Since I’m from the U.S. and don’t want to get foolhardy with my meat consumption, I’m convinced it’s not worth it to follow the customs of what’s mentioned here that are frowned upon by others. Indeed, I want to avoid eating goats 🐐 as well, though they do have Indian restaurants that sell goat meat 🍖 here 😳😳😳😳😳😳 and I’ve sadly had lamb 🐑 meat twice, once when I turned 21 in December 15 years ago, and again at Richard’s place, thinking it was beef 🐮🐄 I feel bad about this because I’ve talked with a friend about it before, when I was in my late 20s, and if they read this (though this occurred in early 2024, so a while back), I hope I don’t offend them 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 eating a gazelle or a deer 🦌 is something I can never do, though (Moses mentioned it was OK for the Israelites to eat them in verse 15 here) — that friend and I had talked about Bill Johnson, the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and how he had eaten some deer 🦌 meat 🍖 I don’t feel good about doing that, and I don’t want any of my family members eating some — I did have roast duck 🦆 a year and a half ago, though; it was delicious 😋 and rich in flavour 🤤 that was for Easter back then. I’m not sure about having ostrich meat or bison 🦬burgers, but it’s worth it to try if neither species is endangered. That’s just me, though, you don’t need to eat the same things I often do. This chapter is found in pages 110-111 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, pages 142-143 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament, 1995 version), pages 223-224 of my VOICE copy, and pages 226-228 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.
The Israelite culture was supposed to be distinct from the other nations, but thankfully, Jesus, over 1,400 years later, said, “Whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defiled him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated” (see Mark 7:18-19). But it’s too bad not everyone has this knowledge (see 1 Corinthians 8:7), and the devil can use that to pervert the love of Jesus in terms of avoiding offence, which Paul also wrote about in 1 Timothy 4:3 later. However, eating dog and cat meat is just wrong 😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓 and I don’t want to eat pigeons 🐦 or flamingos 🦩 either. Funny how kangaroo 🦘 meat is sold and eaten a whole lot in Australia 🇦🇺 though. I’m not sure what kind of delicacies they have in New Zealand 🇳🇿 or the Netherlands 🇳🇱 or Costa Rica 🇨🇷 but Mexico’s 🇲🇽 food is really some of the best you can have 🤤😋🌮🌯🫔🥙🥑 I can’t wait to do Taco Tuesday next time I have the chance 😋😇☺️ it would be nice for people to let you eat the good you love in peace, though. Indeed, too many people who say not to let the good be spoken of as evil — they’re the same who hypnotise all their followers with their intentional misuse of God’s Word and blessing into believing cruelty and barbarian content and actions is “wise” and “holy” 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️ and I don’t want to fall for that. I was reading Galatians 3:1-14 and 5:1-15 before I began this note 📝 📋 so that I’d be more motivated to seek out the things above (see Colossians 3:2). There may not be much offence in my community, but if you’re reading this and are worried you’re sinning because you’re doing what you love, I say, pay those haters no attention! For Jesus offended the Pharisees with what He had said in Matthew 15:3-11, as the disciples then mentioned to Him (Matthew 15:12), for the Pharisees loved unjust offence. And if they don’t give up harassing you, keep resisting them. If they call law enforcement, though, I wouldn’t be sure what to tell you… if it actually DOES happen, my heart goes out to you 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 you don’t deserve to be arrested because you’re doing something God says is good! But we shouldn’t suffer as troublemakers, as 1 Peter 4:15 says. Too bad many people love insisting on bad laws, though.
The last few verses or so deal with avoiding idolatry of every kind and going to incredible lengths to block it. 1 Corinthians 10:14 reiterates this, especially in the Message version: “So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.” Indeed, cursed objects are real, and all of them must be avoided. Literally. If we bring one into our homes, we’ll only doom ourselves, and removing the spirits along with these objects will be REALLY upsetting 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 there’s a lot I can elaborate on this, but it’s just safer to avoid getting cable TV and Netflix, usually. But demonic stuff in disguise as something godly is even worse 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 I heard about the Satanic Panic of the 80s and later, and demonic stuff is indeed disturbing, but I’m more concerned about the witchcraft INSIDE the church ⛪️ 😳 😬 such as The Prayer Of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson, books against empathy, or anything by Dobson 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 avoid these things! Paul warned ⚠️ about this in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. He then elaborated that they captivate women loaded with sins and learning 24/7 yet never understanding the truth (2 Timothy 3:6-7, also Isaiah 6:9-10, 29:11-12, John 12:9-10, and Acts 28:26-27). We’re in the last days, ladies and gentlemen, so I don’t recommend going to a church where any of this is imbibed — read the language of the speakers’ messages and test them to the Word of God, as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11-12. For it’s not in eating or not eating that counts for anything (1 Corinthians 8:8), nor is it baptism or no baptism (Mark 16:16), nor is it circumcision or uncircumcision, or anything else in the law of Moses, for that matter, but what really counts for everything is faith working through love 💘 (Galatians 5:6). And the Greek for “love” in that verse is the agape, unconditional love Jesus has for all of us (and for those who don’t read this) 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💓💞💕❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❣️💟❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷🤍🩶🖤🤎💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
I want to mention more in this note 📝 📋 but I guess I’ve already said everything I need to say here. But Moses encourages the Israelites to find idolatry utterly repulsive in the next chapter, where I’ll see you next time!
In Christ,
Ron Outland
