These Essentials

Acts 15: 28-29

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: That you abstain 

from things sacrificed to idols, and

from blood, and

from things strangled, and

from fornication.

If you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.

We do well to note from Scripture God's views on our human activities. All four of these things to abstain from deal with our bodies, what we put into them and how we use them. 

"Things sacrificed to idols" means participating in idolatrous sacrifices by eating the meat of the animal sacrificed to them. This is more than dietary, it's also a matter of recognizing that only God is God. 

"Blood" refers to eating the blood of any animal, because the life is in the blood, and it is to only be used on the altar in connection with forgiveness of sin. 

"Things strangled" are animals that have died on their own, probably of some illness or injury. The safety of this meat is questionable. 

And "fornication" refers to any kind of sexual encounter that is not pure, that is, between a husband and his wife. This would include any illicit or unnatural or perverted sexual acts.  

Deuteronomy 27:15-26 lists the curses upon Israel on Mount Ebal, pronounced and declared at the time they were to enter the Land. And of the twelve curses pronounced, a full third of them (4) deal with sexual acts. 

God is very concerned that our sex-lives be pure, as it represents the close intimacy He wants us to have with Him. 

He wants us to live lives of purity, which includes chastity and modesty. Our bodies are His temple, so we are to treat them as holy to the Lord and take good care of our physical health, as well as our emotional and spiritual health. 

When we are where we need to be then we will be in a position to help our brother or sister. On an airplane, we're always to apply our own oxygen mask first, before helping our seat-mate. 

O my Father, thank You for Your good, sensible rules. Thank You for loving us so much that You want us to live with You where You are, and have already taken care of all our needs: You made this Earth for us & put into it great abundance for all of us; You gave us all the information we need to cooperate with You in operating our World on this Earth to access and enjoy the bounty You bless us with; You have sent Your own Son to be our Lamb, sacrificed for each of us, to wash away every stain and spot, making us pristine, white as snow; and You have planned out every path each of us is to walk, overseeing every circumstance and situation, keeping us safe and secure through all of it as we trust in You. 

Strengthen us and help us to form our attitudes to live our lives in purity and compassion, as You finish the work You began in each of us on that Day of the Glorious Appearing. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!