Menu for the Living Soul: Delicacies from Heaven's Kitchen

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INTRODUCTION

Every living thing requires a healthy diet and a conducive environment to help it not just survive, but grow. Our physical wellbeing is closely linked to genetics, diet, environment, and lifestyle. These are all interconnected factors that have a major impact on our health.

The beginning of life as we know it on this planet is told in the book of Genesis. God created all things, both animate and inanimate. He began by creating an environment that was conducive to life. For six days, God set on stage everything that was important in ensuring life would be sustained—he created the Garden of Eden before creating Adam. The story of creation climaxes with the creation of man.

Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness (Genesis 1:26, KJV). When God breathed on man, man became a living soul. This clearly shows that after God set the environment in place, he put his genetics in man. At creation, man took all his attributes from God. God created man not only as a physical being, but also with a spirit and a soul within his physical body. This made man triune, and distinct from the other creatures.

Immediately after God created man, the first thing he did was bless him. Thereafter, he introduced diet to man. Then God said,

I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. (Genesis 1:29–30)

God told Adam what to eat and what not to eat. He said, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die (Genesis 2:16).

From the moment man become a living soul, he required food for his physical wellbeing. His spirit and soul, on the other hand, were constantly catered for by the perfect spiritual environment he enjoyed. He communed with God daily, and was not yet polluted by sin. This created a perfect balance for his entire being. Adam enjoyed a healthy spirit, soul, and body due to the perfect and complete nourishment he received in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, we all know the story of the fall. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and ate the forbidden fruit. Their fall distorted the balance. Sin separated them from God. Genetically, man could now pass sin to his descendants. God chased them from the Garden of Eden and from his presence. In one blow, man’s genetics, food, environment, and lifestyle were all impacted, affecting his spirit, soul, and body. Man was introduced to death.

God in his grace still offered man prescriptions for his diet. Leviticus 11 delves into clean and unclean foods. By his divine wisdom, God instituted measures to cushion man in the area of food, lifestyle, and environment. He also put in place a plan to save man’s genetic pollution through the blood of his perfect son, Jesus Christ.

Down the generations, a lot of emphasis has been rightly laid on food for the physical body, but little has been researched on food for the soul. If the soul is living, then clearly there has to be a diet for the soul and this should be found in the scriptures.

In the New Testament, Jesus told Peter, Feed my sheep, tend my flock (John 21:7). He repeated these words thrice, meaning this was a very important subject to the Lord. For the sheep to grow and be strong, they need food.

Jesus also taught explicitly,

…here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world…

Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. (John 6:50–51, 53–54)

What type of food was Jesus referring to? He was definitely not speaking literally about his physical flesh and blood. He was not referring to food for the physical body. Unfortunately, some of his disciples erroneously took his words literally and many stopped following him after this statement (John 6:66).

Paul also talked of spiritual food. He said, Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:13–14).

In essence, there is great relevance in knowing what helps your soul grow. It is also important to know what diet affects your inner being negatively in order to avoid it. It is my hope therefore that you will learn in the coming chapters what benefits your soul and what destroys you by your constant intake. Jesus is in the business of feeding his flock straight from heaven’s kitchen.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…My cup runneth over.

(Psalm 23:5, KJV)

1

A JAR OF PASSION

Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor;

be aglow and burning with the Spirit.

(Romans 12:11, AMP)

Man is not a rational animal.

He is only truly good or great when he acts from passion.

(Benjamin Disraeli, Henrietta Temple, 1837)

The minutes ticked by effortlessly as they had since the beginning of time. Passion, sheer grit, and determination were required to stay on course. The task had to be completed.

The night was dark and silent at the Garden of Gethsemane. The only sound Christ could hear was the chirp of the crickets and the snore from his disciples, who were snuggled close together on their knees, just a few feet from where he knelt.

Oh my Father, he agonized in prayer one more time, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will (Mark 14:36).

He knew that this was the reason he came. Everything was to end at the cross of Calvary in a few hours. He knew what was coming; he had already revealed it to the prophets Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel, David, and many more through the ages.

He had already seen the humiliation. The people he created would strip him naked, spit on him, slap him, and drag him through the dusty streets. His mother, brothers, sisters, disciples and many who believed in him would watch firsthand his humiliation and torture.

He had seen the crown of thorns forced through his head. His scalp and face immersed in agonizing pain.

He had also seen the whip—the gruesome flagrum. This was a whip of lashes and sharp metal points that would tear the skin and flesh off his back. With every swing of the whip, his flesh and blood would splatter across the square. Thirty-nine lashes from the flagrum would submerge him in excruciating torture. He would suffer from this whip to the brink of death.

