“I know I should change, I’ll start tomorrow.” Have you ever said that? I have! “I’ll start after Thanksgiving, no Christmas, no New Year, after the Super Bowl, after Valentines…”
James has a way of stomping on my procrastination, he writes, “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” James 4:17. Ouch.
Why should you develop a Bod 4 God lifestyle now?
1. I will feel better.
We turn to alcohol, drugs, or food because of a feeling. Yes, those things can make us feel better, but only in the short term. A Bod 4 God lifestyle allows you to feel better all the time.
I’ve noticed a cycle I get myself into. When I don’t make time to eat right or exercise I turn to sugar or caffeine for a pick me up. This works short term, then after a crash, I have to re-medicate. As I gain weight from too much sugar or snacking I have less energy which takes more sugar or caffeine. Then I feel, “I have to have coffee or an energy drink to make it through the afternoon.” If I drink coffee or an energy drink too late it affects my sleep which makes the cycle worse. BUT If I raise my heart rate with exercise instead a continual diet of caffeine. If I drink more water instead of relying energy drinks, I have steady energy, less lifts and crashes and I feel better. Not to mention it is cheaper! Coffee, energy drinks, cookies and candy add up.
2. I will look better
When I gain weigh the first place I notice is in my face. The camera really does add 5 or more pounds! But when I lose weight the first place I see it is in my face.
The Hebrew word for “face” or “countenance” means the “presence of the person” or “way you present yourself.” Notice how the scripture describes a face as “shining”
“Let your face shine on your servant; and teach me your decrees. Psalms 119:135
Instead of not liking my pictures or the way I am presenting or projecting myself to others, I want to look better and project a better image.
3. I will live better and longer.
There’s no question that diet, exercise and overall health affect how we live and how long we live.
We already looked at the truth that our body is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I desire to care for that temple and take care of it.
Now let’s take that concept a step further and see an illustration that motivates to me.
In Matthew 21:12-13, before our bodies became God’s temple, Jesus goes into the temple in Jerusalem. Before the resurrection, the temple was the central place of God’s presence and the people’s worship. What Jesus found was troubling to him. People were disrespecting the temple. They had taken what should have been a place of prayer and turned it into a den of thieves. The place of worship was now a place where people were ripped off.
And what does Jesus do? He gets mad. I don’t know what your view of Jesus is, but put this in with your other views of Jesus. He starts flipping tables. He is mad at what is going on at the temple.
Now the point is not to imply that Jesus is mad at what’s going on in your temple. The question is, “Are you mad at what’s going on?”
When are you going to get mad? When are you going to start flipping some tables? Or slamming down your ice cream scoop or bag of chips? When are you going to start acting? What are you going to start doing?
This helps to inspire me. I had to get mad. I was destroying the quality of my life and the quantity of my life. And I have to get mad about it and say, “Enough! This is not going to continue to happen.”
I love 3 John 2,
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
This is the proper definition of prosperity: healthy body and soul. The nature and character of God wants you to prosper. He wants you to be in good health that it may go well with you each day and for years to come.
Now is the time. Are you ready?
Darrell
www.RidgeFellowship.com
Source:
Steve Reyolds, Bod 4 God
For more about Bod 4 God, go to www.Bod4God.org
Upwards Church 