VALGOOD

Do you ever need to hear that you CAN do it? Right now my 13-month old is walking well when holding onto things and standing upright on his own just fine. But he has yet to take that step by himself. I know he can do it. He just needs to learn that he can.

In the same way, God as our Father sometimes nudges us that we CAN do something that seems insurmountable to us. I was reminded of this fact in my devotions today. The last verse I read was Joshua telling the house of Joseph that though overcoming the Canaanites with all their iron chariots may look impossible, they could overtake them and have their territory; Joshua 17:18 ends “..though they are strong, you CAN drive them out” (emphasis mine).

I’ve thought about that verse throughout the day. Maybe you feel defeated today because the sheer number of pounds that you need to lose seems impossible. Or maybe you’re losing hope that the last 20 “sticky” pounds will ever come off no matter how hard you try. But, we need to remember that NOTHING is impossible with God. I encourage you to say it out loud right now: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!

Throughout the book of Joshua, I’ve noticed it said that God Himself was the One who fought for Israel. He kept telling Joshua to “be strong and courageous” because His plans would be accomplished. Joshua 10:42 says “All these kings and their lands were conquered in one campaign, BECAUSE the Lord the God of Israel fought for Israel.” Later in Joshua 11:20, the Bible says “For it was the Lord Himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that He might destroy them totally…”

If God is encouraging you to treat your body as His dwelling and therefore live a healthier lifestyle (which we see in the Bible), then He will accomplish His purpose in your life. While you may not have hope, I can tell you today that there IS hope! God Himself will be on your side. And if God is for us, what else do we need?

Take a moment to soak in today that God is helping you in this battle. Then realize that there may be times that you need to dig in as He says (just like He spoke through Joshua to the tribes of Joseph) “You can do it!”

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that the Bible is truth and life for those who believe. God, we confess that there are times we want to throw in the towel and deem this pursuit hopeless. But, God, at these very moments, please help us remember that You are fighting for us, that You are strengthening us for battle in this area, and that with You NOTHING is impossible. Thank You for reminding us that with You on our side, we CAN! We will! We want to honor You. Help us become healthy and thin for Your glory – drive out anything in our way (even ourselves and our attitudes!). We surrender to Your control and authority. Please help us. Thank You!!! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

There are times that I get too caught up in focusing on losing weight. I find myself spending more time counting calories and planning when I’ll exercise than praying, worshipping and reading God’s Word. The Bible tells us to seek FIRST His kingdom and righteousness. Not, seek first whatever our passionate pursuit is at the time and then do church when we can squeeze it in. Earlier in this chapter, we learn we’re not supposed to worry about what we’ll eat or wear, but God knows our needs. Instead, we’re to focus on Him and He will provide for us. So, my goal today is to think more about the Lord than anything, to seek His righteousness, and allow Him to provide the things I need (like a healthier body). And, praise God, He is the one who is able to give me what I truly need!!!

Dear Lord, please help us to put You first in all things. May we seek You first, and I ask that You will provide the things we need, including healthy food to eat and the motivation to keep on the right track for Your ultimate glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Our family recently joined the local gym. And I’ve honestly enjoyed the time spent working out and the endorphins that come from a hard-earned sweat. It’s a true blessing!

But, I’m learning that working out isn’t enough to accomplish my true goals. The above verse emphasizes this fact.

First, I have to say that I LOVE that God knows our present day needs and struggles. After all, I never thought people in the Bible had to concern themselves with physical training. I assumed that everyone was physically fit before the invention of cars and other modern day conveniences. But, the Bible wasn’t written just for people who lived then – God’s Word is alive and shows that He knows both the struggles of the past and those of our present (and even the future!).

God tells us plainly that physical training is of some value. He cares that we work out our bodies! It is worth our time and efforts to build up our cardiovascular endurance and overall strength.

