Rather than give a detailed summary of what is in the TLT workbook today, I am going to flesh it out.
Three things in this lesson: 1.) Take captive every thought and let Christ be the judge of whether or not the thought should be allowed entrance into the mind and heart. If Christ says no, reject the thought…but this must be done to see if CHRIST wants the thought in there. I can either take the thought captive or be taken captive by the thought. The passage is 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.
2.) It isn’t enough to just reject negative thoughts. We must also embrace thoughts that are godly. This principle is found in Philippians 4:8. Do my thoughts (or what I am reading, watching, etc…) pass the “Philippians 4:8 Test?” The idea being I will only dwell on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy. When it comes to rejecting negative thoughts, we have to also have something positive to think about…God’s Word provides that.
3.) Philippians 4:9 takes it a step further. Whatever we know to do, we are to DO it. This connects with the previous lessons.
This three step process will enable us to not be taken captive by lustful or greedy thoughts about food when we aren’t hungry. Or to allow ourselves be beaten up by the enemy when he accuses us.
And this is what I want to hash out here today…
This is very hard for me. Only a week ago (it feels like forever…) I obeyed what I felt the Lord wanted me to do and put the scale away “forever.” But this came at the tail end of a fasting of sweets which was in response to my reaction to having given up diet soda drinking (which I drank verrrry excessively).
But rather than throwing other “must dos” at myself in response to removing aspartame from my life, I should have *processed* what was going on in me when I removed the diet coke. That would have been a grace-filled thing to do.
While the caffeine withdrawals likely took only a few short days to weather through, the psychological and spiritual withdrawals from diet soda were much more severe and intense. I found myself gravitating toward sweet foods again.
So I fasted sweet foods. While I fasted sweets for about 10 days, I was at such peace…but when I allowed them in my life again, I found that a “dieting mentality” had crept back into my mind and heart. Subtly, my thinking had shifted from “all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial…I will not be mastered by anything…” to THESE ARE NOT permissible! THIS IS NAUGHTY! I am BAD! Followed by desperately rebelling against that rigidity…
At the same time, I knew there was one more stronghold in my life…that of depending on the bathroom scale. So I decided to remove it from my life. Do you see the desperation? I was throwing band-aids everywhere. Likely what I needed to do was *process* the removal of a significant thing from my life…diet soda. I missed that.
All of this was taking on a lot emotionally at one time. (This sounds so whiny and ridiculous to me…) I am not sure all of this at the same time was from the Lord. Certainly, I think he would have wanted me to process what was going on in my reaction as I came off of nutrasweet. I deflected really doing that. Instead I treated symptoms…fasted sugar. Adding more angst and emotional baggage, perhaps, to things that needed to be brought before the throne of God.
Ok, so where does that leave me today?
Today I pulled out the scale. (The voice says “Another failure…”) It reflected what I knew to be true. My eating is off kilter. I didn’t need the scale to tell me that, but I began to feel like NOT having a man-made number to attach to it at this stage of my journey was to be in denial.
I share this with such struggle…the accusations of the enemy have come to fruition. He laughs with glee. The scale actually says SIX POUNDS up. I need to confess this here…by way of keeping a lid on pride and by way of accountability. Given my accountability reports to my accountability partner, there must also have been a LOT of deception going on too!
This is where today’s lesson really comes home, though.
My response to this man-made arbitrary number (and the rest that goes with it) is deep sadness. Truthfully, it isn’t the number alone that makes me sad. It is the truth that my greed and DECEPTION has put me in the place that it shows up so quickly on the scale.
The thoughts that are now bombarding me for entrance into my life are all the same voices that the enemy has thrown at me for a couple of years now… “See? You ARE a fraud!” “You may think you have everyone fooled, but WE know the truth! The scale is finally proving it!” “You *are* a glutton! You ARE forever going to be a fat person trying to pretend she is someone else!” “Admit it! Give it up! You are a fake!”
These are the thoughts that are demanding entrance this morning.
