Monday, March 1, 2010........Day 44

Day 44 of the Fruit Feast. i am so glad its finally March. Spring is in the air. That means more sunshine, warmth, singing birds, blooming flowers and........delicious sweet fruits! Glory!

i was studying Romans 14 today. It is a chapter that is often used by those claiming that all foods are good to eat and also that there is no Sabbath to keep.  i thought it good to share my findings as some of the readers of this blog may run into such a situation (either as a raw vegan and/or a Sabbath keeper). The two texts thrown about most often are these:

Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

People take the former to imply that all the days are equal with no special importance to one above another (i.e. the 7th Day Sabbath). They take the latter to mean that we should not make any difference about what we eat because there are more important things. We will deal with the Sabbath issue tomorrow, today we will examine the food issue. 

One of the major problems many Christians have is failing to study scripture in its context. The majority of the works of the New Testament (and all of the writings of the Apostle Paul) are called Epistles. An epistle is another word for a letter. If a person has written a letter to another person (or in this case a group of persons) and one sentence is read out of the context of the letter, it can distort the whole meaning of the letter. One of the ways in which we can identify an incorrect view of a particular passage of scripture is by reading the whole body in its context. Many times we will find that, in the same body there is a text that would seem to contradict something said earlier. Now first off, i want to express very plainly, that i believe the Bible was dictated by the Holy Spirit and men were used as conduits in its writing.
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.


i believe it does not contradict itself and where it appears to do so, it is because of error in interpretation. Such is the case here. Here is a passage from the same chapter in Romans just a few verses later:

Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

From this verse it appears that the apostle is advocating a vegetarian diet. It appears to contradict verse 17 in the way verse 17 was interpreted by some. What is going on? Again we really need to take more time and study the bible with prayer for guidance and these "mysteries" will be made more plain. For the same Holy Spirit that inspired it, will guide the honest seeker of Truth thru it. Verse 21 of Romans is almost an exact duplicate of a statement the apostle made in 1 Corinthians 8:13:

1 Corinthians 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. 


The issue can be found in 1 Corinthians 8: 1-8. It was concerning foods being offered to idols. Many of the Converts to Jesus Christ of Nazareth were gentiles that were once pagans. The apostles were all jewish and had issues eating things that were to be offered to an idol even if the food itself was considered clean by the Word of God. Some of the disciples who were converted from among the jews instructed gentile converts to avoid such foods altogether. These foods were usually flesh foods (a bullock or goat being the usual victim). This presented a problem as gentiles were seeking to witness to their family and friends who were pagan. When invited to a dinner at a pagans home should they eat the food if it was being offered for an idol? This was the issue:

1 Corinthians 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
1 Corinthians 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1 Corinthians 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
1 Corinthians 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

So the idol itself would mean nothing to the believer in Christ, but for the sake of conscience it was decided to not partake in such foods :

 1 Corinthians 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

and this also,

Acts 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Of course today, many who profess Christianity abstain from nothing. The results of this being seen in their own bodies and lives that are both sickly and without peace. Having a form of godliness by denying its power. But the Holy Spirit thru the Apostle Paul brings the point home in the proper context:

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

In its proper context we see that we should not idolize our food so much as not to be able to dispense with it for the sake of a soul. Herein lies the context of Romans 14:17
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

But we should not jump all over new believers who may have eaten such things. Let the Holy Spirit and our example be the teacher.

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Romans 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Romans 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.


That is the real point, our example is more powerful than our words:

 Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

AMEN.

Tomorrow the whole "day" thing. 

Breakfast:
Large bowl of Longans. 6 bananas.

Lunch: Non-sweet Fruity salad with celery-lemon juice for sauce. 1 Durian.

The thing about the salad is that it was not satisfying. But it was different in its unsatisfaction than before. Before i would have wanted something more seasoned. But today i just wanted something more sweet. i am glad i had the Durian after. So sweet, creamy and delicious! But i wanted more sweet so that led me to eat a dinner later.

Dinner:
2 mangos, 24oz of OJ, 2 links of Sugar Cane. Very good.

Spiritual Bread: Romans 14

Exercise: Faith.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

Weekend Review.... Days 41-43

Weekend Review of Days 41-43 of the Fruit Feast. This was some weekend. Very high spiritual feast. Also very high fruit feast. i ate 3 whole durians. i don't think i have ever had that much over a 3 day period. Delicious! On the Sabbath we had a tremendous Raw Remnant fellowship. The presentation was copied on video and hopefully it will be ready for distribution for those on our mailing list in a couple of weeks. Folks were encouraged in Christ and those who have not met Him were convicted by the Spirit and given hope in Christ. There were tears of joy and lots of laughter. There was prayer and communion in the Spirit. There was lots of delicious raw food and fruit. It was literally all good.

