Christian Living

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Hebrew 12:1

For, naked, we came into this world, and naked we shall return. It’s good to have good things in life; God desires for us to have the very best, but He doesn’t want anything to hinder us from entering into Heaven. He doesn’t want all these worldly possessions, we gain as we go through life, to get in the way of us serving Him and giving all our attention and praise to Him; for, the word of God says that He is a jealous God. “For, what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” If there is something in your life that’s doing you no spiritual good, you need to cast it aside. Get rid of it because it’s weight. You need to go on a Spiritual Diet. It seems nowadays, everybody is focused on losing weight. They have all kinds of diets out, diet pills, meal plans, and all kinds of exercises to help you tone up, lose the excess weight and keep it off. I’m sure some of you have been like I have been, when I’ve gone to the doctor, and she has emphasized to me the fact that I need to lose some of the weight because the weight is somehow causing my body not to function properly. Maybe, your doctor has told you that your eating habits are causing you to gain weight as well as inherit certain illnesses, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, which may cause your heart to fail or even a stroke. Maybe, the weight makes it difficult for you to walk as you should because your body is just not built to carry the excess weight, causing you to have aching bones and joints, or even an aching back. Whatever your situation may be, the weight is a hindrance to your living a long, prosperous, productive, healthy, and happy life.

Now, spiritual weight is the same way. If you have some spiritual fat called sin that is weighing you down, it’s hindering you from living a long, prosperous, productive, healthy, and happy spiritual life. You can’t walk and talk like you need to. God can’t use you like He really wants and needs to use you. There’s just a whole lot of stuff in the way. I just want to give you a diet plan today to help you get rid of all that excess fat from your spiritual life and to help you maintain a healthy weight that will help you on this journey we call life. I want to encourage you to lay aside every weight; just lose the weight.

If you would notice, all physical diets have a set plan that you must follow and encourages you not to cheat to obtain your average weight. Well, this particular plan is set, whereas, you can lose the weight and keep it off, but you can’t cheat. Just as it shows when you cheat on your physical diet, it will show when you cheat on your spiritual diet in the way you walk, the way you talk, the songs you sing, the way you treat others, the people you hang around, and all other kinds of ways. It will show. Just like you can’t fool the body; you can’t fool God. He sees all and knows all.

Let’s begin by assessing your eating habits and what you’ve been taking in, and comparing it with what you should and should not take in. You may be taking in quite a bit of junk food daily, such as lying, cheating, back-biting, fornication, adultery, lewdness, idolatry (worshipping your house, your cars, your job, your children, your husband or your wife), sorcery (going to the root doctor), hatred, contentions (competing against others), jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension (arguing over opinions or beliefs), heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, stealing, and unforgiveness. All this is junk food, which causes you to be weighed down. You’ve got to kick that clean out of your daily consumption. You know what junk food does to your physical body. It makes you gain weight because it’s full of empty calories and has no nutritional value. All diet plans tell you to stay away from junk food; and that’s what you’ve got to do on your spiritual diet; stay away from junk food because it does nothing good for your soul. Now, you’ve got to replace that junk food with some good and healthy spiritual food, like the Fruit of the Spirit. Every good diet tells you that fruit is good for you. In the daily meal plans, it tells you that you need fruit daily. It’s good for you, so let’s take in the Fruit of the Spirit, which includes love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By loving in spite of, counting all things as joy, creating peace instead of confusion, and just being more like Christ. This should take away about 25% of that excess weight.

You should also take in your daily serving of the Bread of Life, which comes from the Bread of Heaven, by reading your Bible every day and praying and seeking wisdom, knowledge and understanding. If you would notice, when your physical body takes in bread, you tend to get full quicker. A lot of people try to stay away from bread saying it’s fattening, but bread keeps you from overeating and craving junk food. You need bread to fill you up physically, and in the spiritual realm, you need the Bread of Life to fill you up because you don’t ever want to fall on empty because you are then more vulnerable to eat junk food. The devil is more apt to tempt you. So, take in as much of the Bread of Life as you can on a daily basis. This will decrease your excess weight by an additional 25%.

Now, what are you drinking? You should only drink something that is pure and cleansing; so, I recommend 8 ounces of the Living Water each day to cleanse you of all your impurities, such as those habits that you can’t seem to break, and those friends you can’t seem to forsake; for the Spirit of God does not dwell in unclean places. If you would notice in your physical diet, you are encouraged to drink as much water as you can because it flushes your body and cleans out your system. You’ve got to be clean and pure for God to enter the tabernacle of your soul. Now, this should eliminate another 25% of the excess weight that’s dragging you down because just one taste of the Living Water will quench your thirst forever; for, whoever drinks of the water that God gives him will never thirst. You won’t thirst for anything else once you’ve had a taste of the Living Water.

Now you know what you can and cannot eat and drink, it’s time to get an exercise plan. Let’s begin by being like Daniel and begin with three deep-knee-bends daily, increasing as necessary. You should bend your knees once in the morning; once in the noon day hour, and once at night. You should bend your knees in prayer in season and out of season. You should bend your knees in prayer when your burdens seem to be more than you can bear. You should bend your knees in prayer when you’re tempted to reach back and pick up some of that junk food. You should bend your knees in prayer when you’re tempted to pick up those old habits that the Living Water has cleansed you of. You should bend your knees in prayer when the Bread of Life doesn’t seem to be filling you up, crying out to God, “Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, feed me until I want no more.”

You should do your daily pull-ups, instead of push-ups. When the weight of the world seems to be weighing you down, pull yourself up a level higher by fasting and prayer. When you get weak and fall down, pull yourself up by grabbing a hold of God’s hand through prayer and faith. When your enemies come and kick the ladder of success from under you, don’t stay on the ground; pull yourself up on God’s promises; for, He said He would make your enemies your footstool; He would never leave you nor forsake you; and He would be with you always even until the end of the world.

