Food for Thought

When we bring a healthy dish to an event or party or serve dinner for friends...why do we feel the need to explain ourselves and warn everyone that what we will be serving or bringing will be "healthy"? Shouldn't we all regard our bodies as a gift from God? The Bible says our bodies are NOT our own. We don't get to do whatever we want whenever we want. Jesus gave it all so we could be free....but we don't use our freedom to destroy our freedom. We don't indulge in the daily lusts of the flesh and live without discipline, only to destroy our health and then chase our symptoms with medications and surgery. For me, fueling my body with real food is just a way of life. It's not a diet. I'm not obsessed with my body. I eat to fuel my temple so that I can feel well, love people well and do my Calling with joy & passion! I live a disciplined life (not perfect life), not giving in to my flesh with every craving and desire, so that I am constantly training yielding to the Spirit, not my flesh. I want to be a good example of God's Word in word AND action. 1 Corinthians 9:27 "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
The reality is, when I'm (we're) not eating well & not feeling well, I'm (we're) short-tempered, lethargic, critical, cranky, foggy and operating in less joy & kindness. Many are medicated. We have less to give. We are setting a bad example for the next generation or the people we are entrusted to lead. We are quenching the Spirit. Of course it is OK to find pleasure in food, but we do not abuse the privilege of food. REAL FOOD is delicious!! REAL FOOD is medicine and life. DEAD FOOD & FAKE FOOD are slow death, inflammation & chronic illness. Real food is energy (coffee is a stimulant, not energy). We are not only selling ourselves short and suffering unnecessary consequences, but selling the Body of Christ and our families short. I believe God has a great exchange He wants to make with us when we are willing to lay down the "lusts of the flesh". Of all the changes I needed to make in my diet/lifestyle for my health to be restored over the years, God has given me far more in Heavenly rewards! I am not "missing out." I love food... REAL FOOD. But it is not my God. 

When we're around people who care nothing about what they put into their bodies, do they feel the need to explain and warn that everything that will be served will be genetically modified, loaded with sugar, preservatives, gluten, soy, dairy, food dyes, pesticides, and other unknown chemicals labeled as "food." NO. Don't be stumbled by another's lack of discipline. Turn the tables. Just eat/bring your healthy dishes to parties. Don't be a food snob. Don't make a scene. Don't shame others. Don't mock those who are not sharing the same convictions. Rather...YOU be the pioneer. YOU be the encourager. YOU be the (gracious) Leader. YOU be the example of discipline and self-control. YOU be the example of health and transformation. Show excitement about how delicious it is, what you're learning and how your body, heart and mind are changing! Eat. Enjoy seconds (or thirds!). Stop complaining. Stop "dieting". Stop jumping on the next "lose weight fast" bandwagon. Stop counting calories. It's fleeting! Just eat real food. If God leads, get help. If you're on a specific plan with me because you're on the road to recovery, focus on what you CAN EAT, not what you are fasting from. Be free. Lean on the Lord for strength and perseverance.
If someone is offended that you won't eat "their food" yet God has put a conviction on YOUR heart to start walking in discipline and caring for YOUR temple so YOU can serve long and well... then THEIR OFFENSE is THEIR STUFF. You please God, not man. Always exercise grace and receive God's grace when YOU slip. Likewise, exercise boundaries, discipline and discernment. I hear of so many people compromising in the arena of (food & drink) discipline because of people-pleasing or "lusts of the flesh". Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. REST in God's power. Stop striving. Stop worrying. Stop. Rest. Breathe. Ask God for a fresh filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit. Walk in power. One day at a time. Ask HIM what the first step is. Do not obsess over food or your body. Learn to see it as a gift, the temple where God resides and the vessel by which you get to be an example of Jesus to a broken world... YOU....the ONLY BIBLE that many will ever read. What we do with our body matters!! What we feed it matters. How we love and live matters. We live in a gluttonous culture. The majority of people (yes, MANY Christians...) indulge in the flesh, especially when it comes to food and drink... and our health care system, our health globally, our children, our marriages, and The Body of Christ are suffering as a result. WE can be the change. Stop living to eat and EAT TO LIVE. Devour God's Word more than you devour anything else. Nothing is sweeter than Jesus.

Today is a new day. REST in His grace!! ​