You Are What You Eat

 

    What does food mean to you? Is it a source of stress, comfort, existence, or something else?  What food means to you defines it's value in your life.  At the end of the day, what you eat makes you who your are.  If you eat only unhealthy foods, then you will have some major health issues down the road.  If you are obsessed with eating only a certain diet, then it could become your God.  You are meant to enjoy food in a balanced and proportionate way that will honor the body God gave you.

    In religion you hear about gluttony being one of the seven deadly sins.  Gluttony is a sin because it is when you make food as a god, you are making God second to what He provided you.  Gluttony goes to anything that you give yourself over too and have no control over how much you consume, but we are focused on food today.

    Sin is something we all battle against.  Food may or may not be a battle for you.  Do not assume that someone that is overweight actually has battle with food.  There are many factors to weight and food is only one of them.  It is the main one people talk about, but there are also genetics, medications, disabilities, an other factors to weight gain and obesity.

    In the ideal world we would all eat to our content, exercise, have time to do all that needs to be done, and time do what we want too.  We do not live in the ideal world.  We have to make choices and live with them.  If you do not want to be judged for your choices, then do not judge other people with presumptions.

    Gluttony is the spiritual battle where you lack self-control.  It can be your thoughts, habits, routine, sex, wealth, drinking, or eating.  Gluttony is a sign of unfaithfulness.  You take what God gave you in love and turn into something it was never meant to be.  If you don't get control over it, then in time it will kill you.

    God deserves to be your priority.  He wants you to love the body He gave you by taking care of it.  He wants you to have control over your mind, body, and actions.  If you ever give your craving more attention than God, then God will be forced to restrain you one way or another.  There are always consequences to sin.  Check yourself when you are stressed, lonely, sad, or moody.  

Deuteronomy 8:1-5, Psalm 78:17-31, Proverbs 23:6-8, John 6:53-58, & 1 Corinthians 10:31-33

Identity in God

 

    When you find your identity in God you discover perfect love.  This love cost out fear.  If you still hold fear in your heart, then you need to ask God to show you His love for you.  Ask Him to show you your identity found in Him.

    God's love is unconditional.  He will never stop loving you.  He pursued you when you were His enemy.  He is with you in all the hard places and times.  He never leaves you alone.  He is always there when you need Him.  He is always offering comfort, even in times of discipline.  He is teaching you how to love that way too.

    God loves you enough to give you clear boundaries in life.  He leaves very little in the gray area.  You find the truth when you pray over scripture before and as you read it.  The more you know the Bible the less likely you will misinterpret it.  It all ties in together.  The old testament is still valid today, but Jesus showed us how to live it out.  He became the final sacrifice, so we no longer need to shed blood, but he also revealed why sacrifice is important.

    God has never changed.  He always watched over His people and always will.  He is your guardian.  If you don't believe in His love, then ask yourself why.  Pray, meditate, and fast until you can discover the truth for yourself.  Life is hard and it can be ugly, but God is still there with you in it all.  No one escapes the effects of evil in this world, but you still have God's encompassing love.  

    God's hands have been working in your life since your conception.  Your birth is an act of God.  He created you for a purpose and to be loved.  He never promised life would be perfect.  Actually he promised it would be hard, but if you remain faithful you will get eternal reward.  

    God made you beautiful and perfect.  It is the world that tells you otherwise.  Everyone ages and their body changes.  Sometimes it may feel like a betrayal, but God allows it for a purpose.  Your body is a temporary part of you.  He has your eternal body waiting and it will never have a scar, bruise, or experience pain.  Love the body God gave you now because He made it wonderful just for you and to be His temple for the Holy Spirit to live inside.

Deuteronomy 32:9-14, Psalm 139:13-16, John 1:10-13, Ephesians 2:8-22, & 1 John 4:9-19

Your Identity

 

    There is a time in life where everyone sees themselves as an individual.  It is the moment of self-awareness.  Normally it is triggered by something someone said to or about you.  These comments, no matter how carelessly given, tend to be the building blocks on how you see yourself.  

