Friday Feature: Know What’s in There


Do you know everything that you’re eating? This is an important question to ask, especially with the recent ruling that McDonald’s had to disclose every chemical additive to its foods and the revelation that some type of “pink slime” is added to ground beef as “a cheaper filler.” So you may think you are eating one thing and are getting some additional items you didn’t count on. Next week I’ll tell you about my quest to find out the ingredients in one of my favorite spices and the shocking news I received, but today I want to deviate from what we put into our physical body and focus on what we put into our spiritual body.

As I thought about how we eat foods and don’t always know what’s in them and how those unknown ingredients are detrimental to us, I thought about how not knowing what you put into your spirit can be equally as detrimental to your soul. When we allow small amounts of “spiritual” information to infiltrate our system because we have not investigated the claims next to the claims of traditional Christianity, we begin to cause deterioration to our souls. For instance, if you see people of other belief systems fulfilling required hours of service for their salvation, you may begin to put pressure on yourself to work hard to be saved, forgetting that you should work hard because you ARE saved (James 2:17-24). Work was never the requirement for salvation only the expectation AFTER salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). We must remember that we are saved by faith through grace this and also remember other basic truths of our faith so we don’t become spiritually sick—discouraged, disobedient or disenchanted because of misguided notions—and lose hope.

I remind you of this today, Good Friday, as we recognize the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This day marks the beginning of His sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Next was His burial that was pivotal in His rising from the grave, His resurrection on the third day, having defeated death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We have to remember this, what’s in our faith, so we understand what we have and recognize there is no need for any additives. In fact, any so called fillers would just deny the power of resurrection and dilute the power of the entire Gospel, making it an entirely different gospel and weakening our faith (Galatians 1:6-9). Good Friday is about the hope we have of eternal life because of Jesus Christ. That blessed hope, even giving us power before we even see Jesus in heaven, is what we celebrate this weekend. Happy Good Friday and have a Happy Resurrection Day.

Divinely Poetic

Poetrythe measured language of emotion; the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts—Dictionary.com

April is National Poetry Month, celebrating all things poetry. This is what I plan to do this month, beginning today, Good Friday, the day that Christians recognize Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion for the sins of humanity. I recognize Jesus Christ as God, the savior, my savior, but today I also recognize Him as the ultimate poet, the one who personified delivering “the measured language of emotion,” his whole life being “the art of rhythmical composition,” displaying love to the fullest.

From before the beginning of time God had plans for me (Ephesians 1:4-6). These plans included living forever in concert with Him then people interrupted this plan, messed it up for all women and men, when they ate that forbidden fruit. They had to depart from His presence, separating all of us from Him, but God never dismissed us from His ultimate plan of life with Him. The people broke the connection and only He could make the connection again.

A bull couldn’t do it. A goat or bird wouldn’t do. Not a lamb or an ordinary man. Only Jesus, perfect God and perfect man when He came to dwell on the earth solely to redeem humanity back to Him (John 1:1, 14). Only he could devise a plan, set it in motion and see it through to its fulfillment. His virgin birth, His sinless life, his death on the cross, paid the price for humanity’s sins that we may live at peace with Him again and forever. “For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ’s sacrifice—a plan from elevated thoughts (of God Himself)—is the measured language of emotion, a rhythmical composition that gives me pleasure. That is pure poetry.

I am happy today because of the poetry of Jesus. He simply could have said, “Come back to me” and we would have been redeemed. But the price was blood, His very own shed because of His great love for us. That’s some beautiful poetry.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith