Exodus 25: 1-9 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."
Pastor Chuck Swindoll was preaching on this passage this morning (the day I wrote this) as I was coming to work. He was talking about how we are to be willing givers. We are to tithe but to do it willingly. As I thought about this passage my mind went a different direction. How does this apply to my battle with weight and does it relate to I Corinthians 6: 19-20 which states "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; therefor glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
I want to be careful not to read into scripture but I do think this can apply. So here is how.
As believers we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, as Paul tells us in I Corinthians each one of our bodies are a temple because of this indwelling. This is a fundamental belief that if you don't grasp then the rest of what I am about to say means nothing.
First we are told to give willingly. I think that without too much stretch we can say we are to willingly care for this personal temple that God now indwells. We have talked about the ineffectiveness of believers who can't control there eating habits in past studies well without a willing heart not eating certain foods become a chore and it is not a pleasing offering to our Savior.
The second thing we can take from this is that God then spent 6 chapters explaining a detailed plan on how to build the temple. This tells me that I too need a detailed plan. This plan includes foods, both meal planning and snack planning. It includes a plan for water consumption and finally it includes an exercise plan for strength training and cardio.
I know that as Ecclesiastes says in 3:2a that this is "a time to be born and a time to die", however, I also know that when I sin there is consequences for that sin. The last thing I want is for my consequence for poor living is to be taken from this earthly world before my perfect time because anything less than perfect timing would not glorify God.
So here is the 4 step application:
1. Set a workout goal. For example, I will walk briskly for 30 minutes 4 days a week.
2. Meal and snack plan for the week.
3. Know the amount of water you need to drink daily (half your body weight in ounces of water) and then break that down into drinkable amounts threw out the day.
4. Start a food, drink and exercise log.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Water - Essential for Life
When I was nursing my first child she was what many would call a lazy sucker, because she was my first child I didn't realize what was happening. I did realize that if I drank a lot of water every 4 hours I had enough milk to feed her. Since then my body craves water and is very sensitive to dehydration. I say this to show that water is essential to how our bodies work and we need to been so in tune with it that we can tell when we are out of balance.
Our bodies are 70% water. As per The Water Cure website muscles are 75%, blood 82%, lungs 90%, brain 76%, and bones are 25% water. (Dr F. Batmanghelidj)
Another great resource, www.mercola.com, this is a very simple break down of how water is used in the human body:
- essential for digestion, nutrient absorption and elimination
- aids circulation
- helps control body temperature
- lubricates and cushions joints
- keeps skin healthy
- helps remove toxins from the body.
Symptoms of mild dehydration are: fatigue, dry skin, headaches, and constipation.
Symptoms of severe dehydration are: can effect blood pressure, circulation, digestion and kidney function.
In her book Joyce Meyer tells us that in an average day Americans drink more than 400 calories a day; this can add 40 pounds per year. My point is that getting our "water" in sugary (artificial or real) drinks like juice, sweet tea, and soda does NOT count! She also reminds us that sometimes when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty. So no wonder Jesus speaks of Himself as living water. Just as water is essential for physical functions; Jesus Christ is essential for spiritual function.
John 4:1-26
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And he had to pass through Samaria. 5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14
16Jesus said to her,"Go, call your husband, and come here." 17The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 "I who speak to you am he." There are several important points we need to see in these scriptures:
1) (vs.4) John most likely is saying that Jesus had a definite plan that was God-given. He was to have a conversation with this particular Samaritan woman who was shameful even with in the Samaritan community.
2) (vs.7) Jesus broke protocol - not only did he speak to a woman but to a Samaritan woman. This woman would be the equivalent of a mouthy, trashy woman today who was rude and dirty in look and spirit.
3) (vs.15) Jesus pricks her spiritual thirst but she doesn't quite get it at first. She just sees a possible way to avoid drawing water everyday.
4) (vs.16) She didn't see her need until Christ pointed it out. (How often do we need to let God show us our imperfections and our need for Him.)
5) (vs.19-21) When her sin was pointed out she tried to divert attention by explaining where her forefathers worshipped. (Boy, does that sound familiar. "But God I do go to church to but I didn't do...") Sin is sin and it is shameful for me when God points is out even when I'm the only one who knows.
6) (vs.23) This verse refers to the fact that Jesus knew soon he would die and be resurrected and no longer would it be necessary to sacrifice in the temple because the spirit of God would live in the lives of those who believe. We are told we can worship anywhere as long as it is "in spirit and in truth".
