“…meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving”
SIH’s Think On
These Things: 1 Tim 4:3-5
1Tim
4:3-5 (KJV)
3) Forbidding to marry,
[and commanding] to abstain from
meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth.
4)
For every creature of God [is] good,
and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5)
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
With Thanksgiving day
quickly approaching, what better time is there to remind ourselves about the
need to be thankful for our material blessings (food, clothing, shelter etc)
and the means by which we receive these things (employment, gifts, etc)?..
“Forbidding
to marry, [and commanding] to abstain
from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.”
Paul was addressing
false teachings which dictated that true followers of God should remain celibate
and abstain from eating meat. Paul is
explaining to young Timothy that the marriage union and the eating of meats are
to be enjoyed when they are partaken with thankfulness accompanied by a clear
conscience.
“For
every creature of God [is] good, and
nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: or it is sanctified
by the word of God and prayer.”
Paul goes further and explains
the reasoning behind this…. Everything that God makes is pleasing and
beneficial for man and can be enjoyed by man.
However, men must recognize and appreciate, through the act of thanksgiving,
that the Lord is the One that has supplied these blessings to us (Matt 6:25-32).
Paul goes further and
helps us to understand that, whenever we are confronted with a decision concerning
our life choices, we are seek the Lord’s will by looking to the Word and
praying for understanding. Once we discover
His will and submit to it, we can be confident our actions are not sinful, but
glorifying to Him.
In today’s economy, it is
no small blessing to have our material needs supplied through the blessings of
Christ. We should always be thankful for
the need that is being supplied, keeping in mind that all our needs are
supplied only through the gracious act of the Lord. But our spirit of thankfulness should not end
there. We should also be thankful for the
earthly source of these blessings as well.
Whether our needs are being supplied through a job, a family member, a
friend, church or other source, we should be thankful for the source which was
raised up by the Lord to meet our needs.
Mark 8:6 (KJV)
6) And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the
seven loaves, and gave thanks…
May the
Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.
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