The bottom line is this…the TRUTHS in my life are: 1.) I have been eating more than my body needs to be sustained 2.) Most of my eating outside of my godly boundaries has been sweet foods 3.) My physical body is beginning to carry the excess energy (By the way…before I got on the scale I knew this from the way my jeans were fitting…just a bit more snug…I didn’t really need the number to tell me anything!)
These are the TRUTHS.
In addition the following are truths as well:
4.) God is still God. 5.) I am still the Lord’s 6.) He is STILL doing a NEW thing in me right now! 7.) That which He has begun he WILL complete — His Word promises!
Going back to the steps outlined in today’s lesson in The Lord’s Table, then, step one is to surrender my thoughts to obedience to Christ. In this case, I must recognize that all the things that the enemy is whispering in my ear…they are LIES. So I will take captive each thought and bring it to God. He says “No…REJECT IT.” I will reject the enemy’s lies.
Step 2 then is to submit my thoughts to the Philippians 4:8 test. What is TRUE is vital here…so the list above is what I will rehearse in my mind today. Especially items 4-7 and related thoughts.
However, the truth is also that I have work to do relative to this whole nutrasweet dependency. Just because it is out of my life doesn’t mean I don’t have issues to deal with. It reminds me of addiction…often when you take the substance that is being abused out of a person’s life, they maintain the same behaviors, but with a different substance. Thus, the true issues aren’t dealt with.
God wants to deal with the underlying issues that motivate me to grab a hold of whatever it may be. He wants me to grab a hold of him no matter what! The only “substance” that I am to lean on is HIM.
Then thirdly, if I follow the lesson in TLT, I will DO what I know is best and right. For me, this has to include some ways of fighting negative thoughts today. So here is my battle plan: 1.) Gratitude blog today…I will write in it later today, but practice gratitude throughout the day 2.) I will get out my spiral cards and keep them with me today…bible verses are on them. I will work on memorizing a new one and review old ones I have memorized. I will pray the scriptures on them 3.) I will continue to pray every 60 minutes to reconnect with God (Soul Revolution the 60-60 experiment) 4.) I will keep praise music playing 5.) I will spend some time prayer journaling today…
I do plan on attacking the deeper issues as soon as TLT study is completed. My accountability partner and I will be going through the Hallidays’ Get Thin Stay Thin book together. (This book used to be called Thin Again and before that it was called Silent Hunger. It is a challenging book that looks at the underlying causes of our overeating (and other things)…it is what I need right now, even though I went through it some years ago…).
If I have a thought of “You weigh _____! You are a FRAUD!” I will combat that with, “I am more than a conqueror in Christ. God IS doing a new thing in me! I perceive it! I will fix my eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of my faith…” and so on.
So…how about you? Do you have a battle of the mind going on today too? What can you do to apply these three things: 1.) Take captive thoughts to obedience to Christ? 2.) Submit your thinking, your doing, reading, watching to the Philippians 4:8 test? 3.) DO something that will be a response to what you KNOW? (Phil 4:9)?
I am one that typically doesn’t like to beat around the bush. It just never seems to serve any purpose but to massage away truth, so why do it?
Today’s lesson in The Lord’s Table workbook hits the nail on the head.
For the years that I carried 100 pounds of extra weight, I don’t think I would have been terribly receptive to the message shared in the lesson in TLT today. In fact, in spite of my being somewhat direct usually, I hesitate sharing it on the blog here. I know that many who come along to this blog will see this entry as their first exposure possibly to Thin Within…
Rather than having anything I post here be used to heap condemnation on the soft-hearted sojourner, I want to remain sensitive to the tender one who is earnestly seeking the Lord (possibly through tears…) about how to break free from habitual struggles with overeating and lethargy.
Someone reading this feels emprisoned in their body…she wants so desperately to break out. The last thing I want is for anything posted here to be used of the enemy to add yet more shackles of shame or guilt to the prison…The Lord has blown the door of the prision cell!
In a nutshell, a summary of today’s lesson in TLT workbook…
Those of us struggling with our weight often are dealing with…well, very specifically…with gluttony and laziness.
