After many many years of struggling with my weight and trying to attack it from every angle humanly possible I finally came to a mind blowing realization! Gluttony is a sin! (Genesis 25:30-34, Proverbs 23:2, Proverbs 23:20-21, Ezekiel 16:49)
Now I have known this fact for as long as I can remember, however, it was more a factoid in my semi-conscious knowledge database than anything I actually applied in my faith, life, or diet battle strategies. Probably because it was NEVER preached from the pulpit in my presence (and I have attended alot of church in my day). Probably because it is completely taboo. I mean you think teaching about homosexuality will get your congregation up in arms? Try telling them they're fat and that God says it's a sin! Whew!
But here's the thing, God tells us it's a sin because He love's us. Because He knows it's something we cannot overcome without Him. After all, isn't the purpose of the Law to show us that we are slaves to our own sinful nature and can not conquer that sin without God? That's why He sent Jesus. Because He knows we can't conquer sin on our own. We need His victory over and freedom from sin, and He DIED to give it to us! So how sad is it, that we are so afraid to offend people, that we fail to offer them the one true answer to any sin problem, Jesus?
I put this out there, because I have recently begun this journey with Dad, and I will probably continue to blog on it with numbered titles as I learn and grow in it.
The FIRST thing I have learned and am growing in, is to give it to Him. Confess it, admit we can't do this on our own, and lay it at His feet. Stop dieting, stop counting calories. We need to let go of our death grip on this part of our lives. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not something we obtain by our own virtue or effort. Only accepting God's forgiveness and putting Him in control will get us where He wants us, and that is free from the bondage of sin.
Romans 8:2-4
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
God bless.
November 6, 2010
October 29, 2010
By Every Word That Proceeds From the Mouth of the Lord
I Kings 17:8-16 (NKJV)
8 Then the word of the Lord came to (Elijah), saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 "For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
Now there was a great famine in the land because king Ahab had betrayed God and turned the nation of Israel to worship Baal, and so God had cursed the land to drought and famine by the prophet Elijah. As a result, Elijah went into hiding from Ahab under the guidance and protection of the Lord. Here in these verses Elijah comes to his second place of hiding, to a Gentile widow woman in Zarephath.
I see here that the Lord tells Elijah he "has" commanded this woman in Zarephath to provide for him. So when the prophet comes to her and requests her providence, she already has it on her heart that God wants her to provide for this man. When Elijah asks for water, she immediately goes to fetch some, but when he calls out for her to bring him some bread also, I can almost see her stop in her tracks, and her shoulders drop a little, as she turns to say, "You are asking for all that I have. To keep nothing back for my own providence and that of my family."
Wow! How often I have been this woman! At the tithe box, knowing that if I tithe as God has required, I will not have enough left to make ends meet. At the freeway exit, knowing that I don't have anything but that $20 bill to give that guy with the sign and knowing I don't have anything but that same $20 bill to buy groceries for the week.
I don't hesitate to give some. I don't hesitate to give a lot. But that's not what God wants. He wants everything! He wants me to leave nothing in reserve, and to trust Him to provide, whether I can see how that is possible or not.
I take notice that Elijah required the first cake, and for the widow to trust God's promise to provide for her and her son. He doesn't need that first cake to make sure "he gets his." He's speaking for God. He's asking this woman to take her trust out of that little bit of bread to sustain her, and to put that trust in His word. He's asking for her heart. The moment she gave that up, her life was changed forever.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."
8 Then the word of the Lord came to (Elijah), saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 "For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
Now there was a great famine in the land because king Ahab had betrayed God and turned the nation of Israel to worship Baal, and so God had cursed the land to drought and famine by the prophet Elijah. As a result, Elijah went into hiding from Ahab under the guidance and protection of the Lord. Here in these verses Elijah comes to his second place of hiding, to a Gentile widow woman in Zarephath.
I see here that the Lord tells Elijah he "has" commanded this woman in Zarephath to provide for him. So when the prophet comes to her and requests her providence, she already has it on her heart that God wants her to provide for this man. When Elijah asks for water, she immediately goes to fetch some, but when he calls out for her to bring him some bread also, I can almost see her stop in her tracks, and her shoulders drop a little, as she turns to say, "You are asking for all that I have. To keep nothing back for my own providence and that of my family."
Wow! How often I have been this woman! At the tithe box, knowing that if I tithe as God has required, I will not have enough left to make ends meet. At the freeway exit, knowing that I don't have anything but that $20 bill to give that guy with the sign and knowing I don't have anything but that same $20 bill to buy groceries for the week.
I don't hesitate to give some. I don't hesitate to give a lot. But that's not what God wants. He wants everything! He wants me to leave nothing in reserve, and to trust Him to provide, whether I can see how that is possible or not.
I take notice that Elijah required the first cake, and for the widow to trust God's promise to provide for her and her son. He doesn't need that first cake to make sure "he gets his." He's speaking for God. He's asking this woman to take her trust out of that little bit of bread to sustain her, and to put that trust in His word. He's asking for her heart. The moment she gave that up, her life was changed forever.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."
October 22, 2010
An Ode to Relationship
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV)
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
I take a moment this evening to rejoice in the blessings of fellowship & friendship. In my time of need I knew what it was to be alone, because I had failed to tend the garden of my friendships. As old friendships have come to new life over the last few years, and as new friendships have taken root, I have known what it is to be held, and the wisdom of the preceding verses rings deep and true.
In my youth I took many of the Lord's gentle wisdoms lightly. In the storms that have followed I have learned that my Father's sweet whispers were and are just as substantial and imperative as His thundering proclamations and piercing convictions.
I often wonder why my kids don't listen & obey before I get to yelling. But wow have I been guilty of the very same with You Dad! Please! Mould me to be a more attentive listener, that I might obey before I get hurt.
Change my heart to honor our relationship; to trust and obey Your word, even when I don't understand, out of knowing and loving You.
I love You Dad.
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
I take a moment this evening to rejoice in the blessings of fellowship & friendship. In my time of need I knew what it was to be alone, because I had failed to tend the garden of my friendships. As old friendships have come to new life over the last few years, and as new friendships have taken root, I have known what it is to be held, and the wisdom of the preceding verses rings deep and true.
In my youth I took many of the Lord's gentle wisdoms lightly. In the storms that have followed I have learned that my Father's sweet whispers were and are just as substantial and imperative as His thundering proclamations and piercing convictions.
~
I often wonder why my kids don't listen & obey before I get to yelling. But wow have I been guilty of the very same with You Dad! Please! Mould me to be a more attentive listener, that I might obey before I get hurt.
Change my heart to honor our relationship; to trust and obey Your word, even when I don't understand, out of knowing and loving You.
I love You Dad.
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