But, what’s most important to Him is godliness. It’s most important that we focus on His Word and maintain godly character. For me, this includes saying no to ungodly passions like over-indulging in food. It’s exercising discipline and the fruit of the Holy Spirit like self-control. Godliness – or obeying God’s Word and applying Biblical principles to our lives – is important for this life and also “holds promise” for the life to come!

So, know today that the efforts you are making in physical training and in learning God’s Word are valuable to you and to Him. May you be encouraged in this journey to stay focused for the right reasons!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You understand our needs and desires. Thank You that Your Word tells us that physical training is of some value. We also thank You that You direct us to focus on godliness rather than how we look. Lord Jesus, make us more like You! Help us say no to ungodliness, including over indulging in food we don’t need to eat. Help us say yes to learning the Bible and applying it to our lives. Give us motivation to keep going on this journey. Help us not lose heart and give up. You are our prize and treasure that we seek. Make us healthy and thin for Your ultimate glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

The other week I was meeting a small group of friends and their children at a park. When I woke up that morning, I was debating about what to wear. While one outfit was more comfortable for the park, I felt the other outfit looked better on. I was trying to think if I owned any comfortable-yet-still-looks-nice clothes in my current wardrobe. (Do you ever struggle with what to wear when meeting friends – even if they are good friends who don’t truly care how you look?)

Since it was occupying my thoughts, I prayed about it before my morning devotions. ‘Lord,’ I asked, ‘do You even care what we wear? If so, speak to me this morning through Your Word.’

I was amazed when my natural progression of reading came to this verse: “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'” 1 Peter 5:5.

God does care about the everyday moments we have, I think. While His ways are higher than ours, there are times that I just know that He loves us enough to care even about the smallest details. That morning, I saw “clothe yourselves with humility” as if the Holy Spirit had highlighted it for me. And, in thinking of these precious friends, while each one is beautiful, the thing I love most about them is their spirits. We don’t have to pretend to have it all together; true friends are humble with one another and reveal that we all have faults and need each other as we walk on our journeys.

Micah 6:8 reminds us that “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

There have been many days since that morning that I’ve thought about what outfit I want to choose to wear, and I’m reminded that the first and the last thing I need to put on is humility. After all, I truly need God’s grace!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for caring about us even in the little things like outfits. We know that we’re not to worry about what we wear, since You take care of us. Thanks for the reminder that ‘humility’ is what you expect. Help us to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with respect to You and others. We need Your grace! Thank You, God, for showing us what is good. We love You! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

Have you ever found parts of the Bible to be a little boring? I hope lightning doesn’t strike our house tonight (just kidding!) but I’ll admit that I find myself sighing when I come to a place in the Bible like Numbers where a census of the Israelites is being taken and I’m reading how many thousands of each clan were enumerated, etc.

Well, this morning I saw that I had come to such a chapter, so I quickly prayed before I read – something like “Lord, please speak to me through Your Word today – not that I deserve it but because You are faithful and Your Word does not return void. You deserve to be known.” And God was/is faithful! All day I’ve thought about these two chapters that  I read this morning, and I think the lesson I received is worth sharing!

My reading this morning was Numbers 25-26, which begins “While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to INDULGE in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them” (Numbers 25:1-3). In fact, the Lord was so angry that He ordered everyone who had indulged themselves and worshiped another god be put to death (Numbers 25:4), and He sent a plague that killed 24,000 people (Numbers 25:9).

When the plague ended, the Lord told Moses to take another census of the Israelite community (Numbers 26:1-2). I remembered that the book of Numbers started out with a census, so I quickly flipped back and forth between the first chapter and chapter 26 to see what changes had occurred. Some tribes had lost significant numbers – for example, the descendants of Simeon had dropped by 37,100 and the descendants of Ephraim (son of Joseph) had lost 32,960 members. On the other hand, many tribes had gained numbers during this time. The tribe of Joseph’s other son Manasseh had gained 20,500 people; and in second place, the tribe of Asher had gained 11,900 folks. From the first census to the second, the number of Israelites had decreased by 1,820 people total.