Ouch.
Gluttony and laziness are sins for which Jesus was crucified, and from which we can become completely free, by His grace. (TLT, p. 164)
I hope you hear the above message! YES, these are sins like many others (gossip, slander, stealing, drunkenness, etc)…but we can ALL be free! Jesus died for ALL sins and the shame of the sin as well. We can become completely, 100% FREE! Do you believe this? Do I?
In our society we don’t often hear this message that struggling with weight is *often* (not always) a result of gluttony and laziness. Instead, we consider the habits that lead us to being miserable in our bodies a “nuisance” or as if we are “victims” instead of sinful people all in need of a Savior.
But that is the point! We don’t need to feel beat up about this! Instead of being hammered into the ground as worthless and rotten (a lie from the pit of hell), we are esteemed so highly by the GOD of the UNIVERSE that He gave His Son so that we might experience victory over EVERYthing that plagues us and rise above all our earthly struggles!
This is GREAT news! Denying our state does nothing to help us. Calling it something else…an “addiction,” a “condition,” whatever…it doesn’t change us. Acknowledging that we are beggars in need of bread makes all the difference in the world. In humility, I can come to the Lord and receive the FEAST for my SOUL that He has provided through Jesus’ offering on the cross for me.
He died for me to be free from ALL sin! Oh, let him not die in vain!
Have you ever looked in the mirror–maybe first thing in the morning or, perhaps, on your way out from using the restroom–and seen some unsightly blemish or smudge or…well, whatever it may be…right there in the middle of your face?
I tend not to be one of those who uses make-up. It isn’t by way of a “godliness” thing for me, frankly. It is because I am quite lazy and quite active. It never seems to be worth it to primp to look good, only to go out and sweat myself back into my “natural” unkempt state! But I know that I am a bit unusual for a woman my age.
It seems like everywhere I go, from Sam’s Club to a fancy orchestra performance, women are looking in the mirror and stopping to “fix” whatever it is they see.
Can you imagine if one of them had a big smudge of dirt or something across their foreheads, they looked, saw it and just shrugged and headed off? Most women wouldn’t dream of doing that. Why would they bother to look in the mirror in the first place?
For years, I basically did this in a more extreme way. I tried to *avoid* looking in the mirror or in reflective glass so I would NOT see myself. Whenever I *did* get a look, I was shocked at the size of my body. I would quickly try–intentionally–to forget what I looked like. If I could do that, then, I defectively reasoned, I wouldn’t have to deal with the facts and all the implications.
This was no way to become healthy. This was denial in its purest, most dangerous form physically.
It is probably easy to read that admission of mine and to consider it rather stupid. After all, denying that it is true doesn’t mean it *isn’t* true. Pretty easy to see, right?
Yet, how often do I do that with the Word of God? James 1:21-25 says that if I read what is in the Word and don’t do what it says, I am exactlylike the person who looks in the mirror and then goes off forgetting what he has seen. I am just like I was when I would try to deny the truth of what was reflected back to me when I was so large…or if I go into the bathroom after working out in the forest, moving gravel, cutting up felled trees with my husband and fail to deal with the smudge of green gunk across my forehead.
How ridiculous is it to take time to be in the Word of God and yet not DO what it says? God’s Word is there to show me what I need to allow God’s grace at work in me to change. If I read the Word, then close the cover and head off to do my life, I am not only missing it, but I am likely feeding spiritual pride in a BIG way.
In fact, I have often taken great pride in all of my bible study experience. I have shelves and shelves of completed workbooks, Community Bible Study notebooks and have *even* written bible studies (are you impressed yet?). For years, I have loved to read God’s Word, to study it and memorize it. I will quote it copiously in my prayers and when speaking to Christian friends and when called to speak to women’s groups. (Ok, so NOW you simply MUST be impressed…right?)
Yet how often do I let it get through to where I live? I mean, how many bible studies do I NEED? How many more bible study blanks do I need to fill out on the subject of honoring God with my body before I DO IT?
