Full Armor of God Diet

This has been an exhausting week for me. I'm organizing an event as a benefit for City Union Mission, the homeless shelter in Kanas City. It's the CrossRoard 5K walk and run, which takes place on Sunday. We have the most wonderful group of volunteers and helpers. However, I'm still tired just keeping up with it all. I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so I can' wait to close my eyes in slumber this evening. In our fast-paced, accomplishment oriented society, isn't it great to know that we when are weary, we have a source of renewal? Jesus said,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:38 (NIV) What a perfect gift, the gift of rest, rest when we're physically tired, rest when we're tired of the struggle to do the right thing. All we have to do is come to Jesus and rest in His love.

The Armor of God includes the belt of truth. As one who falls for Satan's lies over and over (I am really a push-over without prayer and God's help), I recognize the wonderful power of the truth. If we keep our mind focused on God's truth, we will remain close to God. But as soon as we let our minds stray and ponder the lies, we're on a new path, heading toward the place where the lies lead us far away from the Lord.

"The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.: Psalm 145:18

Keeping the truth in our hearts will keep us close to the Lord. Let's call on Him in prayer, acknowledging that true happiness comes from abiding in His love, following His laws, and keeping the truth in our hearts.

In the workplace, employers often place an emphasis on continuous process improvement, always looking for better ways to do things. Have you heard about "Six Sigma"? This is an approach many businesses are implementing to create process improvement. "Six Sigma" is a discipline that strives for near perfection using a data-driven methodology for eliminating defects in any process.

Through the Six Sigma discipline, General Electric saved an estimated $10 billion during the first five years of implementation.

Obviously, in the workplace many of us are familiar with continuous improvement. What about continuous improvement in our spiritual lives? Is it important for us to accomplish continuous process improvement spiritually?

The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to approach their Christian walk as a work in progress, but constantly improving, getting closer and closer to Jesus, as He works in us to perfect our characters.

"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."
"Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress."
1 Timothy 4: 8 and 15

The Christian author EG White encourages us to adopt a "spirit of progress." In Testimonies for the Church, Volume 3, page 540: "We must guard continually against being fixed in our views, feelings, and actions. The work of God is onward...Energy, tempered with patience and ambition, and balanced by wisdom, is now needed by every Christian. Our motto should ever be, "Onward, higher," surely, steadily onward to duty and to victory."

In His own words, Jesus set the goal as perfection. (Not to worry though, because He will help us reach that goal.)
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48.

Of course, perfection doesn't happen instantly, but in our Christian walk we should always be getting closer to Jesus and closer to His ideal for our lives. This applies to our health as well. We should always be improving, and moving "ever onward." When we fall down, we just need to get back up and keep moving forward.

Isn't it interesting that the term for Jesus followers is "disciple?"

Review the definition of discipline:
"Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement."

Even the name "disciple" carries with it the message that this person is all about process improvement!

I want to be a Six Sigma disciple for Jesus. I want to be disciplined about eliminating defects in my Christian character, with energy tempered with patience and ambition.

You're probably familiar with the phrase "Talk is cheap." It means all the words in the world, if not followed by action, are meaningless. I have to admit these past several days I've been full of talk but not a lot of action and it's leaving me very uninspired. I've been blogging daily (last night my Internet connection was off, so I'm posting yesterday's thoughts this morning), but when I get in a groove of not following my own advice, even I am not inspired by my blogging. I think to myself "blah, blah, blah" and add a "g" to the end so I'm thinking "blog, blog, blog" with a grumpy attitude!

Last night, I got a little jolt from a verse in Proverbs. These words express what I felt in my heart...

"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to want." Proverbs 14:23

"Toil" means "to proceed with difficulty." Practicing good nutrition, pushing the plate away before I've eaten too much, planning balanced nutritious meals for my family, eating few calories and exercising more to burn off calories -- all of this is hard work. It's difficult to be consistent. I can do it for a day or two, but keeping up is toilsome. It's a lot easier to jot down some ideas in a blog every day than to keep on keeping on with weight management plans. So, this is the Bible verse I need to carry in my heart to remind me that it is the toil that leads to results. If the talk does not lead me to action, the talk is a waste of time!