As the Lord continued to speak to Moses in Numbers 26, He told him that the Promised Land was to be allotted to the Israelites as an inheritance based on the number of names in their clan (Numbers 26:53). And this is where the significance of this passage really hit me, so I hope you’re still with me at this point! Remember that when the people sinned by overindulging, God was so angry that He facilitated the death of many of them (only stopping because of the zeal of the priest Phinehas, who killed a couple blatantly rebelling). Those deaths affected the numbers of the clans (so is it possible to infer that some tribes were indulging more than others based on how the number shook out?). The entire community was then affected because their inheritance was based on the numbers of each tribe that were left.

I’ve thought all day about the consequences of indulging ourselves. Many times in the Bible I see where sexual immorality and food (sacrificed to idols) seem to go hand-in-hand (For example, 1 Corinthians 6:13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Other passages include Acts 15:29, Revelations 2:14 and Revelations 2:20). Indulging in sexual immorality or overeating are both instances of gratifying our desire for something pleasurable rather than what is actually good for it. Neither sex nor food is wrong when it’s done God’s way, but when we indulge ourselves and worship things other than God, we run into trouble! And significant trouble!

Some people died as a consequence from indulging – but even worse, not only did they not reach the Promised Land that God had intended for them, they hurt their family in receiving their inheritance! The effect of their sin rippled into the entire community, changing the portion of God’s gift that their clan would receive.

Does our sin today affect others around us to this extent? Unfortunately, I think it does even more than we realize. When we indulge in gratifying ourselves rather than being “zealous for [God’s] honor” (Numbers 25:11) we need to think about the ramifications. This has been a huge struggle for me these last few days! I tend to want to eat when I’m feeling stressed and indulge in what I know is bad for me when I think it will make me feel better. But, after reading today’s passage, I want to take a moment to think about it instead and choose to be more zealous for God’s honor than my own pleasure. Please pray that I can stay focused! And I’ll pray for you, too!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness! Thank You for Your Word and that it does not return void. God, I don’t think any single Word is ‘extra’ in the Bible. I know that there is significance in all passages – please help us learn what You want us to know about You. May we be zealous for Your honor! May we seek You first and let everything else fall into place. Father God, we confess that there are times we’ve indulged in pleasures rather than living for Your glory alone. Please forgive us! Please cover our sins with the blood of Jesus. May we start fresh thinking before we indulge about how important it is that we worship You alone. May we glorify You in all we say, do and even eat. May our lives be a reflection of Your holiness. Please help us be healthy and thin for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” Luke 14:28-30

Before beginning this journey of trying to lose weight yet again, I had a heart to heart with God. I was in a Bible study and heard this reminder that we have to weigh the cost of following Jesus and decide if it’s worth it. Are we all in? But, as the speaker continued, I was personally wrestling over the idea of starting a major life change. Was I willing to do whatever God asked me to do in order to be healthier and thin?

I’ll be honest. At that moment, I was up front with God and told Him that I wasn’t sure I could do it. I looked at the cost to build the tower, and I wasn’t sure on my own I had what it took. Could I give up eating out? Could I give up the sweets I craved? Could I start working out again when I had no energy? Would I start this blog as a public display of my commitment? Was I ready to humble myself so that God could be lifted high? Was I willing to exchange the pleasure I found in eating for whatever life God had for me? Was I willing to do whatever God asked?

At the moment, I simply said “God, please make me ready. Bring me to a point that the cost of this life is more than the cost of that life. I want to be your servant! Please don’t give up on me.” I started slowly, telling myself that even if I laid the foundation and got ridiculed for not being able to finish, it wasn’t all about me, really. If someone was blessed in the process, if God was exalted during the phases, then that was sufficient. So, I started writing again and made it public this time.

Then, I felt God calling me to “fast” (or abstain) from fast food for one month. I didn’t realize how much we relied on the convenience and taste of it until it wasn’t an option. I did have friends all meet for a play date at a fast food chain and I had to say no. It wasn’t easy! But, it wasn’t all that difficult either. The cost was worth it.