He had seen the rugged cross, and the Roman nails hammered through the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. His weight would bear on those nails with indescribable and suffocating agony. His ploughed back would be too painful to rest on the wood. His head, still crowned with thorns, would have nowhere to rest for three agonizing hours on that cross.

In the garden, he lifted his face to heaven. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. This was not just love; it was passionate love. He had enough passion to die for mankind.

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, What! Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:37–38).

Yet, he knew in his spirit that these weak mortals would in the coming weeks walk in power after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit like fire. On the day of Pentecost, they would be baptized into the same zeal he was walking in. Many would be ready to be jailed, tortured, and killed because of him. Millions more through the generations would have the passion to die for their faith.

Jesus was not just a seed of love; he was a seed of passion. This love and passion would draw mankind to God and complete the great commission.

There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. (Nelson Mandela)

Passion is a very powerful force in the life of man. Passion is what propels us to fulfill our dreams and visions. Passion is the fire that ignites our destiny. It is the fuel for greatness on your chosen path.

Passion is like water behind the sluice gates of a massive dam seeking an opportunity, however small or insignificant, to gush out, pushing against the turbines and ultimately turning potential energy to electricity and with it boundless energy options.

I have never seen a man immensely successful in what he is not passionate about. Passion is fervency that demands attention for results and goes the whole nine yards to fulfill purpose. Passion can also be called fervency or zeal. It creates results. The Bible says, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16, KJV)

In its true nature, passion is never subdued. We’re naturally captivated by passion. The reason we become captivated by successful people in any field has less to do with their success and more to do with their passion. The way they achieve success is usually more of a vital learning tool for their protégés than the success itself. This is the reason people learn the ways of success and not the destination of success. When we learn about the hours the successful put in, their constant pursuit for excellence, and the luxuries they forego to achieve their goals, it bears testimony to their passion.

Passion turns an ordinary man into an extraordinary champion. Passion opens doors to success. Passion is contagious. Like a bushfire, it can spread far and wide. Passion is about being positive. Research by positive psychology researchers has shown that positive people have fewer incidences and frequencies of ill-health, enjoy better speed and level of recovery after illness, and are likely to live longer compared to those who are negative and complacent in life. These people command life through their passion. David the psalmist proclaimed, I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done (Psalm 118:17).

Apostle Paul was greatly passionate about the call of God on his life. From his account in the book of Acts, you can tell he came to know more about his master Jesus than many who had physically related with Christ. The words of Peter sum it up when he says, As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15–16, NKJV).

Peter physically walked with the Lord and fellowshipped with him while he walked on earth, yet he marveled at Paul’s wisdom—Paul, who had never met Jesus in the flesh.

Passion always calls us into action. In the book of John, we read the account of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Jesus was angered by the moneychangers at the temple; He commanded them, Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market! (John 2:13–25) When the disciples saw Jesus’ reaction, they remembered the words of David in Psalms: Zeal for your house consumes me (Psalm 69:9–10). David had told God, Because zeal for your house consumes me, I am scorned by those who scorn you (emphasis mine). We see the same passion at the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus is so consumed with the task to save humanity that his sweat trickles like blood. This was captured vividly in the movie Passion of the Christ.

Passion needs to be fueled because the end of passion is the end of a ministry.

In the Bible, we read the familiar passage in which Elijah says,

I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. (1 Kings 19:14)

Elijah was fleeing for his life. He was hiding in a cave in fear of Jezebel. It’s sad that his fear at this point overwhelmed his passion and marked the closing chapter of his ministry. Fear clouded his judgment; he thought he was the only one left, yet God reminded him that he had seven thousand more who had not bowed to Baal. Because of this, God immediately replaced him as prophet of Israel, commanding him to go and anoint Elisha in his place.

Passion needs to be constantly fuelled to avoid the danger of burnout. Isn’t it surprising that Elijah was the same man who had single-handedly triumphed over the priests of Baal in a prayer contest? He had then proceeded to put four hundred and fifty of them to the sword. He was the same man who had proclaimed there would be no rain, and for three years, there was no rain. When he prayed for the rain, he was very passionate. He prayed seven times and each time sent his servant to go and watch the sky. He put his head between his thighs until his servant came back and told him, There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea! In faith, Elijah said to him, Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you’ (1 Kings 18:44, NKJV). Elijah then girded his loins, ran, and overtook the chariots of Ahab. All these and many other acts ended at the mouth of a cave in the conversation with God that revealed a man now short of confidence. This great man of God let fear snuff out his passion and cut short his assignment.

David, on the other hand, never lost his passion. At a very young age, we see his passion for the Lord God of Israel that prompted him to face Goliath. He was fully convinced that he could defeat this giant that had defied the