received a precious gift from a new friend in New Hampshire yesterday and it made me wanna shout! It's a book called Sparkling Gems from the Greek and I quickly started reading. I LOVE word studies and the hidden (sparkling gems) truths they produce. God's Word is the book of answers and His heart for His creation flows from every page. Anyway, this book is a daily Bible study filled with Hebrew and Greek studies of words that allow the reading to be amplified. I backed up a few days and started a section on the works of the flesh from Galatians 5. OMGoodness - anyone remember Galatians 5:1? Yep! But by the end of that chapter the great Apostle Paul begins to define and speak about the "works of the flesh" and how they MANIFEST. The word manifest is the Greek word phaneros which means to appear, become visible, become apparent, become seen, to be well known, to become conspicuous. How many of you know when my flesh wants to act ugly I certainly don't need it to make a spectacle for all to see. UGH! As Paul begins to list these "manifestations" of the flesh, and I begin to study their meanings in my new book, I begin to see myself in many of them. It's funny how we so quickly can see the muck of life and disregard ourselves in that. Am I the only one? I do however, appreciate the Holy Spirit drawing me to the truth and not sticking my nose in it - but handing me a new pair of glasses that allow me to SEE myself in the text. Repentance comes only by seeing and submitting. Eloquent words and flashy performances never bring true repentance - only a real encounter with TRUTH. Anyway, as I am looking at these works of the flesh I settle on a word I can hardly pronounce: lasciviousness. I have done some studies of this word previously and found it to be related to orgies and excessive drinking, which it is. HOWEVER, here is the definition listed in my new book from the Greek: the excessive consumption of food, or wild, undisciplined living that is especially marked by unbridled sex. YIKES! So I began to think, excessive and undisciplined eating refers to our portion sizes, the kind of foods we eat, how we prepare our foods. Yes? And I am certain we can all attest to the manifestations that occur from lasciviousness. They become irritatingly visible. Maybe just on me? BUT...the thing that got me was I never really connected with the fact that God saw my undisciplined consumption of food as a work of the flesh. I would encourage you to re-read Galatians 5:19-21. The NIV translations calls them the acts of a sinful nature. Yuck again. I don't care if they're called works of the flesh or acts of a sinful nature - I don't want any part of this! How about you? So, let's closely examine our heart and deal with any excessive and undisciplined food episodes and at least mark that off the list. Amen! Love you and believe the best about you! PK