I Buffet My Body...

I haven’t really written here in a while. I have not had the time to just sit and write with all the other things in my life, but I am taking a few minutes right now just to share something that has been on my mind.

For about 6 weeks or so I have been trying to make some changes to the way that I live. I have been trying to eat better. I have been trying to exercise more regularly (and by more regularly, I mean more than twice a year). I have noticed some changes in my body. I have these bumps on my arms now. I think they might actually be muscles. I have been running twice a week. I have a few trusted friends that I try to check in with about my progress. I wish the weight loss happened faster, but it really takes some time to make my body believe that it wants to get rid of the weight. A few people have said that they can notice some difference in me. Some days I see it. Some days I feel no different. But I press on.

I have sort of been camped in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verses 24 to 27. The apostle Paul is writing here and he goes into a comparison of his preaching the Gospel with athletes training.

“Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

Such a great passage! It’s tough to do what it takes to be an athlete. I’m doing my best. I’m working at it. It really is training though.

Self-control has never been one of my strong suits… especially with food, hence why I am in this situation as it is. I am having to learn to cook better food. I have increased my veggies and fruit. My parents gave me a rice cooker, which has been incredible to work with! Some rice, some chicken, and veggies, and I am good to go. Some nights I have to make two meals because the kids might not really like what I am eating. I still allow some dessert, but I cut back on the portions. I just wish it happened faster.

But I was talking to the young people in Infuzion this past Sunday about this verse, and I got to the end of the passage and really focused there for a few minutes. Paul is talking about disciplining his body and then he considers what could happen if he does not control what he does with his body… He could lose his salvation if he keeps using his body to sin.

Yes, it is one thing to take care of your body, and to train your body and be healthy, but what about the things that you do with your body? Your body does not just do things without your consent (in most cases). Your mind controls what you do with your body.

Doing a bit of theological study of the Bible, you will see how people are made up of a flesh, a spirit, and a mind (soul). You see evidence of this in Pop-culture when you see the conscience on someone’s shoulders with a demon and an angel. Your mind is what decides what you do. Your spirit is the part of you that allows you to commune with God. Your body is the part that is connected to this earth. Between the two of these is the mind.

Let’s look for a minute… what happens if you feed your body well? If you exercise? Obviously, you will get stronger… healthier? Now what happens if you feed your body junk food? If you sit and do nothing to move your muscles? Obviously, you get fat, and there can be all kinds of other health issues. (If you look at the Amplified Bible, the verse above reads: “But I buffet my body and…”… Of course, if you go out to the buffet, then you probably overeat…. And of course, this is not what the word means. ;o) )

Now what about your spirit. If you spend time with God every day, and you pray, and you read the Bible, and you study it, and apply it to your life, then your spirit gets stronger. If you spend all of your time absorbed in media, and listening to the ideas of the world then your spirit will get weaker, and your time with God will be more difficult.

Your body pulls you to the world. Your spirit pulls you to God, and whichever one you feed will define your alignment… where your heart points. Now back to your mind… Your mind is the thing that decides. It chooses what you want to do. If it hears your body that has no discipline, it will be easier to choose to go towards the world. If it hears your spirit calling you to God, it will be easier to move towards God.

I am always examining my life for areas where God needs to do work in me… actually, where I need to allow God to do some work in me. As I train my spirit, it also becomes easier to train my body.

Training my body is only in part from trying to be healthier. It also involves the other things I do with my body. With my body I can yell at someone. I can steal. I can hurt. I can lie. I can do any other thing on those lists of sins in the Bible. But as I move towards God, He helps me to refine my behaviour… to purge sin from me…. To strengthen my conscience so that I do what is needed to make things right.

It doesn’t totally wrap up in the changing of behaviour though… As someone that wants to follow Jesus, I have to acknowledge that I have sinned, or broken God’s laws. I have to understand that because of that I deserve the punishment of hell. I have to trust in Jesus, and his work at the cross to save me. I need to love God and love others with all of my spirit, mind and body…. Within the confines of God’s protective law.

