Word of the Week - "CONSUME" - NOVEMBER 27,2022

Definition:
to destroy or expend by use; use up; to eat or drink up; devour.
to destroy,
to spend resources wastefully.

Scripture:
Genesis 1:28 (KJV)  "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

Jeremiah 15:16  When I discovered your words, I consumed them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

2 Timothy 3:16, ESV: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  Thought:   To hear the audible version of this, please click here.

Welcome....to the United States' national season of consumption. We begin with Thanksgiving, followed by Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and other end-of-the-year celebrations.  During this time of year the rate at which we consume is so notable that it becomes newsworthy.  Newscasters on the major stations, give daily reports on whether retailers have met Black Friday sales projections, how to use our credit wisely, and how to get the most out of travel deals.  The average American's spending is so out of control that we may be still paying off last year's debt, while we create new debt as we try to meet our self-inflicted standards of holiday success. 


If you are, by nature, one who consumes to excess, understand that consumption of The Word of God is the most powerful, least destructive, beneficial thing you can do.

The Word of God is the only thing that the more we consume, the better we grow. God Bless You!!Orine Out!!  

Transcript

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Definition:
to destroy or expend by use; use up; to eat or drink up; devour.
to destroy,
to spend resources wastefully.

Scripture:
Genesis 1:28 (KJV)  "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

Jeremiah 15:16  When I discovered your words, I consumed them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

2 Timothy 3:16, ESV: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 

Thought:  

Welcome....to the United States' national season of consumption. We begin with Thanksgiving, followed by Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and other end-of-the-year celebrations.  During this time of year the rate at which we consume is so notable that it becomes newsworthy.  Newscasters on the major stations, give daily reports on whether retailers have met Black Friday sales projections, how to use our credit wisely, and how to get the most out of travel deals.  The average American's spending is so out of control that we may be still paying off last year's debt, while we create new debt as we try to meet our self-inflicted standards of holiday success. 

We consume tons more food, and consumer goods during this time of year than at any other.  For example, over Thanksgiving,  Americans wasted about 204 million pounds of turkey, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council,. (during a turkey shortage I might add).  Another study reported that, "In the US, around 2 billion holiday cards are sent each year: enough to fill a football field with paper stacked ten stories high."   The garbage in our landfills increases by 1 million tons.   

We are consuming our planet in ways that should be an indictment to those created to be caretakers of God's creation.  According to scripture, we were ordered to:  "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth... (Genesis 1:28).  Nowhere in this scripture is the word, destroy or consume.  Yet, in the spirit of love and gift giving, celebration and family gatherings, we are consuming the only place that God has given us to administer and control.  We give little to no thought for our actions or the repercussions of our lack of attention to what we are really doing when we go into our buying, gifting and receiving frenzy.

Even while we are complaining about the current "State of the Nation", we continue to eat, drink, build and destroy our world at an ever increasing and alarming rate. The retail industry, while fearing a "global recession", is reporting record earnings. Because of our actions, our planet suffers, our homelessness and poverty increases, the world is falling into "moral decay", hate speech among the races is running rampant, wars and rumors of wars is a reality and all while our churches are suffering from a great "falling away".  It seems that God's caretakers have forsaken their duties. 

However, in the midst of our destruction, there has continued to be an increase in the sale of religious reading materials, with over $700 Million in sales in 2021, according to reports by Statista,.  It seems as if we are searching for knowledge, but if, for example, we have knowledge about how to lose weight, but never make the effort to change our diet, or get off the sofa, having knowledge is of no use, right?

We may be reading the Word, but, it seems that the power and the authority of the Spirit of the Word is lacking.   The Spirit of the Word would help us to correct our mistakes, teach each other how to act with love toward one another, live our lives as God has instructed, and  take care of the earth that God created specifically for us. Our consciousness of the Word would dictate the decisions, we make, what we do, and how we behave.

I challenge all of us who are believers to push away from the table more often, and seriously begin to consume the word, daily.  Pray, read, meditate and live in the Spirit of the Word for yourself and with your family.  I challenge you to encourage others to do the same.  If you feel uncomfortable with compelling others to eat the Word of God, feel free to forward the Word of the Week to them.

If you are, by nature, one who consumes to excess, understand that consumption of The Word of God is the most powerful, least destructive, beneficial thing you can do.

The Word of God is the only thing that the more we consume, the better we grow.

God Bless You!!Orine Out!!