It is a ruse, see? It is a way of being in denial. Of deflecting what is needed. If I can point to my “godly” knowledge of scripture, then maybe I don’t have to deal with the facts. It is the same thing as what I did when I pretended that I didn’t SEE the reflection that proved I was carrying 100 pounds of extra weight. Only it is much worse…
Jesus described it this way in Luke 6:47-49:
I will show you what he is like
who comes to me and hears my words
and puts them into practice.
He is like a man building a house,
who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.
When a flood came,
the torrent struck that house but could not shake it,
because it was well built.
But the one who hears my words
and does not put them into practice
is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.
The moment the torrent struck that house,
it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
This challenges me to my very soul. I want to be one who isn’t shaken during the floods and storms of life. I want to be one who doesn’t collapse when a torrent hits.
It requires humility to receive the Word. A test of humility is seen in if I will obey what I have been shown already. Will I DO what the Lord has shown me? If I don’t DO what the Lord has shown me, then adding yet more “study” of God’s Word to my life is not feeding my soul at all…but merely feeding my pride.
Yesterday’s study was on feeding the soul by spending time in God’s Word, but today’s lesson connects with that one by pointing out so well that my soul is only fed…truly fed…if I not only take in God’s Word, but DO it. I mean, even JESUS said that his food was to do the will of the Father!
James 1:22 says if I only listen to the word and don’t DO it, I DELUDE myself. This journey I am on with the Lord is one about welcoming the infusion of TRUTH into my life. I try my best to expose the Deceiver and his wiles when they appear. I know one of his tactics is to try to delude me. Why would I want to cooperate with his schemes by deluding myself?
Lord, help me to quit pursuing more “feel good” things from your Word at the expense of all that you want to do in my life to make me more like Jesus. I think sometimes I go to your Word looking for it to massage my sin rather than to expose and eradicate my sin. I misapply “grace” and use it as a “cuddle blanket” or something to make me feel better about myself when you have chosen that your Word will teach, rebuke, correct and train me in righteousness. You have said that this same grace that brings salvation teaches me to say NO to ungodliness and to change the way I live. Lord, I want to not merely be a hearer of your Word, but a doer as well. Work in me the humility of heart, Lord. Keep me from denying what is in my life…help me to welcome your work. Hebrews 4 says that the Word of God For the word of God is living and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. That can be pretty painful at times, Lord. Help me to welcome this penetrating look straight into the mirror of your Word, Lord. You have promised that if I look intently into the perfect law–your Word that gives freedom–and that if I continue to do this, not forgetting what I have heard, but do it—I will be blessed in what I do. Lord, that is what I desire…to be shaped and formed by your Word. Transform me. Renwe me. Remake me. Let me not leave my time quiet with you in the morning without a commitment to do what you have laid on my heart to do. I look forward to the freedom that comes from this and the blessing you promise. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The lesson today brought to the forefront that we should make it our priority each morning to come to God’s Word first and foremost to obtain happiness in the Lord…not to let go of His Word until we experience His deep nourishment in our souls.
This isn’t to be done so that we can share with others or have an idea of what to say to them or to get input about ministry. This is done merely to feed our souls.
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. – Psalm 63:1-8
When I gave up aspartame–the artificial flavoring that makes diet sodas taste so good–it was as if I had taken the lid off of Pandora’s Box…out came reality! I discovered that I had never dealt with an “issue” of mine…even through the year of steady weight release and the subsequent year of maintaining my new weight. I had a “thing” –a BIG THING– for sweets!
By the time I finally obeyed the Lord in this, I could guzzle down a 12-pack of diet cherry Pepsi easily in a day. And come up for air only to look around for more!
So, when I finally responded to God asking me to release this to him, I found myself rebounding back toward sweet foods…and realized that I had to do something…and fast!…or I would gain weight in a hurry! Not only that, but I could see that this was an area of BIG bondage for me! I was in captivity!
This, in a nutshell is where the idea to fast sweets for a short season came from.
