2 Timothy 2: 3-7
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
John 4:34
My food,” said Jesus “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Hard Work
I am not sure I would call this my New Year’s resolution, but my goal by the end of this year is to have eaten better and exercised more. I’m taking it slow because trying to eat healthy in our society is hard work. At least it is for me and if I can add, it’s also pretty expensive. I don’t just mean eating more veggies, but trying to eat food that isn’t saturated with chemicals and things I can’t pronounce. This means I have to plan better and read labels and say no to some things. I know it doesn’t sound fun, but it’s a decision I made and I know it will pay off in the long run. I don’t tell you this because I’m bragging or trying to make you feel guilty for what you ate today. I am not a nutritionist, or a doctor, or health guru. I am simply trying to be informed and educated in certain things. Hopefully this will become a lifestyle and not just a fad for me. This also means I have to cook more instead of eating out and oh do I love to eat out! It’s just easier than cooking for one, but then again, I made a decision and I am trying to stick to it. The other half of my decision was to exercise so I reluctantly joined a gym. I say reluctantly because again it’s not cheap, but I am enjoying the classes and it gets me up and moving. So far so good. Not perfect by a long shot, but I’m doing it. I basically have to unlearn my bad eating habits and replace them with good ones. Unlearning is hard. How do I forget what I already know?
I am realizing that I can’t just replace bad food with good food. In order for my lifestyle to change, my heart has to be in it, otherwise I would do it for a week tops and just go back to the same routine. My heart has to change and be in agreement with my head. I picked up a book that has been teaching me about eating better and it’s soaking into my heart; therefore the change I want to make is very real. No one is forcing me to do it. I am not getting paid to do it. It’s a decision I have made all on my own. I asked earlier how we forget what we already know. I don’t think we necessary forget as we do replace. We replace the bad knowledge with the good knowledge we receive. As a child I grew up eating donuts every Sunday at church and carried that tradition into adulthood. I love donuts; they are great. Not great for you, but still quite yummy. When I decided to cut down on sugar, this had to go. Trust me, I wasn’t cutting down on sugar because I wanted to, but health wise it was necessary and so I did it. Do I still crave them when I see them at church? Yes! But my knowledge of donuts as a child was that they were yummy. Period. I didn’t need to know any more. Now years later I know more. I’ve educated myself and realized that it’s not the best thing for my body and so I replace my previous knowledge of donuts with the new knowledge and have acted on that knowledge. Anyone hungry yet?
There is a point to all this food talk. I’m not sure I’m putting as much effort every day with God as I am for my body. Remember the commandment to ‘love thy neighbor as yourself’? You know why He said that, right? It’s because we totally love ourselves and therefore will do extravagant things for ourselves. I am working my mind and body to eat right and exercise, but I have to work my mind and body and heart with God as well. I realize that I need to work even harder to keep God first. That’s hard work. Not because He makes it hard or because I don’t want to, but because I am easily distracted. Let’s be real. In our time there are more things now than ever before to keep us distracted. Satan does a very good job with this. People, books, events, phones, TV, you name it. All good things become distractions, not just the bad things. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a book or movie, but I think if we aren’t paying attention, it happens. If I’m not paying attention and being cautious of what I’m eating, I’ll eat whatever, especially when I’m tired or in a hurry. When I am tired and don’t already have a plan for eating, then I tend to revert back to old habits and eat what’s the most convenient. And yes this happens now and then, but I’d rather struggle doing what’s good for me than just giving in to my temptations. My relationship with God doesn’t need to be stagnant and routine, but I do have to cultivate it and nurture it and struggle everyday to love Him and obey Him. I would rather struggle loving and obeying Him than just give up. There’s no throwing in the towel with God. I must read the Bible, pray, serve, love, obey, witness, and sacrifice with God and for God everyday and start all over the next day. The reason it’s a struggle many times is because we are those fish going against the current—going the ‘wrong’ way. The world goes one way and we are going another way, and so it’s hard. Along the way we get side tracked and bumped and jolted. Every time we do, we start where we left off. When I don’t eat healthy, I have to start where I left off and get back on track. The point is to get back on track. It’s a two way relationship, me and God. He doesn’t get sidetracked or bumped. It’s all me, so I am the one that must make the effort. The wonderful news is that the Holy Spirit plays a huge part in this. If we let Him lead, He will always lead us to God and nowhere else.
My desire is that my fervor and yearning for the Lord would be even more than my desire for a healthy lifestyle. My desire and my prayer is that I would hunger more for Him than for anything else in this world. More than any person, any possession, any position, or anything else I haven’t thought of yet. There are a handful of things that I desire very much, so much that sometimes they pass over God. They become idols instead of desires. I have to work hard to keep these in their place. God has to be my desire, my love, and my passion. This means that I have to speak with Him each day, learn about Him each day, love Him each day, obey Him each day, and trust Him each day. You and I may not be on the same path for what we eat, but I hope we are both struggling to serve and love the same God. Let’s struggle well together.
