05-09-2007, 12:30 AM
Manna Issue 11
Cor. 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2 Cor. 6:16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, "I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people."
Today we are going to be examining the body that God has given us that He has found suitable to dwell in. Our true focus, of course, will be primarily on the inside, rather than the outside. As dieters, speaking from experience, we shift our focus to the body, what the scale tells us, what the measurements say, BMI, and how clothes are fitting nowadays. But you will constantly hear me reiterate that dieting that is successful and maintenance that only varies a few pounds comes from the inside out as the first step. When you do reach your desired body weight, will you become any more of a suitable temple for God to dwell in? We know that God dwells in you right now, just as He had many pounds ago. Therefore the first step is in examining the inside where God dwells.
How does that look at first sight? Some of us weigh ourselves many times a day, and are preoccupied with the size of our bodies. As we work on cultivating the fruits of the spirit that God desires, we will become less preoccupied with external appearance and will be less intent on letting food which we might idolize became our number one priority in life. We are all genetically given a body type that includes frame size and basic body shape-- just look at your relatives to prove it. We are not focusing on our body shape today though. We are focusing on why we let our bodies get out of shape.
Here's a little story to start us on our way to today's lesson: Free to Soar One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting and dancing in the heady atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check. Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome tail kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, "Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" They soared beautifully even as they fought the imposed restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. "Free at last" it seemed to say. "Free to fly with the wind." Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. "Free at last" free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to lodge lifeless against the first obstruction. How much like kites we sometimes are. The Lord gives us adversity and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Restraint is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us tug at the rules so hard that we never soar to reach the heights we might have obtained. We keep part of the commandment and (pardon the pun) never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground. Let us each rise to the great heights our Heavenly Father has in store for us, recognizing that some of the restraints that we may chafe under are actually the steadying force that helps us ascend and achieve. ~author Wayne B. Lynn
Some of the restraints that we now face is restriction of our bodies by poor health, in dulled mental and spiritual awareness and various other conditions. Did you ever wonder for a moment if God is not trying to capture your attention by using the physical body that not only hosts His Spirit, but your soul, or as St. Paul would say, "your inward man." If we look at how God has put restraint on our physical bodies which we are now facing, then we might well imagine how more important He restrains our inward man. Which do you believe God would have you work first on? Inside to understand what went wrong on the outside? Or outside to figure out what went wrong on the inside? When a clock needs repair, we can see from the outside that something is not working. We need then to open the case and view the inward workings (or have a jeweler do that) to restore the outside to functional again. I can tell you all the diet tips that I have learned, and given enough time you will hear many of them from me throughout the coming weeks and months. It is just so important that we take the time to see what is on the inside first.
God dwells within you. If company were coming to your home today, you would take care to clean, dust and sweep. That is what I feel the most important factor in Christian dieting is: Clean, dust and sweep the temple that God desires to live in. We are multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes, but we each belong to God and are His temple. I can't possibly tell you why you gained weight, only God and you would know that. I know why I did and once I was determined to do something about it with God's help, He really had me examine what my excuses were, how to overcome them and then soar, but with new restraints placed upon me. And like that kite, I had to learn how to return to my rightful Owner each day. I could soar, but if I broke loose, I would plunder to the ground hopelessly.
Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved. Let me say this; our spiritual lives may be in wonderful shape. We may be a very active Christian. We might read our Bible daily and pray, serve on committees and help others less fortunate than we are; but something is astray if we did all these things and yet failed to retain control over our own bodies. For me, it was a problem that I just stuffed down way deep within me, stuffing myself with food to cover it up. I could not stuff it far enough down to hide it from God though. He uncovered it, but only by getting my attention with a body that I had let go to the tune of an excess of 85 pounds. This may not be the case for you, but could it be? Do you stuff yourself with food, as I did, to push down an underlying problem that you would rather not take to God? Think about it, pray about it, and give God a chance to heal you as He did me. If we know why we gained the weight that we did, it makes sense to follow suit that the weight can come off readily and remain off if we know what it is that gives us the propensity to overeat. To make food an idol. To soothe our emotions. To care less for our bodies than God does. We must be like that kite and rise against the obstacles to sore to new heights. It is worth the investigation and the search. It is worth those few quiet moments in prayer each day, as you ask God to help you with your weight and dieting attempts, to also remain sitting in silence to hear what He might reveal to you. To advise you. To guide you. To encourage you. To teach you about restraints that you must now have.
Can I promise you that it does get easier, our dieting, if we are fully persuaded that we are doing it for the glory of God to repair our temples of the living God inside and out. It is a renovation experience and it is worth our entire devotion to see this project through to goal. And then to teach, tell, and help others as God would so desire that we do. As we close with prayer see if you can feel desire and hope welling up in you also. Today just might be the day that you will find the means to repairing your temple and making it a glorious vessel for God to dwell in.
Gracious Father, I need restraints. I have done things my way and now You have my undivided attention. Help me to unearth why I turn to food more often throughout the day than I turn to You. Grant me the wisdom and the discipline to make this the last diet that I will ever have to be on in my life. Teach me, O Lord, the things I need to know about caring for my body, and the opportunity to advance spiritually in the process of losing weight. Thank You, Lord for Your ever present help. Amen (Spend now a minute or two in silence before God and make this a habit). ©2001-2007 www.gracetoday.com
Cor. 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2 Cor. 6:16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, "I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people."
