This day with God, we are reading in Leviticus 11. The focus today is on obedience toward taking care of our physical and spiritual bodies. We are God’s temple and should plant the seeds of God’s principles into our soul.  Then add the clear water of the Spirit so these seeds grow into fruit for ourselves and our friends.

The general dietary standards pointed out in today’s passage include eating animals on land that have a divided hoof and that chew the cud (v. 3). For creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, we are to eat only those that have fins and scales (v. 9).

The positive imperative from this passage is to maintain standards that keep you close to the Lord and His Word for better physical and spiritual health. The Lord knows what is best for our physical bodies. Dietary rules are for our health because eating certain birds or animals could be unclean because they may carry diseases.

In the same way that our physical bodies need food that is clean, we also need food for our soul that is clean and healthy. There is a saying in the computer field “garbage in – garbage out”.  We must work at emptying ourselves from garbage like selfishness, being overly prideful, and ambition purely for self-gain. Before we can be filled by the Holy Spirit, these negative emotions need to be emptied out so they can be replaced with God’s holiness.

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This day with You Lord, help us in obedience to Your Word so we take in what is good for our physical and spiritual body. You have wonderfully made us and want what is good for us. You know what will benefit us more than we do. The dietary rules in today’s passage test our obedience so we take in what is good for us including what we eat, read, watch, or think about. Amen.