Happy Monday!
We are about to wrap up another month and we are marching along in our weekly group with the Food Essential. I always love the genuine interest and input from everyone as we share in so many ways!
One of the really big things in The Daniel Plan is bringing together ALL the elements of our lives. Thus, the five Essentials. Each and every one plays a critical part in our lives and how we feel, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Faith, Food, Focus, Fitness and Friends. We live and breathe each one, every day!
I like this article because it pretty well covers them all. For me, the fifth paragraph describes my daily struggle pretty well. I give everything to God pretty regularly. Unfortunately, I am really good about having it crawl right back off of the alter and back onto my shoulders. My shoulders aren’t that strong and they were never meant to be. They were never meant to be because God WANTS to carry our burdens for us. He wants to help us, heal us, comfort us and love us. But – we have to allow Him to.
How about you? Are your shoulders feeling weighed down? Is your body feeling worn out? After you read the article, ask yourself what changes can you make to improve physically, emotionally and spiritually. When you do, start working on implementing those changes into your life. You will feel much better for it!
Pray Unceasingly!!
In His light,
Lois
Staying Fit Is a Way to Worship
Rick Warren
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1 NIV).
For change to happen in any area of your life—whether it’s financial, vocational, educational, mental, or relational—you have to begin with the physical.
Why? Because your body affects your behavior. Your muscles affect your moods and your motivation. Your physiology can actually affect your psychology.
Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (NIV).
The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can choose to crawl off the altar. We do this all the time. We offer ourselves to God, and then we take ourselves back. This is not a once-and-for-all offer. You’ve got to do it four, five, or maybe even 10 times a day!
So what is your “true and proper worship”? Here are three things you can do with your body that the Bible says are acts of worship:
Cleanse your body. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (NIV). You cleanse your body by controlling what you allow into your mind through what you watch and listen to and into your body by what you eat and drink.
Care for your body. Ephesians 5:29 says, “No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church” (NLT). Keeping your body in shape is an act of worship to God.
Control your body. “Each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable” (1 Thessalonians 4:4 NIV). Control your body so that it doesn’t control you. There is no reason to say, “I couldn’t help myself!”
No matter what kind of change you want to make in your life, it will require energy. To have the energy to meet your goals, change has to start with your body.