1 Timothy 4:3-4 …who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving…
In the New Testament, the Greek word is εὐχαριστία/eucharistia. Translated literally, it is the giving of thanks for God’s grace or good grace. The word means: thankfulness or gratitude. One is to be actively grateful. This word is used 15 times in the New Testament.
Thanksgiving is the perfect word for the verses out of 1 Timothy 4. Get the legalism and all the rules out of your life. Nobody is going to heaven by following a bunch of rules from the Mosaic Law.
Invite God’s grace. Be thankful for what God has provided and respond with a heart of gratitude.
God is the source of all we have. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the One who gave us our lives. And the Lord is the creator of our food.
In Acts 10, it was this same legalistic attitude that kept Peter from wanting to eat certain foods. Peter was being a lover of rules and laws. He was not going to eat “dirty” food. He was very self righteous. Peter was a member of the spiritually elite. He knew God was talking to him. Peter wanted to argue with the Almighty and justify himself.
Does it make sense to starve and follow the law? Don’t confuse the issue, God is not asking Peter to steal. He is asking Peter to take care of himself… “Kill and eat.”
Acts 10:10-15 And he (Peter) became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
Birds of the air are included. Enjoy the turkey and have a great Thanksgiving with loved ones.
