I didn't come up with all this on my own here are the resources I used:
Look Great Feel Great by Joyce Meyer; Fit For My King by Sheri Rose Shepherd; Prayfit by Jimmy Pena; Spiritual Secrets To Weight Loss; and Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. I will use these on all following studies.
I GIVE HIM ALL OF ME
I. Our Body Image Fight
I Corin 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. NKJV
It i imposible to like ourselves when we are controlled by our cravings. In order to beat these we need to set our minds on our Royal calling; to "focus on our desre to honor our King not about denying ourselves certain foods.
II. God's Temple
I Corin. 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
The word picture in these verses are of the temple that the Israelites treasured above all else. It was sacred and holy; it was where God dwelt. This is what he thinks of our bodies because as a child of God we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God expects us to take care of our bodies. This is often used for an arguement against alcohol, smoking, and ect., however this biggest abuse that happens within the church is that of food. So much of the food we eat and feed our families have no nutritional value or the nutrition has been added back in, which is not the same quality. Remember, the temple is where they sacrificed, perhaps it is time we make a "sacrifice".
III. Willpower Friend or Foe
Willpower will help when we want it to but will run just as soon as we can reason it away. So instead we need to be Spirit-powered in order to stay the course for the long haul and to not get distracted or off course.
Zechariah 4:6-7 - So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you have become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ' "
This may seem off subject however this vision is to encourage Zerubbabel to stay the course, that God would give the strength to fix the Temple. So if our bodies our the Temple of God this is His encouragement to us to FIX THE TEMPLE!! WOW! God is so good because if you read on to verse 7 (which we didn't do Monday); He is encouraging us that the outcome is guaranteed because God is powerful enough to make a mountain a flat plain. So give it to Him, claim the victory and eat the foods God created for us to eat. I understand that this is talking about the completion of God's final Kingdom but we can apply it to our lives now.
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Without God we are failures! It is He who is the fuel that can re-ignite our willpower and discipline. (He is the slow steady burn that never burns out.) Remember God never quits on us. Praise God for this and thank Him daily for his mercy that is never failing.
In Joyce Meyers' book Look Great Feel Great she gives 7 reasons we don't take care of ourselves:
"1. We don't know how to take care of our physical bodies.
2. We have a skewed body image planted in our minds by media and advertising.
3. We have lost touch with exercise.
4. We have let ourselves slip into unworkable lives.
5. Some have become pathologically selfless.
6. We have lost our support.
7. We have forgotten our own value.
Finally Joyce gives 5 ways to trust God with your burdens; ask, attend church, attend a support group, begin each day with an affirmation, and finally Pray in moments of doubt.
Gal 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I want you to read 2 Corin 5 as well.
We need to allow God to take over our hearts for when we do we will love Him deeper and better appreciate the sacrifice He performed so that we could live a life with an eternal hope.
So I ask, "How much do I love my Lord?" Because He loved me enough to die for me, surely I can sacrifice by leaving a few things out of my diet for Him.
Next week we will look at How do I love myself?
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