A friend of mine knows a physician that specializes in a natural approach to medicine to treat disease and illness. To emphasize his point, sitting on his desk is a powerful demonstration of his message. This physician has a digital clock displayed that is running and keeping time. What is special about this display is the fact that the clock has no battery, and is not plugged into the wall. Its only power source is fruit! That’s right, this digital clock is actually plugged into a real piece of fruit to demonstrate that power and life that is naturally inside of plant based food.
It is stunning to think of the power that actually exists within natural food. This doctor’s message is this…if you want to be healthy, stop getting sick all the time, and have more energy, eat food that has real life inside and stop eating processed & synthetic foods. I could go on about this, but that is actually going to be another blog post in the near future:)
Although there is ample evidence to suggest that people who eat a natural diet consisting of fruits & vegetables are much more healthy, have stronger immune systems, and have a significantly better quality of life, very few people actually eat this way. There is a reason for this.
Stimulants & Synthetic Foods
Studies have shown that children who have diets largely consisting of processed / fast foods & sweets, continue that same diet as adults as well. Adults who actually do have healthy diets consisting of an abundance of fruits & vegetables have either eaten this way from the beginning as children, or have broken away from synthetic / processed foods due to a health crisis that made the change of lifestyle a necessity.
For some, the problem is a lack of information. They simply have not known the food they are regularly consuming is not actually food, but a small mixture of real food along with a vast array of synthetic elements. Fortunately, this segment of the population is actually decreasing as word gets out about the nature of the food industry. For the rest of us, however, we continue eating non-food for another reason entirely.
For example, breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. Although I have always known this, that didn’t stop me from skipping this meal on a consistent basis. It was easier for me to simply grab a cup of coffee and a pastry on the run. The caffeine from the coffee and the sugar from the pastry stimulated my body in a shorter period of time than it would take to prepare and consume a healthy breakfast.
While these food-like items gave me the appearance of life & energy, in reality they gave me neither. Without getting into the science behind this, my body was simply stimulated by the quick infusion of caffeine and sugar to simulate the affects of real food. Because coffee and pastries are not actually ‘real food’ that can sustain life, the moment the caffeine and sugar ran its course, my energy and fuel for living took a nose dive. This affected my emotions, my desires, and even my outlook on life.
For much of my adult life, synthetic food-like items and synthetic stimulants kept me away from real food in a couple of ways. First, these food-like items produced the short term affects that I desired quickly. As a result, I put a higher priority upon consuming these items over real food. Secondly, as I regularly consumed these synthetic food-like items, it had the affect of dulling and temporarily satisfying my appetite. While this may seem positive on the surface, it actually altered my desire and taste for real food. This too kept me away from real food. As you can imagine, this negatively affected my health as the majority of our bodies and cellular function are a direct result of our diet.
I have learned that if something is true in the natural world, however, it usually points to a greater spiritual reality. As you may know, over the last few years I have been on a journey out of institutional religion and into New Testament church life. The transition from synthetic spiritual food to ‘real’ spiritual food, so to speak, can be quite challenging. I have witnessed this struggle a multitude of times among those on a similar journey.
Spiritual ‘detox’ involves a letting go of old religious habits. These religious habits can be hard to break because they seem to satisfy legitimate spiritual needs and desires. The Sunday morning ‘worship’ experience and the addiction to sermons are two synthetic-food like stimulants that are the most difficult to part with. Like most stimulants, there are enough elements of natural food present to mimic the affects of real food. While consuming these stimulants may leave us with with a temporary feeling of satisfaction, they ultimately leave us malnourished and poisoned with toxic elements.
Toxic Bread & Drink
The fact is, most sermons actually contain true information about Jesus Christ. Most sermons also contain true information & principles about accomplishing good deeds and managing your life. Unfortunately, most of this information comes from the grid of the ‘tree’ of knowledge, as opposed to the ‘tree of life’. Information coming from this grid contains the premise that simply acquiring more knowledge and doing more deeds (all in the name of obedience of course) is what the ‘Christian’ life is about.
The same can also be said about ‘worship’ services. Many believe (and are incorrectly taught) that we need to ‘come into’ an event in order to encounter and experience the presence of God. Attempting to experience God through an atmosphere of emotional stimulation (crafted by a select few on a stage) is a powerful stimulant that is hard for many to break. In reality, we were designed and created to receive and express the very life of God which is not dependent upon knowledge acquisition, good deeds, or emotional stimulation. The misconception about what ‘worship’ actually is runs quite deep. I have written about this here.
Spiritual ‘soup kitchens’ (institutions) all look the same. They have a select few (hierarchy) standing behind a serving table (on stage) serving hungry people who have come in to consume what is being dished out. Unfortunately, this food is not real food, but a mixture of food and synthetic elements. This food gives us the temporary feeling of satisfaction, yet leaves us malnourished. People simply go from ‘spiritual soup kitchen to spiritual soup kitchen’ to sustain themselves. Few actually break free of the poverty of such a life. The New Testament church of Jesus Christ was never meant to function in such a way.