In retrospect,this had a good affect…but also there has been a detriment. I am trying to figure it out now. While I was fasting sweets for about 10 days, I was at peace. I didn’t feel deprived or ripped off. It was wonderful. Of course, I knew the fast would end and I would then, I assumed, be “normal.” HA!
After the fast ended, I went bonkers. Nuts. Insane. Inhaling sweet foods like there was no tomorrow.
Ok…I have to get a hold of myself again. Lord? What do you want? Moderation in all things, right?
Yet this struggle has continued. A little stress entered my life yesterday and I found myself going nuclear in the kitchen finding all manner of holiday treats to toss in my mouth (not to mention that Michaela has been baking up a storm! EEEK! Someone SAVE ME!).
I know that nothing is wrong with sweet foods. I know that all things are permissible, but for me, there is a problem.
Thing is, yesterday, I found myself back into a dieting mentality mode that I hadn’t experienced in a LONG time. I was thinking of sweet foods as “bad” again…and given how I am prone to be a rebel…that was all I needed to want them all the more.
I know this isn’t what God wants. As my accountability partner said, I seemed to be at peace so much during the 10 days I didn’t have any sweet foods. I would like to be at peace with moderation of all things in my life. I would like to not have to make things “taboo” in order to manage them.
I have been debating about whether to fast sweet foods again or not…and to extend that fast longer…or not…and I must admit…after what I have seen as a shift in my thinking over the past few days, I fear doing that! I know the Lord will lead me…but this is ridiculous! When I first began walking this path faithfully in November of 2006, I didn’t feel this way about sweet foods. I could handle them in moderation. It was not a big deal. So what has happened? Well, eliminating diet sodas has! And presto! I am in kindergarten again!
The lesson in The Lord’s Table workbook this morning reminded me that food and drink are designed by God to point to Christ. Colossians 2:13-17 is the text used.
When I think about this…it is profound. My fixation, my desire, my longing for sweet foods…if I consider the sweet foods as only a shadow and Christ the reality, then all that I look to cookies, candy, ice cream (gosh, this is embarassing…you would think I could grow up!) to do for me…Christ is the reality. Those foods are merely shadows.
So when the stress hit me yesterday, I was feasting on shadows…trying somehow to quell the tide of fear and anxiety. Yet the fear and anxiety and stress remained…well, of course! I was feasting on the shadow. Scriptures SAY that JESUS is the reality. Had I turned to HIM with such eagerness, HE would have whispered “Peace be still” to the storm and totally satisfied my heart which was in an uproar.
If I longed for CHRIST as I long for sweet foods, if I ran to HIM as I have been running to sweet foods…I would experience the reality satisfying my yearning, rather than the shadow only making my longing so much greater.
If food and drink are shadows of Christ, why be consumed with the shadow? Why not enjoy the reality that they respresent? (TLT, p. 154)
A couple of years after Michaela was born (I think this was about 1996), I had a serious flirtation with being a distance runner. I had never been a runner and because of some health problems that had derailed my obsessive fitness craze, I wanted to return to something just as obsessive (I guess) but without being able to compare my current “performance” with a previous one. Running was safe since I had never had even the remotest interest in being a runner.
During my flirtation with running, I learned a great deal about the Christian life–God used my training runs to teach me so much and when I finally ran the San Francisco Marathon, I took a little booklet with me that I had made ahead of time. Each page represented a mile. I had written down quotes, verses, and people to pray for on each page…so for that mile, I would use those cues to help me focus on something other than how miserable I was 🙂 and when I passed the mile marker, I would tear the corner off the page. It was an absolutely wonderful growing, learning experience.
I can fear starting things because of hating to “fail,” so even crossing the marathon starting line was a HUGE victory! The fact that I finished the marathon at all, made me the winner from where I sat! (Even if it was after everyone else had gone home! LOL!)
When I began training, I couldn’t wear my old tennies and sweats. Instead, I wore the lightest possible clothing that would do the job. The shoes had to be supportive, but light–well made as we were going to be running 100s of miles in preparation for the marathon.
