CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
LENTEN STUDY: 7 DEADLY SINS
GLUTTONY #4:
IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST?
MONTE W. HOLLAND
INTRODUCTION
The following study is a journey through Lent, the forty-day pre-Easter season (which excludes Sundays). Easter’s date, determined by the time of the first full moon after the Spring equinox, is very late this year.
Traditionally, many Christians use Lent for self-examination and a renewal of their commitment to their faith.
This year I chose to do a devotional study on aspects of the Seven Deadly Sins, sins identified by very early Christians as key behaviors separating man from God and God’s will. The seven sins are not listed together in the Bible—each is, however, spoken about in various Scripture sites.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS:
GREED, ENVY, ANGER, LUST, GLUTTONY, SLOTH and PRIDE.
THE ASPECTS OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS ARE:
#1 Breaking the Mosaic Law
#2 Defying God or rebelling against God
#3 Acts of violence to others
#4 Failing to make proper sacrifices or worship
#5 Not living up to or reflecting God’s glory (not living as one created in God’s image)
GLUTTONY #4
IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST?
SCRIPTURE: 41 Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. 42 Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins worth only a few pennies. 43 Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said: I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 44 Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn’t have a cent to live on. (Mark 12:41-44 (CEV))
Do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. (Luke 12:29 (NRSV))
DEVOTION: Have you seen signs about trust? One sign states We can’t give you credit. We trust Jesus, but all others pay cash. My favorite sign is at the car repair shop: When you die, call us to be your pall bearers, since we have had to carry this far.
Trust is in short supply today. Airports must scan our bags and bodies for dangerous items. House and car doors remain locked most of the time. Credit checks are routine. An ID card is essential to many transactions.
Could the poor widow make it in today’s world? I would like to think so. She probably could pick up an odd job or two without references and an ID card. She might have to (more…)
Lenten Study: 7 Deadly Sins—Gluttony #5: Being Spiritually Nourished
Tags: All, All posts, Bible, Christianity, Church, COMMENTARY, Contemplation, DEVOTIONS, Gluttony, Gluttony is synonymous with overeating, God, Inspiration, Inspirational, Isaiah 55:1-5, Isaiah 55:2, Jesus, Latest post, Life, Lifestyle, Meditation, Misc., Miscellaneous, Musings, Overconsumption, postaday2011, Reflections, Spiritual nourishment, Spirituality, Temperance, Theology, Thoughts
CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
LENTEN STUDY: 7 DEADLY SINS
GLUTTONY #5:
BEING SPIRITUALLY NOURISHED
Monte W. Holland
INTRODUCTION
The following study is a journey through Lent, the forty-day pre-Easter season (which excludes Sundays). Easter’s date, determined by the time of the first full moon after the Spring equinox, is very late this year.
Traditionally, many Christians use Lent for self-examination and a renewal of their commitment to their faith.
This year I chose to do a devotional study on aspects of the Seven Deadly Sins, sins identified by very early Christians as key behaviors separating man from God and God’s will. The seven sins are not listed together in the Bible—each is, however, spoken about in various Scripture sites.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS:
GREED, ENVY, ANGER, LUST, GLUTTONY, SLOTH and PRIDE.
THE ASPECTS OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS ARE:
#1 Breaking the Mosaic Law
#2 Defying God or rebelling against God
#3 Acts of violence to others
#4 Failing to make proper sacrifices or worship
#5 Not living up to or reflecting God’s glory (not living as one created in God’s image)
(GLUTTONY #5
BEING SPIRITUALLY NOURISHED
SCRIPTURE:2 Why waste your money on what really isn’t food? Why work hard for something that doesn’t satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods. (Isaiah 55:2 (CEV))
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. (Isaiah 55:2 (AMP))
Background 1 If you are thirsty, come and drink water! If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine and milk without paying a cent. 2 Why waste your money on what really isn’t food? Why work hard for something that doesn’t satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods. 3 Pay close attention! Come to me and live. I will promise you the eternal love and loyalty that I promised David. 4 I made him the leader and ruler of the nations; he was my witness to them. 5 You will call out to nations you have never known. And they have never known you, but they will come running because I am the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and I have honored you. (Isaiah 55:1-5 (CEV))
DEVOTION: In our culture, gluttony is almost synonymous with overeating. Yet from God’s perspective, gluttony has other implications. God wonders why we aren’t more selective in what we eat. God provides. Maybe it will be spinach and broccoli, but God provides. Are we actually consuming what we really want? And that means considering more than food.
The opposite of gluttony is temperance. Think before you act. Go first to God—and the scripture says you will live. Not only that, God extends eternal love and loyalty. The Lord offers us a broader range of friends because we choose to follow the Lord.
One translation says Let your soul delight itself in fatness (the profuseness of spiritual joy). It isn’t the food, but the (more…)