Date of message: 10 January,
2004 Issue
124
Subject: O Lord, Sanctify Our Seafood
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
After the message last week, someone wrote to me and ask whether I was
being annoyed by some pork seller and therefore singled out the dangers
of eating pork. No, far from it! I have no quarrels with any hawkers.
In fact I still do eat the occasional roast pork and char-siew rice at
the food courts/ hawker centres and my wife had just roasted a whole piece
of side pork for my son since he was returning to London after his Christmas
break.
What I would encourage though is that we try and reduce the quantity we
consume. Of course there are some who have great determination and can
abstain from any kind of food they choose almost immediately. There is
no compulsion; the choice is entirely up to you.
I would like to continue with the series and touch on the category of
food found in the sea. The Lord told Moses to instruct the children of
Israel in Leviticus 11: 9 and 12: -
9 These you may eat of all that are in the water; whatever in the water
has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers - that you may
eat.
12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales - that shall be
an abomination to you.
It is widely accepted medical advice that there are certain types of creatures
found in the sea or in the ocean that would be harmful to our bodies if
we consume them. Medical research have found that crabs, lobsters, crayfishes,
prawns and other shellfish all carry some form of toxin in their bodies
and if one were to consume large quantities of these, one would be infected
with Hepatitis viruses (whether A, B or even the C strains). In addition,
even if one were to be able to withstand the Hepatitis viruses, there
is the added burden of the bad cholesterol usually associated with these.
Why is this so? Well, just as the pig was classified as the garbage disposer
of the land, the crustaceans are its cousins in the water. These crustaceans
feed on all the food usually found at the bottom of the sea and in the
process, they do pick up all kinds of viruses. According to local folklore,
it has been said that the hairy Sri Lankan crab gets its hair after consuming
large quantities of human flesh and scalp. Sri Lankan Buddhist Sinhalese
would normally burry their dead in the sea. They would take a boat out
to sea and commit the corpse into the deep.
Is there any spiritual significance for us? In both verses, we read that
the fish must have fins and scales. When danger looms, the fish is meant
to swim away quickly with the aid of its fins. I recall someone was trying
to catch fish and instead of using a fishing line or a net, he chose to
immobilize the fishes by dropping blocks of TNT explosives into the sea
and wait for the detonation at a safe distance away. The poor fish did
not have a chance. 'Boom' and soon after there were many floating fish.
When we received the Lord Jesus into our hearts, He gave us the Holy Spirit
to guide us and help us and we will need to be more attentive to the prompting
of the Spirit in our lives. Whenever we get that uneasy feeling, we need
to recognize that the Spirit may be telling us to stay away from those
situations/ places.
The fish that we eat must also have scales for the scales protect the
fish from external threats and contain the goodness within. And so we
learn that the Holy Spirit is able to shield us from external contamination
and threats even when we missed the cue and walked into danger.
My friend, have you received the Holy Spirit into your life to be your
Guide and Helper in times of need? He will automatically come into your
life the moment you believe in Jesus and receive Him into your heart.
Why not do it now and invite Him? It is not a difficult thing to do. Believe
and receive Him and you will immediately join the ranks of being children
of God the Father. Jesus died for us so that we can have His eternal life
as an exchange. Because He died and took away our punishment, we need
not go through that again; otherwise that would tantamount to a double
jeopardy. Our Father is a Righteous God and He will honor His Covenant
with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
My friends, one day, after all the Christians have been taken home to
be with the Lord, and should you by any chance be reading this article,
be assured that Jesus loves you so much that He already demonstrated His
love for you on the cross. He died that we may have life in abundance.
Pray this simple prayer to invite Jesus into your heart and immediately
you will experience His peace coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you for Your great love for us that You sent
Your only Beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to die for all our sin and
to be raised from the dead so that we can be forgiven of all our sin and
now we are set free.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and for giving me the Holy
Spirit to be my Friend and my Guide. Thank you that the Holy Spirit is
with me to remind me of my very special position as a child of God the
Father. Thank you that as Your child, I can now start enjoying all Your
blessings for my life - Divine Healing, Divine Health and Divine Life
in You. Thank you also for the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit brings
along with Him and for imparting those gifts into my life.
Thank you for what You had accomplished for us on the cross and because
You were raised from the dead for our justification, I am now eternally
forgiven of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, a highly favored
child of God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the
Lord and in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah,
I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can
obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your
own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together?
You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father,
for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now; you do not need to wait until you reach heaven and
there is more from where they come from.
And, my friend, continue to exercise the gift of praying in tongues and
with the usage, more gifts of the Holy Spirit will be imparted to you.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24-26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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