Thanksgiving Frees Us

 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim. 4)

Thoughts:  The scripture here is speaking of a freedom that is given with thanksgiving- specifically thanking God over food.  When we thank God for our food, we are blessing it, asking God to make it clean and good for us to eat.  
    I have known people who will not eat many types of food out of fear for their health.  Certainly this passage is not saying that diabetics can eat all the sugar they want as long as they bless it.  Nor is it saying to eat all the transfats or poison and all will be okay. 
     God made everything- and He made it good.  But we can take good things and misuse them. Mercury may be good for cleaning silver,or tanning leather but it is not good to eat.  
      This writer is not talking about all foods, but foods that have been forbidden religiously- food offered to pagan idols and then sold in the meat market; and plants/animals forbidden to be eaten under Jewish law.  
      Thanksgiving frees us to eat.  It frees the germaphobe from being afraid of germs.  It frees the anorexic or bulimic- because if we are thankful for our lives and how we look- we are not upset about what we eat or that we eat at all.  Thanksgiving releases negative feelings and frees us to enjoy life.
     But more than just affecting our thinking, it involves God Himself in the regular call of eating.  We are asking God to be present and to bless the food so we may be a blessing to Him.  Thankfulness to God frees us from ourselves.  It recognizes that what we have is not simply from our work, but it involves God's gift and God's blessing.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to live a thankful life.  Thank you for your provision for me- food, body, time, family, and friends.  

Lord make us truly thankful for these and all your many blessings.  Bless this food to our use and us to your service.  Make us mindful of the needs of others.  In Christ's name, amen.  

Norman Rockwell "saying grace" 

Thanksgiving and Blessing

4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 

5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.  (1 Timothy 4:4,5)

Thoughts: Ingratitude makes what is good bad-- Just like fussing at supper makes even the best of foods taste sour.  Gratitude over food blesses the food.  I have been to other countries and seen food that I would never touch eaten and enjoyed with gratitude.  Food like squid or locusts may seem terrible to me, but to a really hungry person (or someone who likes this food), this is food that keeps them satisfied and alive.    Their gratitude enables them to eat it whereas my ingratitude would keep me hungry.  The point is not that saying a blessing makes alcoholic or drug infested drink/food non-toxic.  To be able to eat food with thanksgiving requires we not seek to bless what is unhealthy, or seek to overindulge because we can.  Rather, thanksgiving to God means we seek to please God with the what and how of what we eat.  For the alcoholic to thank God for what would poison their liver would be an abuse of thanksgiving.  True thanksgiving, by its nature requires a measure of holiness. 

Prayer: Lord, may the way I give thanks and what I give thanks for honor you.  Thank you for your blessings in life.  May I use these blessings in honorable ways in order to honor and serve you. 

9/4/14- 1 Timothy 4

1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4)

Thoughts: This is similar to a statement in 2 Timothy 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible time in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control... This passage differs in the sins of the last days.  The 2 Timothy passage points out lack of self control, and this points to a reaction to this- a legalistic over-control.  Often the two go together.  In morally lapsing times, some act like animals and in reaction others act prudish.  Grace works somewhere in between.  Grace allows us to see goodness in creation and to live a grateful life. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to be thankful for your gifts in life- love, food, life and truth.  

11/16/13- Thanksgiving as Blessing

3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:3-5)

Thoughts: Thanksgiving blesses everything.  Thanksgiving makes what is questionable acceptable.  Everything is worthy of thanksgiving in some sense- for all that is created was good.  While the good becomes corrupted by our abuse, our sin, our addictions, and our problems, thanksgiving is a call for God to bless and to forgive.  When we bless our food we give thanks.  Thanksgiving is blessing and blessing is thanksgiving.
    The context of this is eating meat sacrificed to idols.  This meat was given to the Temples of pagan gods who, of course, did not consume them.  So it was sold cheaply.  Christians had two views.  Either the meat was polluted because it was offered to false gods that lead people astray.  Some went to call these pagan gods demons.  Others had the view that these weren't really gods anyway so they didn't have the power to make the meat polluted.  Timothy says what makes the difference is thanksgiving- blessing the food.
    So even today we say "grace", or "blessing", or "give thanks" over our food.  Calvin said that saying words of thanksgiving over our meals (normally three times a day) was an essential part of our daily prayer life.  So give thanks and bless what is before you. 

Prayer: In a world that is corrupted by so much, let me live a life of thanksgiving.  Let me bless all those around me- turning the corrupted into the blessed.