Today we are going to be examining the body that God has given us that He has found suitable to dwell in. Our true focus, of course, will be primarily on the inside, rather than the outside. As dieters, speaking from experience, we shift our focus to the body, what the scale tells us, what the measurements say, BMI, and how clothes are fitting nowadays. But you will constantly hear me reiterate that dieting that is successful and maintenance that only varies a few pounds comes from the inside out as the first step. When you do reach your desired body weight, will you become any more of a suitable temple for God to dwell in? We know that God dwells in you right now, just as He had many pounds ago. Therefore the first step is in examining the inside where God dwells.
How does that look at first sight? Some of us weigh ourselves many times a day, and are preoccupied with the size of our bodies. As we work on cultivating the fruits of the spirit that God desires, we will become less preoccupied with external appearance and will be less intent on letting food which we might idolize became our number one priority in life. We are all genetically given a body type that includes frame size and basic body shape-- just look at your relatives to prove it. We are not focusing on our body shape today though. We are focusing on why we let our bodies get out of shape.
Here's a little story to start us on our way to today's lesson: Free to Soar One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting and dancing in the heady atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check. Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome tail kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, "Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" They soared beautifully even as they fought the imposed restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. "Free at last" it seemed to say. "Free to fly with the wind." Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. "Free at last" free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to lodge lifeless against the first obstruction. How much like kites we sometimes are. The Lord gives us adversity and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Restraint is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us tug at the rules so hard that we never soar to reach the heights we might have obtained. We keep part of the commandment and (pardon the pun) never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground. Let us each rise to the great heights our Heavenly Father has in store for us, recognizing that some of the restraints that we may chafe under are actually the steadying force that helps us ascend and achieve. ~author Wayne B. Lynn
Some of the restraints that we now face is restriction of our bodies by poor health, in dulled mental and spiritual awareness and various other conditions. Did you ever wonder for a moment if God is not trying to capture your attention by using the physical body that not only hosts His Spirit, but your soul, or as St. Paul would say, "your inward man." If we look at how God has put restraint on our physical bodies which we are now facing, then we might well imagine how more important He restrains our inward man. Which do you believe God would have you work first on? Inside to understand what went wrong on the outside? Or outside to figure out what went wrong on the inside? When a clock needs repair, we can see from the outside that something is not working. We need then to open the case and view the inward workings (or have a jeweler do that) to restore the outside to functional again. I can tell you all the diet tips that I have learned, and given enough time you will hear many of them from me throughout the coming weeks and months. It is just so important that we take the time to see what is on the inside first.
God dwells within you. If company were coming to your home today, you would take care to clean, dust and sweep. That is what I feel the most important factor in Christian dieting is: Clean, dust and sweep the temple that God desires to live in. We are multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes, but we each belong to God and are His temple. I can't possibly tell you why you gained weight, only God and you would know that. I know why I did and once I was determined to do something about it with God's help, He really had me examine what my excuses were, how to overcome them and then soar, but with new restraints placed upon me. And like that kite, I had to learn how to return to my rightful Owner each day. I could soar, but if I broke loose, I would plunder to the ground hopelessly.
Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved. Let me say this; our spiritual lives may be in wonderful shape. We may be a very active Christian. We might read our Bible daily and pray, serve on committees and help others less fortunate than we are; but something is astray if we did all these things and yet failed to retain control over our own bodies. For me, it was a problem that I just stuffed down way deep within me, stuffing myself with food to cover it up. I could not stuff it far enough down to hide it from God though. He uncovered it, but only by getting my attention with a body that I had let go to the tune of an excess of 85 pounds. This may not be the case for you, but could it be? Do you stuff yourself with food, as I did, to push down an underlying problem that you would rather not take to God? Think about it, pray about it, and give God a chance to heal you as He did me. If we know why we gained the weight that we did, it makes sense to follow suit that the weight can come off readily and remain off if we know what it is that gives us the propensity to overeat. To make food an idol. To soothe our emotions. To care less for our bodies than God does. We must be like that kite and rise against the obstacles to sore to new heights. It is worth the investigation and the search. It is worth those few quiet moments in prayer each day, as you ask God to help you with your weight and dieting attempts, to also remain sitting in silence to hear what He might reveal to you. To advise you. To guide you. To encourage you. To teach you about restraints that you must now have.
Can I promise you that it does get easier, our dieting, if we are fully persuaded that we are doing it for the glory of God to repair our temples of the living God inside and out. It is a renovation experience and it is worth our entire devotion to see this project through to goal. And then to teach, tell, and help others as God would so desire that we do. As we close with prayer see if you can feel desire and hope welling up in you also. Today just might be the day that you will find the means to repairing your temple and making it a glorious vessel for God to dwell in.
Gracious Father, I need restraints. I have done things my way and now You have my undivided attention. Help me to unearth why I turn to food more often throughout the day than I turn to You. Grant me the wisdom and the discipline to make this the last diet that I will ever have to be on in my life. Teach me, O Lord, the things I need to know about caring for my body, and the opportunity to advance spiritually in the process of losing weight. Thank You, Lord for Your ever present help. Amen (Spend now a minute or two in silence before God and make this a habit). ©2001-2007 www.gracetoday.com
