Alright, no takers? Ok, then let’s do the Grapefruit diet. We get to drink a lot of grapefruit juice and even have tomato juice for our one snack of the day. YUMMY! We do this for 12 days and then we take a break for two and then we get to start drinking that grapefruit juice again. This one will definitely work. You can never have too much grapefruit juice.
Really? You don’t want to try that one either? Ok, well, what about the Live-It? You put Christ first in everything you do. You lose weight, you have more energy, you are happier and you get to walk closer with God. All you have to do is open your heart to Holy Spirit and He will guide you all the way. Now this sounds like a diet I can live with.
Why doesn’t God give us instant gratification through weight loss? To answer this question, I thought back to our study on perseverance. I’d like to quote The Message, Romans 5:1-5;
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
So God wants us to become better people and live out His will. But to do this we must first open our hearts to what God’s will really is.
This leads us to our memory verse for the week, Romans 12:2. Let’s look at five different versions of this verse.
NIV :
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The Message:
Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
The New Testament in Modern English:
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould but let God remake you so that your whole attitude is changed. Thus you will prove in practice that the will of God is good, acceptable to Him and perfect.
NLT:
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
New International Reader’s Version:
Don't live any longer the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect.
Each one of these versions taught me something different. The NIV version tells me to test God’s will, try it out and see what I think. The Message tells me to think about what the world does to me. Be aware of the immaturity it brings. The New Testament in Modern English asks me not to fit into the world’s mould and the NLT says let God transform me into a new person. The New International Reader’s Version points out the fact that I will agree with God’s will. All these versions let us know that God’s will is what is good for us. God’s will is perfect!
Forget all the faulty ideas you may have about diet and exercise. Follow the new diet and exercise plan. Here are the rules.
1. Pray whenever you feel weak.
2. Do a Bible Study atleast once daily. Open your heart and mind and allow
yourself to be transformed.
3. Walk with God. (You’ll burn the most calories when He’s holding your hand.)
4. “Live on every word from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
5. When you are tempted, ask God to show you the way out.
6. **Remember you can’t hide your guilt from God. Ask for His help.
7. Obey God’s commands.
8. Believe and your prayers will be answered.
9. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
10. Persevere!! Don’t give up.
2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
James 1:2-4, The Message
Let us pray.
"Lord, I know You are with us today in all our adversities, our struggles and pain. You have said: "Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened unto you." Today, dear Lord, we ask, we seek and we knock. Help us now to be able to hand it all over to You and to accept the outcome. Not my will be done but Thine." Amen
I bought a refrigerator that made an "oink" sound everytime I opened it...made me hungry for pork chops. : (
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