7) (vs.25&26) She states that she is looking for the Messiah and stepping out of the norm Jesus tells her that He is the Messiah. With the Jewish leaders, He often side-stepped this answer. By using the phrase "I AM", He is telling her He is Yahweh the God of the Old Testament.
So lets apply this:
- We need to seek God to fill our spiritual thirst.
- We need God to take a magnifying glass to the dark recesses of our hearts.
- We need to water those around us spiritually. I sponge can only take in so much liquid before it needs to be squeezed to release the liquid to sop up more.
- We need to challenge the unbelieving around us that what if the Bible is true, what if the worldly things they are craving is not the real thing they are craving. (Like when we think we are hungry instead we are thirsty.)
- Physically we need to drink more water, filtered or spring is best. A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight and divide it in half and that number is the amount of ounces you need to drink daily. For example, if you weight 140 divide it by 2 = 70. So 70 oz. a day is what you need to drink. You shouldn't drink this all at the same time. Space it out throughout the day.
Make the change today.
Our bodies are 70% water. As per The Water Cure website muscles are 75%, blood 82%, lungs 90%, brain 76%, and bones are 25% water. (Dr F. Batmanghelidj)
Another great resource, www.mercola.com, this is a very simple break down of how water is used in the human body:
- essential for digestion, nutrient absorption and elimination
- aids circulation
- helps control body temperature
- lubricates and cushions joints
- keeps skin healthy
- helps remove toxins from the body.
Symptoms of mild dehydration are: fatigue, dry skin, headaches, and constipation.
Symptoms of severe dehydration are: can effect blood pressure, circulation, digestion and kidney function.
In her book Joyce Meyer tells us that in an average day Americans drink more than 400 calories a day; this can add 40 pounds per year. My point is that getting our "water" in sugary (artificial or real) drinks like juice, sweet tea, and soda does NOT count! She also reminds us that sometimes when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty. So no wonder Jesus speaks of Himself as living water. Just as water is essential for physical functions; Jesus Christ is essential for spiritual function.
John 4:1-26
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And he had to pass through Samaria. 5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her,
16Jesus said to her,
1) (vs.4) John most likely is saying that Jesus had a definite plan that was God-given. He was to have a conversation with this particular Samaritan woman who was shameful even with in the Samaritan community.
2) (vs.7) Jesus broke protocol - not only did he speak to a woman but to a Samaritan woman. This woman would be the equivalent of a mouthy, trashy woman today who was rude and dirty in look and spirit.
3) (vs.15) Jesus pricks her spiritual thirst but she doesn't quite get it at first. She just sees a possible way to avoid drawing water everyday.
4) (vs.16) She didn't see her need until Christ pointed it out. (How often do we need to let God show us our imperfections and our need for Him.)
5) (vs.19-21) When her sin was pointed out she tried to divert attention by explaining where her forefathers worshipped. (Boy, does that sound familiar. "But God I do go to church to but I didn't do...") Sin is sin and it is shameful for me when God points is out even when I'm the only one who knows.
6) (vs.23) This verse refers to the fact that Jesus knew soon he would die and be resurrected and no longer would it be necessary to sacrifice in the temple because the spirit of God would live in the lives of those who believe. We are told we can worship anywhere as long as it is "in spirit and in truth".
7) (vs.25&26) She states that she is looking for the Messiah and stepping out of the norm Jesus tells her that He is the Messiah. With the Jewish leaders, He often side-stepped this answer. By using the phrase "I AM", He is telling her He is Yahweh the God of the Old Testament.
So lets apply this:
- We need to seek God to fill our spiritual thirst.
- We need God to take a magnifying glass to the dark recesses of our hearts.
- We need to water those around us spiritually. I sponge can only take in so much liquid before it needs to be squeezed to release the liquid to sop up more.
- We need to challenge the unbelieving around us that what if the Bible is true, what if the worldly things they are craving is not the real thing they are craving. (Like when we think we are hungry instead we are thirsty.)
- Physically we need to drink more water, filtered or spring is best. A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight and divide it in half and that number is the amount of ounces you need to drink daily. For example, if you weight 140 divide it by 2 = 70. So 70 oz. a day is what you need to drink. You shouldn't drink this all at the same time. Space it out throughout the day.
Make the change today.
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