I was attending a Bible study and felt convicted that I started the morning eating all the sweets that these dear ladies bring in for breakfast (we all take turns). The first morning I didn’t take a plate and saw all my friends (who are thin and lovely, of course) eating, I almost cried. But, I made it through unscathed. Each week got easier. I didn’t even care by the final ones.

When we were able to get a trial gym membership by donation to a ministry, it was a gift from God. The working out has been enjoyable rather than difficult.

Now as I’m looking at my eating patterns and realizing there is more to give up, I look back at where I’ve come from and realized that the first commitment was what I needed. I prayed and asked God to help me, and He has been beyond faithful (as God always is!). He asks for a willing heart, and when we submit to His plans, there is such an overwhelming grace along the way. It hasn’t been one huge step but small steps, and I know He’s been holding my hand and guiding me.

Trust me, if God can change my life and help me lose weight – a gal who has been overweight a vast majority of her life – He can change anyone! Submit to Him, count the cost of following Him, and realize that it’s worth it. For even though it may seem difficult to make a huge shift in perspective, God will lead you step by step if you trust Him!

Dear Heavenly Father, first I must say thank You! Thank You for walking with us, leading us and even having grace and patience for us when we’re not sure that we have what it takes. Help us really count the cost and realize that following You is worth everything we give up and then some! Give us the strength to build after laying the foundation. May we become healthy and thin for Your glory, rather than an object of ridicule. May we live our lives to honor You. Help those who are on this journey with me. May they realize how You are carrying them each day. Praise You, God! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

“Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.” Daniel 5:27

Daniel Chapter 5 starts with the heading “The Writing on the Wall.” We use this expression today to mean something is obvious, and the irony makes me smile. (If someone struggles with their eating, isn’t it a bit obvious, unfortunately?)

Anyway, if you’re unfamiliar with Daniel 5, I included a link above so you could read it in context. In a nutshell, an ungodly Babylonian king was holding a feast and, in his drunken state, ordered that goblets taken from God’s holy temple in Jerusalem be brought in for him, along with his wives and concubines, to drink out of. Then they praised various gods other than the Lord.

In her study of Daniel, Beth Moore pointed out that these goblets had been sanctified and consecrated as holy to the Lord for use in His temple and then stolen by Babylon. Up until this point, they had just been in storage, but this arrogant king decided to use God’s holy vessels to toast an unholy object, a created god.

Next, we see in this chapter that a hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsan.” The king was terrified and no one could interpret the inscription, except for Daniel, a devout follower of God who had been given wisdom (as noted in Daniel 2:21). Daniel foretold the king’s death and the takeover of his kingdom.

In the Bible study of Daniel, we learned that using our holy vessels for unholy purposes ends in destruction and displeases God. Our bodies are meant to be holy vessels, consecrated to the Lord. Therefore, we need to be purposeful about what we celebrate or worship with them.

I’ll admit that there are times that I’ve put more emphasis on what I’m planning on eating that day than I’ve put on honoring God with my body. I’ve had to repent and ask for God’s grace in redirecting my thoughts and ways.

I love how God puts little reminders in His Bible that He hears you and your prayers. The verse “Tekel: Weighed on the Scales and Found Wanting” literally jumped off the page at me like it was in highlighting. God knows our struggle; He sees when we step on that scale in the morning; and He knows that we have been found wanting… He is our refuge and our strength. May we use our holy vessels for holy purposes today!

Dear God, we have been weighed on the scale and found wanting. We confess that we have used our holy vessels to “toast” unholy things and we’re sorry. We ask for your forgiveness and your help in using our vessels for your glory, that we may be consecrated and set apart for you. Help us today in this struggle to lose weight. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

This morning I read the following verse “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings” Leviticus 2:13.

While I’ve read the Old Testament several times before, I don’t remember this verse catching my attention like it did today. What does it mean to add salt to our offerings to God?

