Laura

What is Spiritual Bread?

Jesus tells us He is the "bread of life". (John 6:48)  He said whoever would eat his flesh (the bread which came down from heaven) would live forever. (John 6:49-51)  God says in Deut. 8:3 that man CANNOT live by bread alone, but by every WORD which proceeds from the mouth of God.

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Our spirits are alive, and just like our physical bodies, must be nurtured, cared for, and fed on a regular basis to remain healthy and strong.  The world, through the various media we are exposed to, teaches us to  focus on the physical and emotional aspects of living, while neglecting our spirits.  We're told how we should eat, how we should exercise, look, learn, earn and live.   We are taught from an early age how to satisfy ourselves with material and emotional things, but these can only satisfy our sinful nature temporarily.  For those who are spiritually lost or wayward, a void exists within that they cannot seem to fill for very long.

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How the Lord delivered me from anorexia and bulimia

Eating Disorders

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Many will spend their entire lives trying to fill that void.  For some, the answer may come in the pursuit of material wealth, success, sports, hobbies, or in other people.  Others will turn to destructive habits such as alcohol, drugs, adultery, violence and eating disorders.  These behaviors come with the false promise of happiness and fulfillment, but can never fill the emptiness and loneliness that is felt inside. This is SPIRITUAL hunger, and it can only be fully satisfied through an intimate relationship with the "Living Bread", Jesus Christ.  Only He can fill your heart to overflowing!  Only He can satisfy your soul.  "Feeding" daily on the Word of God can nourish our souls and bring health and life to a worn, weary spirit.

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Body Politics

Why you should eat

A letter from Annie

Beauty-More Than Skin Deep

This is a lesson learned from my own experiences with anorexia and bulemia.  You can read my testimony by clicking on the link labeled "MY TESTIMONY".  God used this to show me how a person's spirit can become eating disordered, just like our bodies can.  Thankfully, I found someone else who understood this view and explained it very well.

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In his book, "Point Man"*, Steve Farrar relates this same theory.  Although his book was written for men as a guide to being a godly spiritual leader of the family, you can see that the spiritual conditions he writes about can be for anyone. In chapter five, titled, "Anorexic Men and Their Bulimic Cousins", Steve writes, "I'm convinced there is such a thing a spiritual anorexia-and the enemy has been incredibly successful in spreading it.  In the spiritual realm, it is not partial to women.  Thousands of Christian men have spiritual anorexia, and that is why they are ineffective in leading their families.  What is spiritual anorexia:  Spiritual anorexia is an aversion to reading the Scriptures."

written by Laura

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Steve continues,  saying,"A malnourished man is worthless in hand-to-hand combat.  Because he has no strength, he is easy prey for the enemy."

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Of course he is!  Doesn't the bible tell us that every single day of our lives here on earth will be filled with spiritual battles against the devil?  How can we possibly stand firm when our souls are weak from lack of spiritual bread?

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Mid-Way Baptist Church

Steve goes on to explain how he discovered this disorder in his own life, and in the lives of many.  We never seem to have a problem watching TV, reading the newspaper, or filling our time with other activities, but it's so difficult to make time for God.  Satan diverts our attention with so many things, and gives us a distaste for God related activities..

On Bulemia, Steve says, "Spiritually speaking, bulimia is the inconsistent reading or hearing of the Word without personal application.  A young girl with bulimia will binge and take in a tremendous amount of food, only to quickly vomit, thus denying her body the nutrients it needs. The danger of the Christian life comes when I listen to a sermon or go to a Christian seminar or listen to a series of teaching tapes without applying the truth I hear to my life.  That is spiritual bulimia. Spiritual bulimia is an aversion to applying the Scripture to my life. Scriptural facts may be in my mind, but I am not integrating them into my life.  I am chewing the food and swallowing it,  but only for awhile.  Then  I get rid of the food, preventing digestion.  Without digestion, I cannot benefit from the nutrients of the food.  Without meditation leading to application, there is no spiritual digestion, and I continue to lose strength."

I truly believe that it is the spiritual disorders that can, in many cases, CAUSE  physical disorders. Let's not forget, ANY addiction, whether it be food, drugs, alcohol, or any other destructive habit  is not considered to be a cause, it is a symptom.  It's a symptom of something much deeper inside of us.  For many of us, the cause is SPIRITUAL. Our spirits have somehow become broken, or bruised.  We've been hurt deeply and we look for the first thing that gives us some form of comfort or excitement.   Too often, though, the first thing we find is not the Lord.

Jesus is the only spiritual nourishment we will ever need!  Sometimes, all it takes is a healing of the spirit, and the healing of the body will follow.  If you or someone you know suffers from addictions, compulsions, obsessions, or depression, please know that all three aspects of your life, physical, emotional and spiritual need to be treated simultaneously to get complete, total healing.  DO NOT substitute one for the other!  Treating only one or two of these will only bring temporary results.  This site contains  links to other Christ-centered  pages with lots of good, spiritual food for your hungry soul.   You will also find pages for help concerning eating disorders.  Please e-mail me or post a message with your thoughts, comments and prayer requests.  God Bless You!!...............Laura

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*Excerpted from Point Man, copyright 1990 by Steve Farrar Used by Permission of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.