You need to do some stand-ups, instead of sit-ups. When Satan walks up to you and makes a bold attack against you, stand up to him and let him know, “For God, I live, and for God I will surely die.” Stop sitting down on God, but stand up and testify and let the whole world know that you’ve been born again. You need to be a witness for the Lord.
You need to get in your daily jumping jacks. Every now and then you ought to jump up and down waving your hands boldly letting the world know whose side you’re on. Why do you just sit there? You ought to show some kind of some. For, if I couldn’t say a word, I would just wave my hand to let the world know that Jesus lives in me.

You need to get your daily walking in. You need to walk around on your job, in your home, all in your neighborhood letting men, women, boys, and girls know who God is. We often sing the song about how we’re gonna “Walk Around Heaven All Day”, but how can you walk around heaven when you laying around and sitting around at home, on your job and in your church. You need to go into the highways and hedges and compel sinners to come in so that God’s house may be filled. You need to walk about the earth telling the world that God sent His only begotten son so that we may have a right to the tree of life. Telling them that He died, but He rose one Sunday morning with all power in His hands. Telling them that He went away, but He’s coming back again one day, and He’s coming for a church without a spot or wrinkle. You need to stop sitting down on God; stop being a pew warmer; get up and move for God.

The last exercise you should do and do it on a daily basis is run; run for your life. You see Satan’s on your track, but you’ve got to run. Run the race of faith. Don’t give up; hold on to God’s unchanging hand. When you’re lied on, run on anyhow; when you’re talked about, run on anyhow; when your friends turn their backs on you, run on anyhow; when you’re buted and scorned, run on anyhow; when your name is being scandalized, run on anyhow. Run and don’t stop; for, the race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong, but to he who holds out and endures until the end. Exercising will eliminate the last 25% of your excess weight making you fat-free by 100%.
You’re on the road to success, consuming your daily serving of the Fruit of the Spirit, the Bread of Life from the Bread of Heaven, and the Living Water, and doing your daily exercises, and now you need to shower daily to get yourself all cleaned up. You know how sweaty, dirty and unclean you feel when you’ve exercised, or had any type physical activity; you’re ready for a good shower or a good long bath. Well, it’s time to get spiritually cleaned up. You need to be baptized and washed in the blood of the Lamb. Every day you need to be dipped in the blood of the Lamb, by repenting and asking God to forgive you for all your transgressions. You need to cry out to God, “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me”. Clean my heart so that I can love all my friends and all my enemies. Clean my heart so that I can have mercy on others as you have mercy on me. Clean my tongue so I can speak no evil; clean my eyes so I can see no evil; clean my mind so I can think no evil; clean my ears so I can hear no evil; clean my hands so I can do no evil; clean my heart so I can fear no evil.

Now, your spirit is cleansed of all that junk food, you have a plan for a healthy diet, and you know how to lose the weight and keep it off, it’s time to pick out a new wardrobe; something that fits your new spirit; for, you are now a new creature in Christ. Those things you used to do, you don’t do any more; those words you used to use, you don’t use any more; all those people you used to hang out with, you don’t want to be around any more. You know how you are when you’ve lost enough weight that others can see the weight gone, you want to get new outfits to show off your shape. Now, it’s time to pick out a wardrobe that shows that you are changed; to show that you’ve gotten rid of all that sin. Now, you need to gird yourself with truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; take on the shield of faith; take the helmet of salvation; and take on the sword of the Spirit. The whole armor of God should fit you well now. Nothing should be too tight and nothing should be weighing you down; everything should fall right into place. It’s gonna take work and continuous prayer to keep the weight off; so you need to watch as well as pray; pray without ceasing. When Satan tempts you with cravings to sin, be steadfast and unmovable, always abiding in the word of God. It may be a painful journey, but the reward is great; for, there is a crown of life waiting for you. Anybody ever had real weight? Anybody ever had weight? When death comes in your home, that’s weight. Sickness afflicts your body; that’s weight. When someone you really love does you wrong; that’s weight. Trials will come, and troubles may rise, but you’ve got to learn to starve your doubt and feed your faith so trials, troubles and tribulations won’t weigh you down.

If you want your robe to fit, lose the weight and keep it off. If you want your slippers to fit, lose the weight and keep it off. If you want your crown, lose the weight and keep it off. Lose all the weight. All those heartaches you’ve been afflicted with, forgive and your heart will heal. All those stabs in your back, forgive and the wounds will heal. If you’re used and abused, love anyhow. If you’re talked about, love anyhow. When it seems that life is just a little unfair, go ahead and give up the right and take the wrong. When the cross gets a little too heavy to carry, do like Jesus did when He was marching up to Calvary to be crucified; fall to your knees just to gain a little strength to continue the journey. Stop holding grudges in your heart; stop trying to seek revenge; for, “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”; stop trying to fight your own battles; for the battle is not yours, it belongs to the Lord; stop worrying about people coming against you; for the Lord says, even as we do unto His least ones, we also do it unto Him; they are not fighting you; they are fighting the God in you. Stop worrying about giving and never receiving; for, the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Lay aside every weight, and your burdens will be easier to bear. The race will be easier to run. Death is calling roll every day, and when he calls my name, I want to be able to meet my Savior face-to-face with nothing standing in my path to those golden gates; I don’t want excuses in my way; I don’t want grudges to be in my path; I want to have an open pathway to the Kingdom of Heaven so that I can just walk in hearing the voice of my Lord, and Your Savior, my everything say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant; the race has been run and the victory won; enter into my Father’s kingdom.”

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