If You Can Eat Your Way Into Your Illness...

Walking with husband and grandson after church

“If you can eat your way into your illness, then you can eat your way out of it,” my boss said.  Her simple statement had a profound effect on me.  It seemed to reverberate throughout my very being.  

I work at a doctor's office. It was the physician assistant that made this profound statement to me and a coworker as we ate lunch. 

I need to lose weight.  I am what the medical community would consider morbidly obese.  My BMI (Body Mass Index) is greater than 39.  I know what that could possibly mean.  I stand a greater chance of developing diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, a stroke, cancer, arthritis and other diseases.

Here I am, believing God to be whole in my body the way that I am whole in my spirit.  I am born again.  I know that I am because I have believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth that God loved me so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die for my sins.  I am fully persuaded of this fact.  No one can convince me otherwise.  

On the other hand, my body is not whole.  It is sick.  It is morbidly obese.  I need to be made whole.  I have finally made the decision to lose my excess weight so that the diabetes that is knocking on my door will stop knocking and go away; the hypertension that has a foot inside my front door will back up and slip right back out; the arthritis that wants to curl up and go to sleep in my knees will no longer feel wanted and will run screaming in horror from my body.

I have been praying for the root cause of various diseases in my body to leave my body. I have confessed the Word of God concerning healing over my body for years.  I have even successfully lost a few pounds.  However, I have not maintained the weight loss.

Consider the Ant

Why consider the ant?  Because there are a few things we can learn from the ant. 

…..The ant is small yet wise.

…..The ant does not have a leader, supervisor or ruler yet she still manages to eat food in the summer.

….. The ant has the wisdom to know when it is harvest time.

…..At the time of the harvest, she knows she needs to gather her food.

What can we humans learn from one of God’s smallest creatures?

.....If I am lazy I can get wise by watching, studying and imitating the ant.

…..I do not need someone telling me what to do in order for me to be productive.  I have the innate ability to be productive.  Productivity is on the inside of me.

.....I need to know when it's time to eat and when it's harvest time.  In other words, I need to know the different seasons.

.....I need to work when it is time to work and eat when it is time to eat.

.....If I do not learn this lesson, poverty will be my constant companion and, I will always be in "want" mode.

.....Poverty and the constant "want" mode will rob me.

Scriptures for meditation: Proverbs 6:6-11

Where Ae The Prophets?

            God has set prophets in local churches to help guide and mature the saints. 

And He gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelist; and some, pastors and teachers;

        For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ,

        Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

        That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive.

Ephesians 4:11-14

But, where are they?  How has sin gained such a prominent place in the lives of the saints, in the lives of the pastors and church leadership?  Where are the prophets that see the sin coming and sound the alarm to that particular local body?

Prophets provide direction to local churches. They provide a biblical standard for the body of Christ. Where are the prophets that provide the righteous standard for their particular local body?  Are they in hiding? Are they running from their call?  Regardless of the answer, I CALL THEM OUT OF DARKNESS AND INTO THE LIGHT OF THEIR CALL, IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

What Do I See?

The Coming Confrontations Between Good and Evil

          I see coming confrontations between good and evil, between the powers of God and the powers of satan.  Men and women of God will stand up boldly and began to confront satan and his false doctrines and false teachings.  They will begin to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  These confrontations will take place both publicly and privately.  They will occur at meetings, at grocery stores, at churches and at schools.  They will occur anyplace and every place where people are located.

          The confrontations will be similar to the confrontations between Moses and the magicians of Egypt in the book of Exodus. Men and women of God will begin to boldly proclaim the Word of God.  This will anger satan and he will try to match God’s people word for word, vision for vision, miracle for miracle.  However, this will not be successful.  God will win. 

As His people boldly and courageously speak His Word, do what He says do and go where He says go, you will see courage rise up within them.  You will see signs following them as the Holy Spirit work with the people of God to confirm the Word of God. 

But, prior to this happening, God’s people must pray and seek the face of God. They must be gap standers, standing in the gap for their families, neighborhoods, cities, government leaders, church leaders and all that God lays on their hearts .  God’s people must take the time to pray and seek His face.  Then, He will hear from heaven and heal our land.  Intercession is the key.  (II Chronicles 7:14)

If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

How Does The Call of Ministry Come? Part 2

Nehemiah

(Nehemiah 1)

          Nehemiah’s call into ministry came a little differently than Noah’s.  Nehemiah was at work one day.  His friend, Hanani, and some of the other brethren, decided to pay him a visit.  As they talked, Nehemiah asked how things were going back home.  The report was not a good one.

And they said unto me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. (Nehemiah 1:3)

          When he heard the report from his friends, Nehemiah sat down and cried, his heart was so full.  He then fasted for a number of days.  As he fasted, he prayed to God. 

          Nehemiah’s prayer revealed one very powerful thing about him: he knew the Word of God and the God of the Word. 

          He began his prayer acknowledging Who God was and how great He was. In other words, Nehemiah worshipped God before he asked him for anything (verse 5).  He then confessed the sins of his people, the nation of Israel.  

Not only did he confess the sins of the nation of Israel, but he also confessed his own sins (verses 6-7).  He continued on by reminding God of what God had said to Moses (verses 8-9).  He reminded God that Israel was His and that He was their Redeemer (verse 10). 

          By the time he had finished fasting and praying, Nehemiah had received direction from God on what he was to do.  How do I know that? verse 11,

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.  For  I was the king’s cupbearer.  (verse 11)