Let me stop here and say that I realize that with Jesus coming and His sacrifice, I understand that the New Covenant supersedes the Old Covenant. With that said, though, I don’t think we get a true appreciation for all that Jesus did for us and what it really means to be adopted (Ephesians 1:5) and co-heirs with the Israelites and Christ (Romans 8:17). We can’t just disregard the Old Testament as “old” for in it is a rich knowledge of who God is and what He has done! After all, “ALL Scripture is God-breathedand is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

So, going back to Leviticus when it says to “add salt to all your offerings,” is there anything we can learn for our present day life? One of my favorite Christian authors Kay Arthur once said “the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture.” So, let’s go back to the Bible and see what else it says about salt. Doing a quick search on the word “salt” at http://www.Biblegateway.com produced 44 results.

I won’t touch on all of them in this post, of course, but here are a couple that I personally found interesting. The first was 2 Chronicles 13:5 “Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?” A covenant of salt? I learned a whole lot about what the word “Covenant” means through a study by Kay Arthur – I realize that God doesn’t revoke His promises and there are often signs that accompany such an agreement (rainbows as a reminder to man and God that God will never flood the earth again, etc.) Was salt a reminder of God’s covenant about Jesus and His saving us? Let’s keep searching!

Ezekiel 16:4 talks about being born, cutting the cord, washing with water, rubbing with salt and then clothing. I wondered why, so I did a little online research. Here were two answers I found: 

“After the washing, the body was rubbed with salt, according to a custom very widely spread in ancient times, and still met with here and there in the East; and that not merely for the purpose of making the skin drier and firmer, or of cleansing it more thoroughly, but probably from a regard to the virtue of salt as a protection from putrefaction, “to express in a symbolical manner a hope and desire for the vigorous health of the child” (http://www.pbbcph.org/content/you-are-salt-earthk)

The second was this: Salt was used as a sealing of a covenant between relationships that had been mended.. and the symbolism of that rubbing with salt and binding with cloth from Ez 4…. the salt is the symbolic representation of Jesus Blood purifying us, cleansing us of sin, and the binding clothes, which women used to bind babies so their limbs would be straight, was representative of us being wrapped with the Holy Spirit (http://www.christianuc.com/forums/topic/884-lets-hear/).

What I remembered almost immediately when I read the verse from Leviticus was Jesus saying “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise Your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to add life and goodness to the world! Don’t be dull and drab but let both your speech and action overflow so that people who come into contact with you praise God.

Colossians 4:6 reminds us to ^“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,so that you may know how to answer everyone.” What we say should even be seasoned with salt and grace.

Finally, Mark 9:49-50 says that “everyone will be salted with fire” and that we are to “have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.” From Colossians and the last half of Mark 9:50, salt seems synonymous with grace. Have grace for one another and be at peace. That grace can come from knowing that we’ve been saved by Jesus’ blood and sacrifice, not our own righteousness or good deeds. It’s a lot easier to be forgiving when we realize how much we’ve been forgiven!

By what does it mean to be salted with fire? Many places in the Bible, salt seemed to go along with sulfur and burning. Maybe salt is best described then as refinement.

There are three characteristics that I found interesting as I looked up what salt is exactly from Wikipedia. The one was that the most widely used salt is one that is obtained and then refined to be purified and given vast improvement. The other is that while I always thought of salt as being ‘tasty’ it is the best way to preserve things. Salt is also vital to our body and how we regulate the fluid content of our body.

So, when we’re making sacrifices to the Lord, how can we add salt using this knowledge?

• Let our conversations be full of grace (Mark 9:50).
• Let our good deeds shine before those around us so that they may praise God (Matthew 5:13).
• Remember Jesus and His work on the cross – it was the covenant that God made with David to have His heir save us. When we royally screw up, intentionally or not, let’s rub salt in the wound (or Jesus’ blood over the sin!). You see, it’s not the salt that hurts but the pain we’ve inflicted on ourselves by the original wounds we’ve given ourselves. Allow Jesus to heal us and bring us back to the Father, even when it hurts (2 Chronicles 13:5).
• Give glory to God for cutting the cord of our sin, washing us with His blood, rubbing us with salt and sealing us with the clothes of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 16:4). May it be present in all that we say and do, especially as we present our offerings to God. We don’t have anything to give on our own, but because of what He’s done for us, we can approach Him and His throne!