The world today has so many distractions, we can hardly focus on one thing at a time. So many things demand our attention. Yet, what we set our minds on is so important. In Romans, Paul tells us that "The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Romans 8:7 (NIV)

Popular media, images from television, advertising messages, conversation of friends and family, everywhere we go, we are bombarded with messages to get our attention focused on cares of today, worldly goals, and fleshly desires. Yet, the Bible tells us that if our mind is focused on the flesh, it is not possible to submit to God's law. This reminds us to be careful with what we television images, what media messages, what information we allow into our minds. If we practice focusing on God and all that is good, our minds will be ready and able to submit to God's will.

If you are not in control of your eating, if it controls you, then you know how frustrating it is to be a slave to sin. But we do have a way of escape. Jesus can help us escape all traps of the devil, including the trap of appetite.

"...that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will" 2 Timothy 2:26

I find it interesting to note that we are told to come to our senses! The message is to pay attention to what we are doing. Be aware so that we can pray and through God's power escape from the trap.

More joy can be found in Jesus than anything we can turn to here on earth. His ways are not our ways, but using His armor, we can resist evil in this world, and learn to live according to His ways, which bring so much more joy than the things we turn to here on earth.

"The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes."
Psalm 19:8
Following God's plan for nourishing our bodies with good, healthy food brings joy to our hearts because we know we're doing something good for our health and our future and because it helps keep us walking with the Lord. If we're following His path, we're walking with Him, and there is no more joy than that.

As someone who eats to reduce stress, finding joy in the Lord is an important way for me to reduce stress instead of eating junk food. I found one of my WOW Christian music CDs yesterday that I hadn't listened to for a long time. It's the 1996 WOW CD. (WOW CDs come out each year and have the top Christian songs from that year.) On this CD is a perfect song to remind me to take my time on this earth and find my joy in the Lord. This song reminds us that we're going to heaven and we're only taking with us our family, our friends, and those things we can hold in our hearts.

Check this song out if you get a chance: Taking My Time, by Ashton, Becker, and Dente.

Where do you get strength when you're feeling weak? Nehemiah reminds us in Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Find joy in the Lord today so that you can be strong.

Where do you get strength when you're feeling weak? Nehemiah reminds us in Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Find joy in the Lord today so that you can be strong.

Since we need prayer to activate the power of God in our lives, I've been thinking it would be really great to have a prayer alarm. Too often, I reach the end of the day and look back and see right where I should have prayed in order to avoid pitfalls but didn't. How can it be that I know the importance of prayer, but when I'm in the middle of my day focusing on whatever it is I'm focusing on, I don't stop to pray?

Wouldn't it be great if there were a new invention, a buzzer that would go off whenever prayer is needed immediately? I wonder if I would tune out the buzzer, too. How can I remember to pray? I have asked God to help me remember to pray. I am sure He is doing His part, and I'm sure I'm not listening somehow. The key must be to simply slow down my life, slow down so I have time to listen.

Since we don't have prayer alarms, Isaiah 55:2-6 reminds us to simply stop, to listen to the Lord, to call on Him, for He is always near. If I am so busy that I haven' taken the time to acknowledge His presence, I need to stop and listen.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

Have you thought about some of the creative ways you can worship God? As Christians, we've grown up worshiping God through prayer, praise music, and going to church. But here's a new way to worship God that might surprise you--with your body.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Paul encourages us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. We should keep our bodies in good health, because it is pleasing to God. And why? Because of God's mercy for us. It's a way to honor and give Him glory. According to Paul, it's a spiritual act of worship.

How many times have you heard from a financial advisor that you should live within your means? If not a financial advisor, you may have heard this from your parents, or a friend, or even your spouse! A few weeks ago, my husband and I began co-leading a Crown Financial Ministries Bible study group. We are studying the Bible to learn how to handle money God's way, and this past week, the emphasis was on debt reduction.

My husband has a strong passion for financial stewardship, and I have an equal passion for stewardship with health. So, in the middle of our debt reduction discussion, I started thinking about all the excess fat around my middle in terms of debt. An energy debt. To pay off this energy debt, I need to budget the energy I take into my body, and I need to start paying off the interest with more exercise.

Think about how difficult it is once you have gotten into debt with credit cards and multiple loans to get out of debt. It's the same way with our energy budget.

All of those extra cookies I've eaten in my lifetime is similar to shopping on a credit card. Just as we plan to pay it off later, we plan to burn off the calories later.

My husband and I, just like everyone else in our Bible study group, completed a plan to reduce our debt and to pay it off. There's a simple equation. It starts by living within our means, but when paying off debt, we actually have to live below our means in order for some of that means to apply to the debt. While we're working on this, it's reminds me that I need to eat within my body's means. My poor body has means to burn and use a certain amount of fuel from my food. If I eat within my means, this means I won't have to carry the excess energy around in the form of a big fat energy debt!