Toxic bread & drink from the religious system perpetuates the type of thinking that keeps us continually coming back to the ‘soup kitchen’ for more bread. This kind of thinking is toxic because it perpetuates the lie that the living bread (Jesus Christ) is something external that we must go out and get. This lie keeps us from the real spiritual food (the indwelling life of Christ) that is already alive and well on the inside of us.
True Food & Drink
Jesus Christ is true food & drink. He is more than just a stimulant. There is substance to Him. Personally speaking, I have discovered that true food can be distinguished from the synthetic food that comes from the religious system in three areas.
1. True spiritual food always unlocks the ‘pantry’ doors to the location where the real food is being stored.
The good news is this…the living bread that has come down from heaven has made His abode in us! We need never to go hungry again! We are the pantry and the location of this food. (Col. 1:27) If true food is being presented to a group of people, they will not remain ‘beggars’ who are dependent upon a select few to feed them. This group of people will be equipped to go to the source of the food (Christ IN US) and extract a hearty meal.
2. True spiritual food always unlocks our true identity in Christ.
When a group of people are consuming the true food of Jesus Christ, they will see themselves for who they are in Christ. In Christ, we are not poor beggars who are dependent upon a select qualified few who stand behind a serving line (stage) to serve us food. In Christ, we move from being perpetual broke beggars to food distributors! Because we have an abundance of food, we can actually serve others food as a way of life. This will be reflected in corporate church meetings, and outside of church meetings as well. Those who equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12) know that their ‘job’ is to equip a group of people to not be dependent upon them. True ‘ministry’ is serving Christ to one another, and that is the destiny of every member of Christ’s body. The corporate gatherings of the church will simply reflect this reality.
3. True spiritual food always leads to the expression of Christ by the whole body.
True spiritual food always illuminates the enormity of Jesus Christ. Because all fullness dwells in Him (Col. 1:19), it is not enough that this Christ would simply be expressed by a select few on a stage. The living water of this Christ will become like an overflowing well located within each member of Christ’s body (John 7:38). Trying to block this flow of living water will become impossible. When each member begins to overflow with this living water, the result is a flood. We need never to die of thirst again! If the church is truly being equipped (Eph. 4:11-12), the living water of Christ will actually be dispensed by all the members to one another, not just from a select few.
May the Lord throughly and deeply cleanse our spiritual diets of all toxic / synthetic foods. In breaking our addiction to synthetic foods, may He also lead us to the true food that we have been created to consume, and may we become ‘gluttons’ of this food!
Jamal Jivanjee
Really enjoyed the article. It is so true, most of us Christians settle for the milk of the word by going to an organized religious service each week to be told by a select few what the Bible is saying. We need to see that what we call church is not what God intended. As Christians, we are the Church and we need to receive the meat of the word that comes from the Holy Spirit teaching us and working in our lives, then by us living each day in the power of the Spirit doing the works of Jesus in a dying world.
Thanks very much for such a well written article.
Wonderful post, Jamal! I have made the conversion in both food diet and spiritually in the past 2 years. Lately the Lord has been sharing with me exactly what you wrote here. How my change of diet physically was a beautiful picture of what is going on inside me with the Lord. Real food is endless and wonderful. There is no need to starve but we can instead feast on Christ together with one another! Loved your post.
Thx sister:)
Jamal, this blog truly hits home. I’m in the transition from IC to a natural based fellowship.
In the past I was active in a large and growing IC. In this setting were many smallgroups that meet to discuss the current weeks message. At the time this seemed very edifying. I’ve been away from this “church” now for several months. I dropped in (online) with one the other day. Malnutrition was rampant, the discussion was focused upon how to better keep the law.
I love these people, they are family, we have deep affection for one another. It breaks my heart to see them locked in a sheep pen that does not have adequate provisions. My desire is to help unlock the gate, and to experience the true green pastures, the true quite waters of living in Christ.
Thank you once again bro for you very helpful, and uplifting blog!
Jim,
I know exactly how you feel brother. I love the heart that He has given you…it is the heart of Christ!
Well said Jamal!
#Ditto
Thx for reading brother:)
Great analogy – we kind of “backed” into this in our lives. We recognized spiritual BEFORE we saw the physical. But, the dire urgency was the same in both situations. We (my wife and I) both knew we could no longer stand to continue to “pork out” on the imitation un-natural spiritual life laced with artificial sweeteners, continually gorging ourselves only to find we were still hungry. Breaking out of the system of man, we have found the true “bread of life” and now we just hunger more for more of Him. In our physical diet, because of some health concerns for me, we have radically changed the way we think about eating, much the same as our spiritual “diet”, seeking to find God’s original intent for mankind and staying as close to that as is possible with what is available to us. I love the comparison as I am able to see this truth from both sides. Thanksfor sharing with us!
It is a facinating journey we are on, isn’t it Mark? Thx for sharing bro!
I think this is the best image (institutional church synthetic/processed food)I’ve read to describe the institutional church and its effect on people. Thanks for your insights, Jamal.