Do you have anything to add on the subject of salt? These were just my findings from today. I’d love to hear anyone else’s insight! Let’s keep pressing on and learning together! May we season our offerings with salt!

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word and praise You for highlighting Scripture to us. Please help us learn what You mean. Open our hearts that we may really seek You, find You and know You. Our hearts’ desire is to know You fully and bring You honor and glory. In Jesus’ Name we pray, AMEN!

“My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13

There are two things that I feel God has been teaching me lately. First, it’s the importance of drinking enough water. While this may seem like a “worldly” principle, I’ve discovering how much better I feel when I’m well-hydrated. I’ve tried fasting on various occasions, to pray and read the Bible and break my addiction to over-indulging in food. It is always a struggle to go a day without eating, but I’ve found that if I’m careful about my water intake before the fast and during it, I can survive it. How much water, you may ask? A friend of mine recommended that everyone drink half of his or her body weight in ounces. Days that I’ve been careful to drink that much (and that’s a lot for me!), I’ve felt SO much better! I haven’t been as tempted to overeat, and I think sometimes I’m mistaking thirst for hunger.

Similarly, just like I’ve turned to food instead of water, the second thing I’m learning is that there are times I’m thirsting for God and turning to food instead because it’s quick, easy and feels good to my flesh immediately.

In her Bible study A Woman of Moderation, author Dee Brestin (2007) asked participants to read John 4:4-35. Jesus was traveling through Samaria and after His disciples had left to buy food, He stopped a woman who was drawing water and asked her to give Him some. She was surprised because Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans at the time and typically men didn’t approach women. In addition, this woman wasn’t the most upright in character for a Rabbi to be approaching her. John 4:10 says  “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.'” He continues after she asks Him how He was going to draw this water, saying “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

Dee Brestin (2007) asks how we know that the woman didn’t get it, indicating Spiritual blindness, and we have only to look at her answer in verse 15 “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” But, Jesus pinpoints her real problem, speaking right to her very core when He asks about her husband and notes how many she’s had (currently living with someone she’s not married to). He saw her in her current state and beckoned her to come to Him for Living Water, knowing full well about the sin in her life and her core issues. If Jesus had a real heart-to-heart encounter with you, what would He say is your “real problem”?

How would you respond to this conversation and God’s call on your life?

Dee Brestin (2007) explains that out of shame, this woman would wait until the hottest time of the day, when no one else would come to the well, to draw her water because she didn’t want to be seen by others. When we are overweight, we can also feel ashamed. “We know, just like this woman, that we’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places and it shows” (Brestin, 2007, p. 69). Many who are overweight will avoid social settings and people, but we can’t avoid Jesus. He will seek us out, not to shame us, but to deliver us and offer us Living Water that will quench our thirst.

A participant in this study wrote “I was fooling myself to think I could EVER get ‘enough’ food to satisfy my desire for food…I will only be satisfied with intimacy with Christ and through wisdom through His Word.” At some point we need to stop looking for our fulfillment in food and start looking for fulfillment in Christ alone.

Is it a sin to eat? By no means! Our bodies need nourishment, and our Father provides food for us to eat – it is a gift from Him that we can enjoy. But, is it a sin to overeat food that we don’t need? Allow God to answer that question for you. Can we find satisfaction for our desires from Him rather than comfort food?