i was also able to obtain a couple of fruits i have been wanting to try. i got some tarmarind. i did not realize it would be such a hit with some of our brothers and sisters. i got it on Friday and had some. It is very sweet, but not juicy. Like a candy really as its pasty. It was pretty good. But on Sabbath i found out it was a favorite of some of our brethren. It was all gone before the end of the day (lol). On sunday i went to the Asian Market in Greensboro (SuperGMart). i was able to get some mamey sapote and sapodilla. Neither of them is ripe and i suspect they will need at least a week (maybe more) before they are ready to eat. i also got some longan, which i had never eaten before. Quite good. Small, juicy and sweet. The dry brown exterior is somewhat deceptive as the contents is juicy and grape-like in its substance. Has a sort of musky flavor to me. i like it. i also got more durian as well as a couple of varieties of mango.We enjoyed some sugar cane this weekend as well.

For dinner on Sabbath all i needed (or wanted) was a 32oz glass of liquid sunshine (aka fresh squeezed orange juice) and a durian. The durian was really good. In fact that was my dinnner on Friday also. It was slightly altered on Sunday as i had some sorrell, some longan and a durian. Sorrell is a West Indian drink made from its namesake herb, ginger and lemon juice. One of the mothers of the Body of Christ made me a large batch.

i had a good workout on Friday morning, rested on Sabbath and was so busy that i did not workout on Sunday. i will catch up though, Spiritual feasts like this weekend more then make up for a missed workout. All honor and glory and blessing and praise to the Father in heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ His Son.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Thursday, February 25, 2010.......Day 40

Day 40 of the Fruit Feast. 40 is a significant Bible number. It signifies a time of testing and spiritual contemplation. A time of trusting in the strength of the God of Heaven. Christ fasted 40 days and was tempted of satan. Moses communed with Christ for 40 days on Mt Sinai (twice). Elijah did as well. The children of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years as the Bible says "to prove them" (Deut 8:2). Christ stayed with the disciples for 40 days following His resurrection. So to me, this is a  milestone of sorts. Its not alot of time in terms of life, but i am thankful to get to this point by Grace thru Faith. 40 months would be a great milestone, that would be nearly 4 years. 40 years would be something, but i believe way before  then i (if faithful) will be sharing of the fruit of the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem with all the saints. What a Fruit Feast that will be!
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Breakfast:
4 bananas, 16oz sorrell, 20oz Celery-Honeydew Juice, 1 Durian Pod.

Lunch:
Large Non-sweet fruit salad with celery-lemon-sweet pepper sauce.

Dinner: 32oz OJ, 1 mini watermelon.

Spiritual Bread: Acts 25-27

Exercise: 100 Squats, 10 total pistol squats, 70 total weighted 1-leg hops, 45 weighted stair hops, 75 weighted jumping jacks.

Have a Wonderful Weekend.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010...Day 39

Day 39 of the Fruit Feast. i didn't work out today as i was expectedly very sore from the leg and upper body workouts i did earlier this week. i expect to hit my legs again tomorrow by God's grace. i am finding that i am seeking out more varieties of fruit. Thank our Lord Christ, that when He banished Adam from the Garden of Eden, He did not cut off his supply of fruit! So much and so many varieties in our world. i want to appreciate and enjoy them all for the blessings they are. Of course i do have my favorites. Today i had a sapote for the second time this week (and in my life). i find the fruit to be delicious though i was conscious that the ones i ate were not of the highest quality. i will be on the lookout for more of better quality if i can obtain it. Tastes alittle like a fruity chocolate to me. Very sweet and has a texture like a pear. i didn't use it in a smoothie but i can understand why people do as i believe it would be excellent in that type of drink. i am also curious about Tamarind. i did taste some of that last fall as a friend of mine was raving about it. But i really don't remember how it tasted. i have read its a combination of dates with raisins. Sounds rich and my local asian food stores sell it so it will be easy to obtain. i also had the best durian i tasted this year today. It was small (about 5lbs), but chock full of very creamy flesh. They say good things come in small packages, well this durian was a testament to that. Also, our bananas have hit their peak. They are spotted and perfectly sweet. i ended up over-eating for dinner. i had a taste for OJ, so i drank that first, then the bananas. By the time i got to the durian i was full. i let it set about an hour and ate it then. Truly i didn't need the OJ and could have waited until later to drink it, but we live and learn.

Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalms 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Breakfast:
25oz Celery-Honeydew melon juice, 1 mini watermelon, 3 figs.

Dinner: 1 sapote, 32oz OJ, 7 bananas, 1 Durian.