Once I got into running, I would never have imagined putting the old clothes back on for an 18 mile training run…they were too heavy and floppy and would hold me back from being the best I could possibly be.
Likewise, these scriptures teach us to throw off sin and anything that entangles. ANYthing that could hold us back from being the best that the Lord wants us to be in this course called life.
Once I got to San Francisco, I would never have dreamed of trying to tackle the sometimes hilly marathon course with a backpack filled with books on my back, for instance. There are some things, that while not sin, are going to hold me back.
I am called to throw off all of it. Anything that even hinders me. This is one reason why I have chosen not to drink nutrasweet any more. I could see that it was hindering me. Also, this is why I have chosen to get rid of the bathroom scale…while not “sin,” it was a hindrance. I had to throw these things off!
Anyone who runs a race must not only throw off all excess weight and avoid anything that encumbers, but they must also have a well-defined goal. (TLT, p. 151)
What I fix my eyes, my hopes, my heart on…that will affect how well I run, how I persevere.
If a thought came into my mind to top off my dinner with a large milk shake I would obey the thought. I was literally a slave to my cravings. But now I am instructed to turn things around, to make my body my slave. In other words, I am to master my cravings, and make my body subservient to my spiritual desires to honor the Lord in all things. (TLT, p. 151)
Focusing our lives on Jesus will enable us to throw off all excess weight and anything that hinders, keep us from becoming entangled in sin, help us to exercise self-control in all things, enable us to discipline our bodies and make them our slaves. This is the heart of the matter, fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ. (TLT, p. 151) The antidote to growing weary and losing heart is to look to Jesus, to consider Him, to focus upon Him and follow Him. If we consider Jesus Christ we will see that He did everything in His life on earth from a motivation to glorify God, and we are reminded to have the same motive. As we focus on Him we will see the One who endured hostility and opposition, yet pressed on, not turning back or giving in, and we are challenged to press on. As we contemplate Christ, we see Him endure suffering in His flesh to the point of shedding His blood for our sins, and we are reminded to endure, to persist, to persevere. This is the value of looking to Jesus. This is the importance of focusing on Him. If we look to Him, we cannot grow weary or lose heart and give up. (TLT, p. 151)
I want to finish this race. And I know that the only way I can finish strong is by focusing on Jesus, the one who is my example. He inspires and motivates me. When I consider all He has done for me, it seems crazy that I would not let go of some bites of food, or set aside something that hangs me up…for Him. He is so worthy.
The thing about blabbing to the world via a blog or Facebook or the Thin Within forums, is that the “world” may be watching to see what happens next. I have this very real sense…arrogant and erroneous as it may be…that the peanut gallery awaits, wondering how I did with my self-required fasting of sweets through Christmas Eve and…well…now what?
So here is my “report.” (Sound of the “tooting of own horn” may be heard in the background…)
Through Christmas Eve, I did “well.” Not perfectly, but almost completely without sweets. I did feel like I lived up to my promise to the Lord pretty well. (More tooting of own horn…)
…SPLAT!!!!!!….
Pride comes before a fall. So the sound you just heard (following the “tooting of own horn”) is that of a face plant…yes, my own…firmly…
Had you seen me yesterday, you would have thought that I was a raving lunatic…anything and everything that had any sugar content in it at all was eagerly “inhaled” outside of appropriate boundaries. I was a crazed person. I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t feel insane…but my actions betray my mental capacity at the time…Scratch that. I can’t blame it on being “insane” or a deficient mental capacity. I knew exactly what I was doing. And I had an “in your face” prideful attitude about it toward God and anyone who would dare to cast a “knowing” look my way at all!
No, I don’t feel like it was a “deprivation” reaction at all. I felt no deprivation through the 10 days (or so) that I fasted sweets. I felt peace and joy.
I think it was, simply, PRIDE.
Today’s lesson in The Lord’s Table workbook is called “Key to Victory–Ongoing Humility.”