    When you are young people decide how they see you.  That is on them, but you are young and innocent.  You accept their ideology as fact.  It can lead to a loss of self-worth, depression, and anxiety or it can help build a self-confident person that feels valued.  At some point you need to remove everyone's opinions, ideologies, or perspective to find how God sees you.  His vision is the truth.  It will open your eyes to how loved, beautiful, and special you are.

    God is the only one that knows you completely.  He knows you better than you know yourself.  He is not hindered by tainted perception.  He created you and sees you as His perfect person living in this sinful world.  He knows how you think, every hair on your head, and how you feel.  He knows your perfections and why they are there.

    God loves you unconditionally.  He loves you in a way you can't love yourself.  It is His love that should drive you to glorify Him with your body.  He is the source of your self-worth and identity.  You do not need to give that away to other imperfect people.  

    How do you see yourself: body, mind, and spirit?  How do you relate to the world you live in?  God sees you.  He knows the real you.  He understands you.  He owns you.  He loves you so much that He send Jesus to save you.  He has His hands on you in life.  This is the truth about you and God.  If you are Christian, then there is no reason to fight this.  If you are not, then you are an enemy of God and salvation is the only way to redemption.

    What is your reaction to God's love for you?  Your reaction is what the world sees as your identity in God.  God knows and is waiting for you to see your worth.  Look deep within to find the roots of why you may not accept the truth and then pray over what you discover so you can have the freedom that God wants you to have in life.  Find the root of how you think, what motivates you, and what moves your heart.  

Psalm 139:1-6, John 1:10-13, 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, & Philippians 3:17-21

Body Dedication

 

    Christians are set apart from the world.  When it comes to the body, the world should be able to know you are set apart.  God gave you your body, so you should dedicate it to purity, holiness, and worship of God.  That does not mean that you can never get married.  You can.  You and your spouse can keep your bodies dedicated to God and each other in a form of worship within marriage.

    Your body is a living sacrifice that does not live like the rest of the world.  You are transformed once you become a Christian into a new being in the same body.  Your mind is what is transformed and you work on it until you get your eternal body.  At that time you will be complete.

    To dedicate your body to God is to remember that He is your creator.  He sent Jesus to pay the high price for your freedom.  Your body is the home of the Holy Spirit.  You are a representative of God in this world.  That makes you special and yet no more special than anyone else.  You just have the privilege in knowing and understanding the truth.

    To have your body dedicated God, is there anything you need to change in your life?  Think about it.  Pray over it.  Listen to the Holy Spirit as He may direct you toward some changes: big or small.  The point is that your body should glorify God every day through purity, acceptable, love, and light.  The world should see the Holy Spirit in you.  You should not completely fit in.

    Adopt the attitude of Jesus.  He was sent here to serve, teach, and to be the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind.  He initiates faith that is perfect.  He did all this because he loves you, me, and everyone else.  He lived out truth that still exist and will never stop existing.  This truth should make you feel special, intrigued, loved, and chosen.  Your salvation is everything.  Let your faith be your motivation and never give up.

Psalm 139:13-16, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Hebrews 12:1-4, & 1 Peter 1:17-20

Bought & Paid

 

    God created your body.  It belongs to Him.  However, He also gave you free will.  That means you decide if you are going to be obedient or not.  If you are a Christian, then you said you would follow Jesus no matter what.  That means your body is to be obedient to God's Word.  

    If you are a Christian, then the Holy Spirit lives in your body with your soul like a marriage.  Do you want to make the home of the Holy Spirit a hostile environment?  Do you really want to treat Him like the enemy?  Do not disrespect your own body by ignoring what has been given to you.

    Your body is a temple of worship to God.  It is where the Holy Spirit lives to guide you in life.  God has given you your body, but it was paid with a high price.  Honor your body to honor God.  God owns your body and He will be giving you the replacement body to live in for eternity.  Be thankful and keep your mortal body holy and pure.