So next time you go to eat that thing that you know is not good for you, think about what you have been feeding your spirit too. Is it healthy, or do you need to put it on a diet?

Three Simple Ways to Encourage Your Pastor‏

I ran into this article a while back and I thought it was good.  If you're in a church, and submitted to a pastor, do your best to encourage them  I guarantee you that there are LOTS of things out there to discourage them.

Hebrews 13:17 says: Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

So here is an article by R.C. Sproul Jr.

"Pastors are human too. That means, of course, that they sin, but it also means that they have ordinary human needs. While no one joins the ministry in order to receive riches or accolades, honor or power, while shepherds are called to serve others rather than themselves, such doesn’t mean that they are not given to discouragement.

Most of us, most of the time, love our pastor, and are grateful for him. Few of us, however, understand that he needs encouragement. What even fewer of us grasp is how we can be an encouragement to him. Here are three simple ideas.

First, pay attention to his labors. Though we do not have a duty to be at the church every time the doors are open, one thing that discourages pastors is our unwillingness to simply avail ourselves of his gifts. When the pastor labors in his study to prepare a Bible study lesson, or writes a blog post, and the sheep under his care pay no attention, it is discouraging. It says to the pastor, “I do not value what you do for me and my family. Your efforts have no effect because I won’t even be bothered to read, or to listen. I will download the sermons of celebrities that don’t know me. I will read the wisdom of those with book contracts.” It’s not that your pastor is jealous of the gifts of others. It is instead that he is jealous for you and your growth in wisdom. A less gifted man who knows and loves you is far more potent in your life than a more gifted man far, far away.

Second, speak well of him to others. When you speak well to the pastor, if he is prone to discouragement, it might not have the impact you wish it to have. Such kind words can easily be written off as kindness rather than gratitude, as flattery rather than sincerity. But if word comes back to him, and it will, that you have spoken well of him, to others in the church, or even to those in your community, he will have to take your good word to heart. It might also encourage those with whom you speak to have a deeper appreciation for your pastor, and that’s usually a good thing. Of course the one you should be speaking to the most about your pastor is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. Pray with gratitude for the man Christ has given you, and the man will be encouraged.

Third, pursue godliness. Because he loves you, what your pastor wants more than anything else is for you to grow in grace and wisdom, to become more like Jesus. What is most discouraging for him then isn’t how poorly he may be treated, how badly he may be honored, but how poorly his sheep are doing. He is encouraged most, however, when you are doing well. When he sees your wife’s beaming face, he knows it is because you are seeking to be a godly husband and father, and is encouraged. When he sees you turning the other cheek in your relationship with your pew neighbor, he is encouraged to know that the leaven of the kingdom is spreading among his flock. When he sees you visiting the widow and the orphan, he knows you are practicing true religion, and rejoices.

Don’t, in short, tell your pastor how smart he is, nor how brilliant his sermons are. Don’t tell him how funny he is, nor how dignified. Show him how his labor in showing you Jesus is making you more like Him. That is the desire of his heart, because that is the desire of His heart."
3 Simple Ways to Encourage Your Pastor was originally published at Ligonier.org.

The Bible and the Tongue -- Day 3

Proverbs 12:18Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.  NLT

If you look at a lot of the humour of today, SO much of it is based on cut-downs and sarcasm.  This kind of humour needs someone to be the target of the joke.  That person can be very hurt.  That is why this verse is talking about “cutting remarks”.

The verse goes on to say that wise words heal…. That they bring healing.  So you can see that there are two sides to this issues: The one doing the cutting and hurting, and the person helping to heal and encourage.

Think of the image of someone in a sword duel.  A sarcastic comment can be like someone being stabbed, and a person with wise words can help to close the wound.

Know what, though?  Sometimes comments made in fun can hurt someone and affect them for years.

THINK!

•   Are you the one the makes the cutting comments? 
•   What is a time when you have been the one with the healing words?
•   Have you been really hurt by a cutting comment?
•   Who do you go to for encouragement when you are hurt?

Words you may not know:

•   Remark: to say casually, as in making a comment.