This is one of the things that I have found to be VERY true, in fact, on this journey to release weight, to release attitudes that don’t honor the Lord, and to continue to grow in Him in a way that enables me to honor him with my eating, drinking…and, well, LIFE! If I don’t obtain and maintain and attitude of humility, all is lost for that moment, that hour, that day…
That is what happened to me yesterday.
I share this by way of confession.
Pride causes my guard to be down. I end up “trusting myself” that I can “handle it.” Combine that with an attitude of “God you are so blessed that I would honor you with my life! I have just really impressed you, haven’t I!”
Then, I minimize eating anything at all outside of 0 and 5…and in my case, God has shown me clearly that this is an attitude of pride. (Well, duh…one doesn’t need to be brilliant to see that!)
Once pride is allowed to grow unhindered in any moment at all, it goes nuts like the blackberry brambles I wrote about last summer…it takes over. Like it did for me yesterday until I was literally inhaling all the sugar that was in the house…and that at my relatives’, too. Homemade chocolate truffles, apple pie, peanut butter cup ice cream, lemon bars, homemade cinnamon rolls, Sees candy…and on and on it seems to go. Can you believe it?
So this lesson this morning in TLT workbook, really came home to me. I know this is truth. I have experienced it over the last 2 years and I saw it up close and personal yesterday.
Now we understand what we did wrong, and we get back on our knees (the Christian’s fighting position), humble ourselves before the Lord and ask Him once again for forgiveness and grace. We see how bankrupt we are in ourselves, how needy we are of the Lord, and how dependent we are on Him to win this battle… Right here, in this position, is where we will win this battle. Right here, in the presence of Almighty God, with our hearts bowed in submission to Him, with the stark realization that we can do nothing apart from Him, is where the flesh loses all its power and where we gain true spiritual strength to mortify the members of our body which are on the earth (Romans 8:13). This attitude of “Help me God lest I perish” and “Give me Jesus or I’ll spin out of control” is the attitude that will win this battle for a lifetime. (TLT, p. 146-147)
The lesson goes on to describe how one can foster an attitude of humility. This is a great lesson–one of the best in the workbook.
What are ways I will proceed to foster an attitude of humility?
1.) Be sure to begin the day with focused time with the Lord, recommitting myself to His Lordship, taking in His Word, inviting the conviction of the Spirit, time of prayer.
2.) Practicing gratitude through my gratitude blog – It is impossible for pride to continue when I praise God for what He has done and is doing in my life.
3.) For a while, I will choose to add an additional focused time with the Lord in my life…even if it is just 10 minutes…in the mid-afternoon. I begin the day with a posture of humility and then by mid-day I operate as a practical atheist 🙁 acting independently of the Lord and His will.
4.) I will continue to use the 60-60 experiment from Soul Revolution to reconnect with God each hour. I will choose to stop whatever I am doing and intentionally recommit to the Lord’s authority in my life, stating affirmations such as, “Lord, I acknowledge you are the potter and I am the clay. I choose YOUR will in this moment.”
5.) I may need to build a weekly fasting day into my life…or every so often anyhow. I know that a single day fasting of food altogether is something God has used powerfully in my life in the past…not for the purpose of weight loss…or maintenance, but for prayer, to help me be dependent on him. When I am hungry, I sense better than ever that I am at his mercy and have such great need of him. The spiritual fruit from a day spent that way seems to go on.
Lord, I confess that my pride got me into trouble yesterday. I thank you for your forgiveness. In my arrogance, I strutted around, patting myself on the back for having “fasted sweets” for a period of time…Lord, I know that even wanting to do that was your doing in my life. Your strength and power enabled me to do so…it had nothing to do with anything in myself. Yet I allowed myself to consider defective, faulty thoughts of self-glorification. It got me into trouble and my heart was revealed for what it was. I am so thankful for grace, Lord. I resolve to live differently today. I affirm that you are the potter, I am the clay. Have your way with me, Lord. Not my will, but thine be done.
Under our Christmas tree right now are gifts…not many this year, but one each for our two kids. In an hour or so, they will get up. Imagine if the kids got up, looked at the gifts under the tree, shrugged their shoulders and then went on about some *other* business and never “bothered” to open or to receive the gift!
