February 23, 2010

Day 53

Weight: 195 lbs

Weight lost: -11 lbs

I’m down 11 pounds… Not bad! Not done, but not bad…

There’s a land of milk and honey, and I want to live there and enjoy the feast! In the Bible this was a place, an actual location on the planet. Today we call this place Israel, or Palestine, depending on one’s politics.

Israel has always been the most valuable stretch of land on the planet. Even in ancient times it was vitally strategic. As the one stretch of fertile soil west of the Sahara Desert and just off the Mediterranean Sea, it provided a passage point between the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia. The great developing civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome and Babylon all sought to control this little patch of ground, only about 100 miles long and 60 miles wide. It is a rich land, a land of milk and honey.

God chose to put his people the Jews in this place because it is the crossroads of the world. He wanted his people there to interact with the peoples of the world, but also to be a model of his goodness and grace. God promised to protect them and bless them there, but he asked that they remain distinct from other cultures as well. He asked for loyalty and promised them his.

Israel was and still is a land of milk and honey, of blessing and abundance and an example really of how God wants to earth to be. Milk and honey… Sweet and sustaining. This is God and God’s intent for all of us.

Today we blessings of God can come to anyone who trusts in him. We all can enjoy the “milk and honey” of his favor, just by asking in Jesus’ name. I believe God still has a special place in his heart for the Jews, and I do believe the actual land of Israel is blessed and that it belongs to the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But all of us can enjoy that same blessing wherever we live, just be trusting in Jesus.

Today I’m thinking about milk and honey and the richness of God’s food. He brings it wherever I live, and in whatever state I find myself. Today as I eat my meals I’m going to look for the “milk and honey” of God’s favor in every bite. Why not? I live there!

“The Eucharist Diet” adventure is my six month experiment taking daily communion and tracking and posting the results in my personal life, relationships, health, and body fat percentage.