Spiritual Bread: Acts 24-26

Exercise: Faith.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010.....Day 38

Day 38 of the Fruit Feast. Its become more of a Feast than a Fast at this point. Wonderful is the Grace of Christ. My legs were alittle sore today (they will probably be more sore tomorrow), so i focused on upper body exercise. As my energy level has risen, i pushed myself alittle more today. Felt great. i wanted to pass on a couple of things that i have noticed during this leg of the journey. From about my second week on this Feast, i have had mucous coming out of my nose daily. This week it has eased up, but it was coming out alot over the last 3 weeks. i remember when i first ate bulgar wheat after i had been on fruit for 7 months last year, the next day i felt the mucous in my system. i believe the wheat in all its forms gives me mucous. i believe this was not the original design of my Creator, but sin and processing has degraded the wheat products so that now this is the result. The blessing for me is, that since i have been freed from salt, i no longer crave the wheat. Soaked bulgar wheat with avocado and salt was my favorite meal. Its pull on me is greatly diminished now. But for those of you on this Path to the Garden of Eden, you may need the wheat until you get the victory over salt and sugar yourselves. If you have no inclination towards wheat, consider it a blessing. But still remember, the path to Fruitarianism in truth is a process that may take years (its been 6 years for me). So don't get discouraged if you still have cravings for other things. In time, the Spirit of Christ will guide you and show you what to do step by step, Victory by Victory until you reach your destiny. He will guide you in His time and at His pace, for He knows exactly what is best for you. As you learn to trust Him, Peace will be with you. We move Forward in Faith and Faith is the Victory:

1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Today's activities:

Breakfast: 25oz Celery-apple juice, 1 mini watermelon, 4 figs.

Dinner: Large Non-sweet fruit salad (5 roma tomatoes, 1 english cuke, 1.5 orange sweet pepper, 1 avocado), with celery-sweet pepper-lemon juice (quite good). 4 figs, 2 bananas.

Spiritual Bread: Acts 19-23

Exercise: 60 tricep presses, 210 pushups, 40 chins.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

Monday, February 22, 2010...........Day 37

Day 37 of the Fruit Fast. We did a Raw Remnant presentation today in the home of some brethren in North Carolina. They had invited some friends of theirs to the presentation. It was a wonderful time. Whenever the Lord sends me to do such a presentation, i let it be known that this is not according to man's science. Its according to Bible faith. The Health message of the Bible is a very wonderful thing, for it is founded in Christ Jesus. When Christ is uplifted as He has said,

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

This is what was done by His Grace yesterday. It had its affect as people were blessed and encouraged in the Path of the True Light. As we opened up the Scriptures concerning God's healing plan for His people, the Spirit of the Lord dwelt among us. There was  an added blessing. Since i was in North Carolina, i went to the Super G Asian market in Greensboro. They had Durian in abundance there. i obtained 3 along with a tall stalk of sugar cane and some plum tomatoes. Two of the Durian are for me and one of them is a gift for a friend whom i know also loves this fruit. 
Had a tremendous workout today also. The energy is rising little by little each day. The body Temple is being cleansed and i am so thankful for the victory over salt that Grace gave me. i have a very long way to go and this Fruitarian journey is just at its very beginning, but i am very happy with everything at this point.

Breakfast:
25oz Celery-apple juice, 1 mini watermelon, 1 sapote (this fruit has potential. But i think i caught one of less quality. i would love to taste a fresh one one day), 1 avocado.

Lunch:
12oz of OJ, 1 mini watermelon, 5 oranges.

Dinner:
Chewed on alittle sugar cane, 32oz of OJ, 2 bananas, 4 figs.

Spiritual Bread: Judges 7-9

Exercise: 100 squats (warmup), 90 weighted stair hops, 30 weighted standing long jumps, 75 weighted jumping jacks, 30 total pistol squats, 100 pushups. (btw, "weighted" exercises are exercises in which i am holding either an 8lb or 12lb medicine ball).

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

Sabbath, February 20, 2010........Day 35

Day 35 of the Fruit Fast. Very beautiful day today. It was sunny and warmer than its been usually. We had great Light in our fellowship. i love our small home get togethers so much! i never want to be in denominations again. No offense to all you who are in organized religions mind you, but i am being so filled with Christ in the simple small group setting.Having freedom from the cold, formalism and dead philosophy to just trust in Christ and His Word alone makes things so simple and full of joy for me.

Since the discovery of the Celery Juice cure, i have been cruising on Grace. No cravings at all for anything but fruits. Gaining in energy, clarity and spiritual power little by little each day. This foray into Fruitarianism is definitely different from all the previous years. i am very excited at the prospects for the future and look forward to see what becomes of me this time. All glory, blessing, honor and praise to the Lamb!

Revelation 15:3 ..... Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.


Revelation 5:13 ..... Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.




Breakfast:
25oz Celery-apple juice. 3 bananas.

Dinner:
60oz of fresh delicious OJ, a Durian (glory!), 5 oranges.

Spiritual Bread: Romans 5-7

Exercise: the Faith of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.