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
John 4:34
My food,” said Jesus “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Hard Work
I am not sure I would call this my New Year’s resolution, but my goal by the end of this year is to have eaten better and exercised more. I’m taking it slow because trying to eat healthy in our society is hard work. At least it is for me and if I can add, it’s also pretty expensive. I don’t just mean eating more veggies, but trying to eat food that isn’t saturated with chemicals and things I can’t pronounce. This means I have to plan better and read labels and say no to some things. I know it doesn’t sound fun, but it’s a decision I made and I know it will pay off in the long run. I don’t tell you this because I’m bragging or trying to make you feel guilty for what you ate today. I am not a nutritionist, or a doctor, or health guru. I am simply trying to be informed and educated in certain things. Hopefully this will become a lifestyle and not just a fad for me. This also means I have to cook more instead of eating out and oh do I love to eat out! It’s just easier than cooking for one, but then again, I made a decision and I am trying to stick to it. The other half of my decision was to exercise so I reluctantly joined a gym. I say reluctantly because again it’s not cheap, but I am enjoying the classes and it gets me up and moving. So far so good. Not perfect by a long shot, but I’m doing it. I basically have to unlearn my bad eating habits and replace them with good ones. Unlearning is hard. How do I forget what I already know?
I am realizing that I can’t just replace bad food with good food. In order for my lifestyle to change, my heart has to be in it, otherwise I would do it for a week tops and just go back to the same routine. My heart has to change and be in agreement with my head. I picked up a book that has been teaching me about eating better and it’s soaking into my heart; therefore the change I want to make is very real. No one is forcing me to do it. I am not getting paid to do it. It’s a decision I have made all on my own. I asked earlier how we forget what we already know. I don’t think we necessary forget as we do replace. We replace the bad knowledge with the good knowledge we receive. As a child I grew up eating donuts every Sunday at church and carried that tradition into adulthood. I love donuts; they are great. Not great for you, but still quite yummy. When I decided to cut down on sugar, this had to go. Trust me, I wasn’t cutting down on sugar because I wanted to, but health wise it was necessary and so I did it. Do I still crave them when I see them at church? Yes! But my knowledge of donuts as a child was that they were yummy. Period. I didn’t need to know any more. Now years later I know more. I’ve educated myself and realized that it’s not the best thing for my body and so I replace my previous knowledge of donuts with the new knowledge and have acted on that knowledge. Anyone hungry yet?
There is a point to all this food talk. I’m not sure I’m putting as much effort every day with God as I am for my body. Remember the commandment to ‘love thy neighbor as yourself’? You know why He said that, right? It’s because we totally love ourselves and therefore will do extravagant things for ourselves. I am working my mind and body to eat right and exercise, but I have to work my mind and body and heart with God as well. I realize that I need to work even harder to keep God first. That’s hard work. Not because He makes it hard or because I don’t want to, but because I am easily distracted. Let’s be real. In our time there are more things now than ever before to keep us distracted. Satan does a very good job with this. People, books, events, phones, TV, you name it. All good things become distractions, not just the bad things. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a book or movie, but I think if we aren’t paying attention, it happens. If I’m not paying attention and being cautious of what I’m eating, I’ll eat whatever, especially when I’m tired or in a hurry. When I am tired and don’t already have a plan for eating, then I tend to revert back to old habits and eat what’s the most convenient. And yes this happens now and then, but I’d rather struggle doing what’s good for me than just giving in to my temptations. My relationship with God doesn’t need to be stagnant and routine, but I do have to cultivate it and nurture it and struggle everyday to love Him and obey Him. I would rather struggle loving and obeying Him than just give up. There’s no throwing in the towel with God. I must read the Bible, pray, serve, love, obey, witness, and sacrifice with God and for God everyday and start all over the next day. The reason it’s a struggle many times is because we are those fish going against the current—going the ‘wrong’ way. The world goes one way and we are going another way, and so it’s hard. Along the way we get side tracked and bumped and jolted. Every time we do, we start where we left off. When I don’t eat healthy, I have to start where I left off and get back on track. The point is to get back on track. It’s a two way relationship, me and God. He doesn’t get sidetracked or bumped. It’s all me, so I am the one that must make the effort. The wonderful news is that the Holy Spirit plays a huge part in this. If we let Him lead, He will always lead us to God and nowhere else.
My desire is that my fervor and yearning for the Lord would be even more than my desire for a healthy lifestyle. My desire and my prayer is that I would hunger more for Him than for anything else in this world. More than any person, any possession, any position, or anything else I haven’t thought of yet. There are a handful of things that I desire very much, so much that sometimes they pass over God. They become idols instead of desires. I have to work hard to keep these in their place. God has to be my desire, my love, and my passion. This means that I have to speak with Him each day, learn about Him each day, love Him each day, obey Him each day, and trust Him each day. You and I may not be on the same path for what we eat, but I hope we are both struggling to serve and love the same God. Let’s struggle well together.
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23
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