Spirituality: The New-Old Superfood

Irony: A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects.

This is the definition of my experience for the entire past month! Without being “Johnny Raincloud” or “Debbie Downer,” I can honestly say I was counting the days till a new month comes around! My wife Lillian and I enjoy vibrant health and rarely ever get sick, so two days after sharing this “health testimony” over dinner at a pastors home in New York, it was quite ironic that I was flat on my back, burning up with fever and indescribable pain in every inch of my body!

At first, I was totally frustrated and confused wondering why I had become so ill. To add insult to injury, I had to cancel two weeks of speaking engagements. Then, I remembered Psalm 23:2-3:

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.”

I forgot for a moment that I was human! Sometimes, I push too hard and travel too much! Then, we have to “shut down” occasionally and get quiet so we can hear the Lord speak and be restored.

So dear friends, a new month is here, and with it:

• A new man
• A new perspective
• And a joyful heart

Many thanks to those of you that prayed for me; I felt your prayers and I am grateful.

SuperFood vs. Super Competition

With that being said, lets dive into this month’s topic: “Superfoods!” Those of you who have been health conscious for a while are certainly aware that there is a “super cala fragilistic expialidocious” food, supplement or exercise program that becomes the new rave every month. With popular television programs like “The Dr. Oz Show,” new products are introduced daily.

While I am ecstatic over the fact that Americans are becoming health conscious and are taking personal responsibility over their own health and wellbeing, I also want to mention that we must also be cognisant of the fact that supplement companies pay celebrities to feature their products. They also employ sexy marketing — and even misleading statements — to sell new products.

For example, next time you visit your favorite health and nutrition shop, count how many different brands of omega-3 oils you find on the shelf. The “warehouse” sized depot that I frequent has over 20 brands of salmon oil alone!

The supplement “reps” do their best, even paying the proprietor for line of sight placement of their brands and dish out even more cash for “end cap” displays. All I am simply saying here is the health and nutrition industry is like any other industry; they exist to make money and the competition is fierce.

In the 60s and 70s, most consumers thought supplements were neigh unto “snake oil.” Water distillers, champion juicers, brewers yeast, lecithin, wheat germ, vitamin E, and multi-vitamins were the new wave of the nutritional world, while the packaging was unattractive almost medicinal in nature. Today, we have thousands of products on the shelves with eye-popping vibrant packaging. But, you really have to be educated about supplements to choose what is right for you.

Again, I want to be very careful not to discourage anyone from pursuing abundant health using supplements and eating the cleanest organic foods, vegetables and grains available. I just want you to be aware that terms like “cutting edge,” “breakthrough” or “super” need to be investigated and ultimately substantiated. And with this month’s topic being, “Superfoods,” we might just need a good definition of the term!

• The definition of the word “super” means: Very large or powerful, excellent, far above.
• The definition of the word “food” means: Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth.

Now to be honest, I certainly consume my fair share of blueberries, Goji berries, seabuckthorn berries, acai berries, amaranth, quinoa, flaxseed, deep-sea plankton, nopal cactus, tart cherry and a plethora of other “Superfoods.”

Divine Nutrition….The Big Picture

I would like to share a quote from Marc David, founder of The Institute for the Psychology of Eating.

“Spirituality is the antidote to our sometimes religious obsession with food and weight. We can be so enamored with nutrition, longevity, and optimum eating that we forget to enjoy life, celebrate what we have, and love what is! We can get so caught up in cleansing, going 100% raw, perfectly vegan, or have fat free abs, that we lose sight of who we really are and what we are doing on planet earth in the first place. We need a bigger picture. What good is a healthy body if we suck at relationships, if we don’t contribute to humanity, if we avoid maturing emotionally, and if we forget to continuously update our spiritual software? Spirituality IS the new Superfood. You can quote me on that.” (1)

Obviously, I just did!

It is so easy to get hypnotized when you major on the minor. Life is far more than food…isn’t it?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. IS NOT LIFE MORE IMPORTANT THAN FOOD, and the body more important than clothes?”  Matthew 6:25

We are triune beings comprised of body, soul and spirit. Think of yourself as a triangle with the spirit as your foundation with one side as your soul and the other as your body. If the only side you nurture is your body, then you will be quite one-dimensional or one sided. Jesus taught us to be balanced — or three-dimensional (3D) — giving attention to our soul and, most importantly, our spirit!

The soul is the thought, will and emotions of man. It is the epicenter of your personality and the umpire of your spiritual life.

Look at these words in 3^rd John 1:2

“Beloved, I wish above ALL things that you may prosper and be in good health as your soul prospers.”

This is what Marc David’s quote highlighted when he mentions that we can get so caught up in taking care of the body that we lose sight of who we REALLY are and what we are doing on planet earth in the first place. WE NEED A BIGGER PICTURE.

If my earlier working definition of “Superfood” holds true, “Very large or powerful, excellent, far above nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth,” then I think you will agree that perhaps a blueberry pales in comparison to the One that created all things!

“For they did not believe in God or trust in His deliverance. Yet He gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens, He rained down manna for the people to eat, He gave them the grain of Heaven. Men ate the bread of angels He sent them all the food they could eat.”
Psalm 78:22-25

“Then he (Elijah) lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread (manna) baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’” 1 Kings 19:5-8

Elijah got up and ate and drank. Strengthened BY THAT FOOD, he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. Superfood?

Friends, would we consider what is available today as “Superfood” when one manna cake baked by an angel could empower a man for 40 days and 40 nights??? BTW, that may be where “Angel Food cake” got its name! LOL!

Seriously, the Creator should never be defined by his creation… God is preeminent…He is before ALL THINGS. After He sent manna from Heaven to feed His people in the Old Testament, He sent the Bread of Heaven to earth to — not only feed mankind but to — save them! Who is this Bread from Heaven?

“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God IS HE who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I AM the bread of life. He who comes to me will NEVER go hungry, and he who believes in Me will NEVER be thirsty.’” John 6:32-35

Dear reader, I have eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world, gorged myself with the latest and greatest “Superfoods” available, yet nothing of this world possessed the nutritional value to transform my life and make me the man I am today… That SUPERNATURAL feat could only be accomplished by the true and living Superfood, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ!

Jesus, the consummate host, has set a banquet table before us that is unrivaled in splendor or sacrifice:

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat, this IS my body.’ Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28

The table I speak of is the table of communion or “common union” where all may come and dine.

Is it truly “Superfood” you seek today friend?

Remember the words of Isaiah,

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live.”  Isaiah 55:2-4

There is ALWAYS an empty chair at the Lord’s table and it is my prayer that you will take this invitation to sit with Him today.

As always, it is an honor (and a great responsibility) to share my heart with you.

Until next month,

Michael

Have you tried cleansing, fasting or dieting, etc? Did this way of “purifying yourself” bring peace or are you looking for another spiritual experience? 

 

More Articles You Might Enjoy:

• WOW – Wonders of Water
•  The Gift of Life
• Seeing is Believing: Supernatural Vision Health

 

 

 

(1) http://psychologyofeating.com/unexpected-super-foods/