    You do have an eternal body.  The day you face God is when you will get this new body that will not age or deteriorate.  It will be a Heavenly body transformed and clothed anew.  You get this new body so you can live eternally with God as a citizen of Heaven.  Your new body will be even more glorious than your mortal body because you will be more like Jesus.

    Your eternal body will reflect God's glory.  The body you have now can only reflect a fraction of God's glory because this world is so tainted by sin.  However, your mortal body is still God's temple that shines light in this dark world.  If you are a Christian, then your body should be dedicated to God.

Matthew 17:1-3, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 15:1-9, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, Philippians 3:17-21, & 1 John 3:2

Sanctified Body

 

    God connected with His people through creation and the garden, the meeting tent, Tabernacle, Temple of the Lord, through Jesus, and in us.  God has never stopped pursuing us since He created us.  We were created to be sanctified, but so many people never find out what that means.

    God sent His son, Jesus, to die for you.  He chose you.  He loves you.  He made you for a purpose.  In return all He wants is a relationship that glorifies Him.  You are able to pray, read God's Word, proclaim God's Word, and live as a holy sacrifice (die to selfishness).  You can do all that, but it is your choice on if you will.  If you do, then you will live a life of glory to God.

    Take a good  look at yourself and your life.  Do you physically and spiritually glorify God?  What does your prayer life look like?  Do you read the Bible?  Do you think about the Bible or God at all throughout your day?  Are you present when you are in God's Word?  Do you look for ways to apply what you learn when you read God's Word?  

    If you are a true Christian, then you are sanctified.  The past is the past, but you should be trying to get closer to God and willing to stand out from the world more and more every day.  Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to make the changes in you that you need to make?  

    When you become a Christian the Holy Spirit basically marries your soul and they become one.  This sanctifies you, but you still have to work at the relationship every day to make your body a home for the Holy Spirit.  What you eat, listen to, read, and act all matter.  One day you will be in our eternal body and answering God for how you lived your life.  Don't you want the Holy Spirit to give a good testimony?  Honor the sanctified body God gave you today.

John 17:13-19, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, & 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 5:23-24

Your Body, God's Temple

 

    If you are a true believer that walks with Jesus, then you have the Holy Spirit living in you.  That means that God created your body, but it is now His temple to reside in.  You are no longer alone in this world.  You are no longer an enemy of God.  This is something holy and precious that doesn't need to be taken for granted.

    You were created to be in a close relationship with God.  You know that is true because God created man and woman to be different, set apart from all other creation.  It was not until sin entered the world that the connection was broken.  However, God still pursues you.  He still wants you.  

    After sin entered the world, God worked to stay connected to His people.  He wants to reside with His people.  He stared with the Tent of Meeting.  God revealed Himself as a pillar of cloud.  His people followed His presence.  When He was outside of camp, that meant they were to move.  If He was hovering over the Tent of Meeting, then Moses would go in to listen to God.  Moses didn't speak.  He listened.

    Later came the Tabernacle.  God worked with man to design and create a beautiful building.  Once it was completed, God came as a cloud again and hovered over the Tabernacle.  His glory filled it.  Next came the Temple of the Lord.  This was the home of God.  It is where the ark of the covenant was kept.  It is where sacrifices were made.  It was holy and sacred.

    Hundreds of years later came Jesus.  He is God and human.  God sent Jesus to be the living, holy Temple that walked and lived among people.  He completed all that God began since sin entered the world.  He lived out God's unfailing love and faithfulness to His people.  God's glory became flesh and blood to make a way for you to have a real relationship with God.

    Today, you are that temple.  It is your spirit merged with the Holy Spirit that is seen.  This is good, holy, and lovely.  It is impossible, but God made it possible.  Jesus is your example on how to live as a holy temple that glorifies God with your body.  The church is God's holy people coming together as one.  Together we can do the impossible because we have God in us.   

Genesis 3:14-19, Exodus 33:7-11, 40, 1 Kings 7:51-8:11, Acts 2:1-4, & 1 Corinthians 6:18-20