This week, challenge yourself to drink water and soak in the Living Water as part of your daily routine. See how God can transform your heart, mind and body!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the Spring of Living Water. Thank You for offering to meet our deepest needs. Thank You that when our soul thirsts for You, You meet us right where we are. Thank You, Jesus, for approaching us right where we are, just like You did the woman at the well. We ask for Your forgiveness for times we’ve tried to ‘dig our own cisterns’ for water (Jeremiah 2:13) and not taken the time to seek You instead to satisfy our needs. God, we are more thirsty than we even realized. We need You! Only You can save us! Only You can deliver us! Only You can satisfy our deepest longings! God, help us along this journey to quench our soul thirst with You and our physical thirst from fresh, healthy water. May we become healthy and thin for Your honor and glory! May we treat our bodies as You intend us to. Thank You and praise You! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

Do you ever get bored with the same mundane routine? I think I’ve washed the same clothes now each week for the last six months at least, there’s always another meal to serve and clean up, and I feel like I’m constantly rushing the kids to hurry and get in the car to go somewhere. Is this what life is supposed to look like? For many of us, we wake up in the morning and do the same thing we did that same day the week before – over and over and over again. It’s easy to feel like life has gotten into a rut.

But, then for some of us, we get a wake-up call that there is more to life than the everyday monotony. That can come in the form of hearing a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, a health issue of our own, or a catastrophic weather event can snap us out of the humdrum into a place where we feel the urgency of the shortness of this life. We begin to pray more fervently and try to open our eyes to the eternal viewpoint that God has.

I remember a night recently where I climbed into bed feeling discontent. I had been dreaming of a bigger house, nicer furniture, etc. Then I turned on the news and watched the story of a family who barely escaped their burning home as everything they owned went up in flames. The mom said with joy, “I’m just so thankful we all made it out safely!” My perspective changed immediately. What is most important in life? Do we need more wealth, more stuff, more time or can we look beyond the hear and now?

Jesus told the following parable in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20 and Luke 8:5-15:

⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

As I read this parable, I thought about those of us who as we go on our way get choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures so that we don’t see God’s fruit in our lives. Mark 4:19 says it slightly differently: “but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

If your life is feeling humdrum, are you in the correct mindset and thinking about God’s kingdom? Are you producing fruit? Are you seeing lives changed around you? Are you noticing the little and big ways that God is moving in us, through us and around us? Are you praying for others, and are you praying for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done? Are you taking time to worship Him and get rooted in His Word?

I always wanted to be “average” – to grow up, get married and have children. My husband said that he can’t stand the thought of just average – he wants there to be more to life than just the everyday. I think that we can have better than average – not necessarily living the “American dream” of bigger wealth and more stuff. But, we can live with an eternal perspective and watch as God’s Word produces fruit in our lives, as Matthew 13:23 says “He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

What are ways that we can get out of the rut of mundane? First, looking straight at the passage, the things that choke out the productive fruit are “worries, deceitfulness of wealth and desires for other things.” So, can we cast our cares upon God, can we remember that we don’t need more money or more things to be used by Him? Can we set aside some personal desires? Can we not be choked by the anxieties of life? As Luke 21:34 warns us “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”

Instead, even though we may have the same routine to care for our family, can we ask God to give us His eyes and heart for those around us? Can we serve breakfast and say grace with true thankfulness in our heart? Can we be intentional about the time we spend with our children, teaching them about God and the Bible? Can we remember – even in the toughest of times – that this life is fleeting and what truly matters is eternity? Can we ask God to open our eyes to what He cares about and pray about those things? Can we not let the ‘humdrum’ or anxieties of everyday life suck the fruitfulness from the years we are given on this earth? Can we live victoriously, knowing that we have a higher calling than this?

Father God, we confess that there are times that wealth and the desires for other things cloud our good judgment. We confess that the anxieties of life and worry about the little things can choke out the Word from our lives. Help us not worry about the ‘little things’ like what we will eat or wear, but give us an eternal perspective. God, we know that at times larger events can make us snap our attention back to where it should be. But, God, we’d rather learn the easy way. We want to read this passage from the Bible, understand what it means, and do what it says. We ask that You would produce a crop far beyond what we realize. May we obey Your teaching and strive for better than average. We love You, Lord Jesus. In Your Name we pray, AMEN!