I have always loved a good "Top Ten List". Today we might not be laughing like we do at David Letterman's lists, but we will still need to go through every one of them from the beginning. You knew this was coming. Yesterday Moses was warming us up and today we get the full list. Please open your Bible and read Deuteronomy 5 or click here. I am sure you have read through these Ten Commandments many different times of your life. What do they make you think about now, as you are in your current season of life?
I have been doing the "Whole 30" eating plan which my brother has been doing for the last couple years and it is basically eating very healthy, natural, non-processed foods and is very similar to the Paleo diet. Almost all of the people I know who eat the Paleo way love the way they feel and many have seen healing in medical issues. There are quite a few little rules and to be completely honest, eating this way can be hard for many reasons but I like many of the principles behind it so I am giving it a try again (Yes, I did do this once before but in my defense, I started right before the holidays so it wasn't really the best time for this rule breaker. I was committed the first 30 days but slowly found myself falling into my old habits with every new celebration...Thanksgiving, Disney World, Christmas, New Year's, and birthday after birthday). Fill yourself up with all the good stuff (like veggies, proteins, fruits and healthy fats) and you will not be as hungry for the not-so-good stuff. Perfect metaphor for our life with the Lord. If we live our lives devoted to following God's rules, we won't have as much room to follow our own rules. And after awhile of living under those rules, we realize we kind of like those rules and eventually they become our own standard for living. Isaiah 1:18-19 says, "If you are willing and obedient you will eat the BEST of the land but if you resist and rebel you will be devoured by the sword." This is my prayer for myself - I want to be willing and obedient when it comes to healthy eating rules and God's rules because I want the best that God has to offer physically, spiritually and emotionally. I want to choose the good stuff - the nutritious stuff that has a purpose and will not come back void. I don't want the junk. And I don't want to live seeking after the junk. Who really wants to settle for Arby's when you can have the most succulent steak prepared by the King? Even if you're okay settling for Arby's, I guarantee that a life eating fast food will not result in the best life possible. I want more. I am tired of settling. My earnest prayer is that I will continue to seek the Lord every single day of my life and ask Him for His strength to make the better choices. And on the days that I don't, that He will give me the strength to start again and keep trying. I haven't broken the rules yet. I have stuck to my eating plan and I have made strides to more regular workouts. I have been coming to God every day and waiting on Him to see what He wants to teach me about this. And today He is telling me I need to follow the rules. His rules. The rules - however hard they may be to follow - are for my good. And nothing good comes from my resisting and rebelling. Death comes from resisting and rebelling. This is not a fun topic to teach about but it is the truth. The basic rules for weight loss - move more, eat less. The basic rules for God-centered living - God more, Me less. I must become less so He can become more. This is truth in so many ways. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me."(Galatians 2:20) I need to pray this every day. If I can crucify the flesh and choose to live in the Spirit within me I will have the strength to follow the rules that He created for me. "So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." Deuteronomy 5:32-33
Father, thank you giving us rules to live by. I pray You help me to Love You and Love your people first, and then also uphold the laws You created that Moses transcribed on tablets of stone. Forgive me when I resist and rebel. Help me to repent and walk in the other direction quickly when I get off track. I commit this Whole 30 eating plan to You but more importantly, I commit to You a lifestyle of healthy living all around. I must become less so you can become more. I surrender myself at Your feet, God. Have Your Way. Amen.
Now Choose Life.
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