It is likely you've heard of Kosher hotdogs like "Hebrew National," but what is Kosher living? Kosher is a lifestyle set down in Leviticus to the Jews on how to eat. In the list of Kosher laws Jews are not to eat swine (pigs) because they eat anything, birds of prey that eat infected animals like rabid squirrels, shellfish which are bottom feeders that eat fecal matter, plastics, and oil spills in the ocean being examples of what toxins a person could get. The Lord was protecting his people with these laws because in those times there was no oven to cook and kill the worms in pigs, and so forth. But Kosher living which includes a day of fasting on the Sabbath (Saturday) which doctors have discovered cleanses the body and arteries. Kosher living works in that your digestive system cannot process meat and dairy together, you lose nutrients and so its better to eat cheese or meat, not both. It won't hurt you to eat both, but your digestive system is optimum when a person seperates the two.
Kosher living has benefits, but it is not for everyone. As Christians we are not required to observe Kosher laws for Jesus said, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.." (Matthew 15:11) and ""Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?" (Matthew 15:17, cross ref Mark 7;19). In addition we have the vision St. Peter had in Acts, "The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."." (Acts 10:15). We can eat shell fish, pork, and more. But, there is benefit to Kosher living spiritually. I am not talking about food now, but spiritual food. I believe everything he Lord said and commanded has a literal and spiritual meaning. Kosher eating which is to keep the body clean is also a symbol and type of how we are to be spiritually. We are to eat manna in the spirit that nourishes us, we are to do as Jesus commanded: "Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53)," "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day," John 5:54), and "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." (John 5:56). Jesus is not talking of literal cannibalism, but a spiritual principle, that we must commune and connect with Him, and feed (take Him in daily, letting Him feed our spirit and soul).
This spiritual Kosher, this specific eating is suppose to happen when we pray and commune (connect) with Christ, when we read The Holy Bible, and in other ways like listening to teaching, watching a movie, talking with people, reading other books, and more. But the problem is that there are things that defile, not Kosher spiritual nuggets that will harm a person. The Apostle Paul alludes to this, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3). This is the non-Kosher spiritual food that can range from books by religions like Islam and Hinduism, New Age philosophies, Darwinism, and more; but even more damaging is the swine among the Saints, the food peddled out by legalistic, greasy grace, and twisted teachings by fellow Christians. A great teacher like Joyce Meyer may say a spiritual nugget that is Kosher in one moment, but the next spews a poisonous philosophy and self-made religion the next (Colossians 2:22-23). It is not necessarily that she or any of these teachers are evil, it is they are not "testing all things, hold to what is good and abstain from all that is evil or has even appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) and "testing the spirits (real spirits, but we could say drink) to see if they are of the Spirit, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1). It is easy for even the most expert of apologists and apostles to put forth a non-Kosher piece of spiritual food. It is this leaven that "spoils the whole bunch" (Galatians 5:9 and 1 Corinthians 5:6 paraphrased) and we must be "shrewd as serpents, but innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16) when we listening to other teachers who are not Christ Himself, the words of Holy Spirit in the Holy Bible, and our personal revelation from the Father in Heaven.
It one thing to not be Kosher physically, there is precedence for eating that which was forbidden in Leviticus, but not be Kosher spiritually leads to the Second Death. It is not being Spiritually Kosher that created the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Chrislam, Universal Church, Nestorians, Jehovah Witnesses, New Age, and more that have all fallen short of the Truth of the gospel and of God Himself who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three but One, and Jesus who is God became flesh, which St. John says, if this is denied then that person is not saved (see ). We have to be Kosher, we have to discern what spiritual food is going into our body. Just because it is spiritual does not mean it is Kosher or good for our spirit and soul. You can read the Bible and be nourished, but read St. Benedict's Rule and feel dry and deprived of sustenance. We do not need to become anal retentive, but we need to be realistic and realize that there is harmful spiritual food that will give you cancers (heresies, apostasies, blasphemies, doubts, and lies) and sometimes the cancer comes from without, in form of foreign religions and philosophies, sometimes it comes from within the Church itself.
The apostle Paul said adamantly, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5). Being spiritually Kosher is serious and we should not take lightly our spiritual diets and appetites. Are you quoting Jesus, or James Joyce? Are you consumed by Christ's voice, relationship, and power, or are you caught up in a congregation or cult's ideas, relationships, and powers? It is time to self examine our spiritual diet and purge those foods that add bad fat, make us dry inside our soul, and that take our supernatural energy in the Holy Spirit away. Sometimes you will be able to remove the cancerous food from the pantry of your inner person because its obvious, its Yoga (Yoga has people practice Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism via mediation, poses, and more), or it is something obviously from another religion (all other religions that are not Christianity are false and harmful); but beware of the beautiful side of evil, the book that has cross on it but does not acknowledge Christ's sacrifice as once and for all, and has you earning salvation or the television program that has you tithing away your inheritance, rather than building up your spiritual inheritance with the Lord. Its time to do inventory of our inner life, before we start getting spiritual diseases and demons that eat away our soul.
Choose today to be Kosher spiritually. It may take a 'house' cleaning, so let Christ and Holy Spirit guide you. You may be surprised what has to be removed or what religious program you cannot tune into anymore. Let Spirit guide you and trust that the Lord Jesus who cares for you will lead you "into all righteousness.." (John 16:13).
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