Even though God's ways are not our ways, with God's help, we can walk in His ways. If we pray for the Holy Spirit, God will fill our heart with His Spirit, and we will be able to walk in God's ways. Here is God's promise to us if we do this:

"And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."
1 Kings 3:14

Please pray for me, as I am praying for each of you. My prayer is that we will walk in God's ways.

Please note: I will be taking a week off for spring break, so I will be back here again with all my friends and bloggers again on Sunday, March 19.

God has an answer to why it is hard to follow His ways.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." Isaiah 55:8

Sometimes, I wonder why it is so difficult for me to follow God's ways when it comes to health. I have managed to avoid sugar and sweets, but now I find myself indulging in bread and butter. It seems like if I'm not eating cookies, then I need butter in my diet. So, now I need to conquer my over indulgance of butter. But this Bible verse reminds me that God's ways are not my natural ways. Only through prayer will His Spirit fill my heart and lead me in His ways.

How are we to resist the temptation to overindulge our appetites? We are powerless to overcome, but God can rescue us from these powerful temptations.

"He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me." Psalm 18:17 (NIV)

We can enhance our health through exercise and nutrition, but we should also remember how our emotions impact health. Are you at peace with your place in life? Are you content with your personal blessings from God? If so, the peace you have found actually gives life to your body.

"A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)

If you are ever tempted to let envy grow in your heart, or to dwell on what you're missing out on, remember what it does to your bones!

If you are ever feeling defeated, if you ever feel like giving up because you have failed so many times, just remember God's grace is there to build you up.

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Acts 20:32

It is easy for me to be passionate about health, but it is not easy for me to be persistent in my plans. I find that for 23 hours out of any given day, I follow a healthy plan for life. Then for 1 hour out of 24, I don't. This is so frustrating, because if for only 1 hour, I indulge in junk food that turns itself into fat on my body, then the other 23 hours don't really count for much!

I found a terrific prayer in 2 Thessalonians.
"May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV)

Imagining that I'm not the only one who follows the 23 hours-a-day good diet plan and encounters problems during the other 1 hour, I will prayer for all of you and for me this week. Please join me in praying for each other. When it comes to walking the path of good health, I certainly could use more perseverance, and I need to practice persevering for 24 hours at a time.

Have you ever engaged in destruction behavior while at the same time being fully aware that you were not taking a wise course of action? Solomon has a Proverb for us women about destructive behavior:

"The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

Whether we are building up our bodies for good health, building up our families, our friendships, or our careers, this is a simple truth to remember. We can take steps to build up our houses (our lives, our homes, our relationships), or we can take steps that totally tear them down. These words of wisdom can be a powerful truth to add to our belts of truth as part of the armor of God.

The next time you find yourself about to take steps that would tear down anything in your life, think about what a wise woman would do.

Even though we know all about the armor of God, if we don't put it on every day, we won't see the results of God's power in our lives. So, how do we put on the armor of God? Prayer is the key. Prayer is what unlocks the power of the armor of God. Paul reminds us to pray all the time. Carrying around the armor without asking God to use the armor to fight our battles for us is ineffective. We need to put on God's armor through prayer and then continue praying throughout the day that He will use the armor and fight our battles for us.

In addition to prayer for God's power in our own lives, it is so important to lift each other up in prayer. Did you know that Jesus prayed a special prayer for you? He prayed for his disciples as well as those who would come to Him through the teaching of His disciples.

In his prayer to God about His disciples, Jesus said...
"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." John 17:13-26 (NIV)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

When I remind myself that I'm working for the Lord, no matter what I'm doing, I have more energy and enthusiasm to finish the task. I love working for the Lord because I know whatever I'm doing will have some meaningful value, whether big or small. I also know that when I'm working for the Lord, he sends his angels to help as well, so my efforts are always multiplied.

If any goal or task we are facing is not for God ultimately, then what point is it? This is why when I'm working toward my goal to maintain my weight (lose weight and keep it off), I love to remind myself that it's for the Lord. While I'm at it, I might as well be enthusiastic and dedicated. This will bring a lot of joy to the task.

This applies to our healthy lifestyle goals as well. We should work toward our weight loss goals, and any other goals, not half-heartedly, but with all of our hearts. If we're out walking for the Lord or turning down junk food for the Lord, these tasks always lose their drudgery. We can just feel good inside, because we are doing it for Him.