Or imagine maybe they do get that far…they open their specially chosen gift and their eyes light up and then don’t believe it is for them, set it down and never touch it, never use it, never appropriate it.
Their father and I would be so disappointed, certainly.
I wonder if many of us are caught in this very thing where the gifts of God are concerned–especially THE gift. Jesus said he came that we might experience and have as OURS…”abundant life!” Are you experiencing the joy of that gift daily? Am I? He came that we might have our wounds bound up and be set free. Are we experiencing the thrill of these gifts daily?
Christmas is about so much more than a baby in a manger. That baby in a manger is a powerful story.
The Apostle John told the “Christmas” story like this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word waswith God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5,10-14)
If we choose to embrace this gift from God, we, experience the freedom he came to give to us. As we partake of this freedom, our lives our radically transformed…slowly, perhaps, but when we really BELIEVE what He says is true–that we are free, that we are forgiven, that all is paid for, that we are His children, that we are more than conquerors–when we appropriate the gift that he has given, there is spiritual health that flows through us.
He condescended from his throne in heaven, not merely to be remembered as a baby at Christmas time. He came to set you free. He has done so. It is a gift extended. Will you take His gift…and if you have received his gift, will you open it and appropriate it? It is yours. Believe it, use it, enjoy it, relish it! LIVE!
Here in California, we are often referred to as being “fruity” and “nutty.” It comes with the territory, I guess. I mean, no offense to Arnold Schwarzenegger fans, but only in California could we elect “The Terminator” or “The Predator” to be our governor! Well, it does seem a bit extreme. I know…he has been governor for almost six years, but I still can’t get used to it. It just seems to justify the stereotypes that people have of Californians. Fruits and nuts. Yep…that’s us.
What does California’s governor have to do with The Lord’s Table? LOL! Well, in this lesson, the author, Mike Cleveland, draws attention to scriptures that challenge and encourage the participant to be aware that God calls us to bear much fruit–and not the California kind either!
…the thought that we want to convey today is the need to turn our focus away from ourselves and begin to look for those we can help… (TLT, p. 140)
Referencing 2 Timothy 2:21, Mr. Cleveland says purity and freedom precede useful ministry. (TLT, p. 141)
Yet he also cautions that we not make exuses to keep us from obeying the mandate of scripture (found in John 15 and elsewhere) that we are to bear much fruit. It is so easy to say “I am not there yet, I can’t possibly minister to others.” Or “I have to be busy at work to get my act together first. I don’t have time or energy to help others until I have been victorious…” There may be some shred of truth to this, but at the same time, this myopia can keep us so inwardly focused that we miss that God is glorified when we bear fruit. He has called us to get on with bearing fruit for His Name’s sake!
Before I ever had much “success” with Thin Within, God called the things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17)…and invited me to take Judy and Arthur Halliday’s Thin Within workshop material and put it into a book form…He called me to link arms with these two precious folks to bring about the book that you now can see as Thin Within. His call made NO earthly sense at all! Yet he called and said it would be. He wove our hearts and joined us for an amazing experience (for me, certainly).
Had I allowed my self-doubt to disqualify me from this call, I shudder to think of what I would have missed out on!
God calls us to be others centered, to be ministry minded. You may not feel free right this moment, but He IS DOING A NEW THING IN YOU! Isaiah 43:18-19 proves it!
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
God IS doing a new thing in you right now!
Having lived most of my life in an overweight body, I know how easy it is to let our “condition” keep us from reaching out, from being “up front,” to hide behind closed doors. We fear ridicule and people can be SO cruel.
But picture this…Jesus extends his hand to you. RIGHT now. RIGHT where you find yourself. He reaches for you to take your hand in his. A tender smile is on his face and unconditional love is in his eyes. He welcomes you to cast all shame aside, to take his hand and let him lift you up into what he is doing–HIS story. He invites you to participate with him in reaping fruit for eternity. By this is the father glorified! That you bear MUCH fruit! (John 15)