William,
That’s quite humbling. Thx for reading and sharing:)
As you know, this resonates with where my family is….thanks for the encouragement! Blessings!
Great insight bro! Thanks for always having some living food to share with us, and doing your part to always be stirring up a feast!
I say the same about you brother:)
Wonderful post, brother! The saddest thing is to be a starving child with an abundantly rich Father. Can we imagine how our Father feels about that?! I remember when I first came into contact with real spiritual food, I could tell I was starved, cause I was glued to my computer chair till 2 or 3 in the morning. I couldn’t wait for the next meal. The thing is, you don’t know what you’ve been missing until you actually come to have some real spiritual food. It reminds me when I first left Albania ( I was born and raised there) a communist country whose borders were locked for 40 years, no one could get out during that time. Only after we actually came to see and experience the bounty and the freedom of the West, did we realize how really poor and oppressed we had been. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Land that flows with milk and honey, there is no need for his children to starve.
The Lord said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Himself. Good appetite in the natural, is a sign of good health, is true of the spiritual life as well. The more we eat of Him, the more we want of Him. Though He gives us all things and we’re satisfied, yet are we still very needy and desperate people for Him. We need our manna daily, and He gives it to us, that we may have life and have it abundantly.
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters,
He restores my soul.
Thanks fpr sharing on the new bloc on medicine fruits, i am impressed with that it true thanks also for continued teaching which has real revealed to my wife and i what the real church mean and has real motivated us to get more discoveries on church planting movement CPM THAT WE ARE DOING THROUGH OUR Kenyan BRETHREN BLESSING JAMAL DON’T REAL FORGET US THAT WAY GOT HELPED YOU TO BIRTH US IN KENYA AND WE NEED YOUR FELLOWSHIP PLEASE YOURS FRIEND AND BROTHER JOHN AND JANE NABRUK, LIBERTY MINISTRIES KENYA.
After reading this I can look back and see how I was being prepared(detox started) for the spiritual organic life through the physical organic life. I never would have realized that if you had not written this blog, so thank you!
Excellent post, Jamal. I especially love the analogy between the true / synthetic food in the natural and spiritual. From the last couple years of my life, I can really resonate that.
I have thought about this concept many times, how my journey to consume a diet of nutrient dense, living foods dove tails with our homeschooling lifestyle and my journey in discovering life in the organic church. I find that the further i stray from the design that God has given for living life more abundantly (be it church, diet, or education), the more drained of energy I feel, to the point of apathy. All I can pray for is His strength and wisdom as I strive to “detox” and learn about all the new habits and sources of nutrition that will heal my weary body and soul.
Excellent post Jamal.
Thanks Brother. The Lord spoke to me in such a profound way through this post.
Excellent, excellent post.
As I continue outside, I begin to pinpoint what it was that so attracted me to the community of believers in Gainesville, Florida.
This article helped clarify what it was: these people were ALL feasting on Christ.
In the institution, ‘regular’ people rarely have anything to say about Christ in their life apart from prayer requests, praises, or regurgitated babel from their pastor’s sermon (often truth about Christ, but so distant from the person of Christ).
You’d have to go to the pastors if you desire a real spiritual discussion.
This was not the case among the group of believers in Gainesville. Each person I spoke to seemed to be:
1. Oozing with Christ’s love for me and each other.
2. Completely in love with a real person named Jesus Christ.
This is contrary to what I was told in the institution:
Without a building, an appointed time for meeting would not be made because people will stop coming to “church”.
Without a sermon from an ordained pastor every week, Christians in the flock will grow weary because they aren’t being fed.
Without a doctrinal creed or statement of faith, heresy will creep into the teaching and pollute the believers’ minds.
Praise the Lord! He’s saved me many times, from many things.
We love you, too, Big Mike!
Great article, Jamal. I have found this to be true on every level you have articulated here. My family has moved to eating more “real” food and very little synthetic. What I am finding is that the real food (lots of fresh fruits and veggies) produce so much more richness and flavor than the synthetic food I had consumed for so many years.
A while back, our church had a meeting where each person brought a wrapped gift that expressed Christ in some way. Everyone drew a number and chose a gift from the pile when it was their turn. When they opened the gift, the person who brought it explained how it was a picture of Christ. (We called the meeting a White Elephant Christ Exchange, but there was no stealing.)
One sister put a bag filled with candy in the pile. There were various candies, shaped like oranges, bananas, cherries, strawberries, etc. The person who opened it really thought they hit the jackpot. But then the sister explained how those were all imitations of something real. Then she brought out a big fruit basket full of the real life-giving fruits to demonstrate the difference. She explained exactly what you have articulated here in this article.
It truly is liberating to live by real life instead of a fake imitation! Thanks, brother!
Mark,
Wow brother, thanks for sharing that powerful demonstration! That about sums up this entire article. Thanks, as always, for your insightful comments. Blessings on you and the saints there:)
Well put.
I very much like the analogy you have used, and I say Amen! to your prayer.
Blessings!