The changes that have occurred in our grazing patterns since the turn of the century is a part of a larger picture. We’ve got to talk about it. If it’s not obvious by now, the world is changing. You know of course that you grow accustomed to changes until they become a part of the every day. Until you don’t notice them anymore—they have no shock value. In fact, changes have increased at such a rapid rate that change itself is no longer resisted as it once was. There is no suspicion of the new. It’s as if we have surrendered to the current of change, no longer evaluating whether it is right or wrong. Besides, there’s comfort in being a part of the crowd!

But as you move forward, comforted by the company of the herd, stop and ask a question. Who or what force is shepherding the direction of this world? There are those who would say that it is the natural evolution of man. The age of Technology. That the problems of today are growing pains, learning to cope with an explosive information age.

This world is being driven at a maddening speed by a taskmaster who knows his days are numbered. The stage is being set and all the major players are being strategically placed for a takeover. Value systems, rooted in ancient history, are being torn down for the New World Order. Technology will be the scepter in Satan's hand to rule over the entire earth. The food industry is no exception. The ox and plow have been replaced by earth-raping machinery that leaves in its wake a lifeless, barren land. The earth is being used up like an old harlot, weary and tired, with little left to give. ...the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom 8:22).

Compromise is the name of the game. Quality, integrity, and virtue are things of the past. We live in a care-free disposable society. Medical science has grown fat on a fix it mentality. The more Satan takes control over the food industry, the more it will reflect his destructive character. An industry that feeds cravings and starves the body. As Christ fed the five thousand, so Satan will feed the masses. Satan knows that the way to a man's heart is through his cravings. Addiction means dependence. And dependence means control.

Never in the history of man have things pointed so clearly to the end times. But God has not been idle. He is also preparing His children for these last days.

We are a peculiar people. We ought to live differently from those around us. We do not move with the flows and the ebbs of society. Our pattern for our life style is God Himself.

For an Israelite, the Passover was the most significant period of time in the Jewish calendar. A time of remembrance and reflection when an entire nation participated in a feast which carried them back to the origins and birthright. Celebrating Passover insured that the daily grind did not dull their memories to the fact that their very existence was because of the merciful hand of Yahweh.

What is it about sitting down together and eating that is such an essential part of our communion with one another and God?

A wonderful bonding occurs when two or more come together around a table of prepared foods, sharing a common experience, enjoying the blessing of God’s provision and the hospitality of the hands that prepared the meal. A joy and festivity, a celebration of life and friendship.

This is beautifully depicted in the parable of the home-coming of the prodigal son. The father kills the fatted calf and has a great celebration. The reconciliation of a beloved son returning home. And of course, the greatest supper—Christians all over the world celebrating the Lord’s Supper, remembering the death of Jesus. It is called communion, for, in that holy act we commune with one another, being one body—and we commune with Christ, our Head .

In an era of grocery stores and fast food, it is hard to understand eating as being a form of communion, but, in the times of Christ, families would sow their precious seed praying for the blessing of rain and the protection from pestilence, disease and drought. At harvest time, there was great celebration. The fruit of their labor would insure a daily provision from hunger and starvation. To offer a meal to a hungry passerby was a gift of true sacrifice. A loaf of bread was a generous investment of time from the planting of the seed to the harvesting, milling and baking in clay ovens. They understood very well when Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life.

Today, we have become disconnected from the earth and soils that give birth to the food that sustains the body and brings joy to our heart. But as the world becomes increasingly complicated, there is a people that are discovering a growing longing in their souls to return to the simplicity and freedom of walking in the Spirit.