Spiritual Power

Excerpt from 
EATING IN FREEDOM

The battlefield is the mind. It is a place of dread where a solitary soldier must cross a minefield of worry. But you are not alone. God is with you. Armed with a vacuum cleaner in one hand and godly thoughts in the other, you take on Goliath with weapons of patience, faith and hope. You can be improving your thought life while vacuuming, picking veggies in a grocery store or weeding the garden. You can do it standing or sitting. Every time you change from a negative thought to a positive one, you have gained a victory.

This is not easy, self-defeating thoughts have become routed in your thinking. It takes work, there will be times when you want to give up, but do not quit. When you win, the payoff is gigantic. Peace, hope and feeling loved, all come through winning battles over negative thoughts.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  (Philippians 4:8,9)

Godliness is the fruit of a pure thought life. The desire for sin falls away. Joy comes and we are blessed in everything we do. When you are blessed, you can be a blessing to others. Isn't that how you want to live? Free like a bird soaring on the winds of joy? Fluffy white emotions glide by as you fly on the wings of pure peaceful thoughts.

Challenge your negative thinking. Refuse to give in to nagging complaining emotions. Say to yourself I am precious, God loves me. Whendoubt says, how can he love me after all the bad things I have done, look at Romans 8:1, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If the book says it, believe it. The next time that doubt shows its ugly insecure face, you can say No! I am forgiven and that is that. Feel good about it. Thank God for being forgiven.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  
(2 Colossians 10:5)

When you are down and the world seems bleak and full of problems, believe what the book says, If God is for us who can be against us.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7)

Think good, encouraging thoughts and you will have peace. The mind easily goes into the worry mode, mulling over all the gloomiest details.

When faced with a problem, get the facts down on paper, then make a decision about what you are going to do about that problem. When you are tempted to worry, you can say to yourself, No I have made a decision. This is in God's hands. Worrying will not help. If you want to do something positive, pray about the situation, but pray believing that God is working it out. Visualize a good outcome to the problem and see yourself thanking God for answering your prayers. If you really believed in God's love, you would not be worrying so much.

The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.  (John 6:29)

To serve God, you do not have to go to the Amazon jungle as a missionary. The work of God is to believe in God's message to you.

Commitment to God
When love fades, it is commitment that holds a marriage together. Commitment holds the marathoner to that last mile. Commitment draws on strength that we never knew we had. The apostle Paul says to commit our lives to God. Set it apart for His purpose. Commitments challenge us to our best. Challenge us to be patient and persistent. Challenge us to ignore our feelings and press on. Dedication to God is sealed with commitment. Make your diet a commitment to God.

My Commitment to God
I make the commitment to turn my diet over to you, Lord. I will eat my food thankful for what you have done. All this delicious, nourishing food is from you, I will take my time to relish every part of the blessing, from preparation to doing the dishes. I have a lot to be thankful for. I will try to eat the right amounts and enjoy each bite. This is my heart's desire. I have been a slave to food and battled with compulsive eating. Fear and insecurity arise when I feel hungry. Yet, I need to face it head on knowing that you are with me. Eating natural foods is the healthiest diet for me. I want to feel the way you intended me to feel. I know that this is your desire for me. You have designed fruits, vegetables, seeds and grains, for the health of my body. So, I want to eat the way you intended me to eat. I give my diet to you as a gift. I am denying myself, so that you may have more of me. Instead of food, I will rely on you for my peace, my joy and my pleasure. This is my commitment to you.

Fighting Temptation

God's power is greater than my sin nature. When I resist sin, Christ moves into action. I have been given the authority to control sin and I am using it.

This temptation is a test of loyalty to God. I will pass it.

This trial I am going through is a gift.

I am willing to suffer. My suffering for Christ will turn to joy. You have suffered for me. In this, I suffer for you.

This temptation is empty. The more I want, the more it causes me pain. I have decided to sacrifice all, wanting nothing, but to know Christ and let Him fulfill my needs.

There is no pleasure to expect. My anticipation is stupid. I am increasing sin's power by anticipation. I am becoming excited about anticipating something that is not real.

I do not accept this emotion, this thought, this feeling or this anxiety. I will not believe a lie.

I repent. This desire is a sin. I have no excuse. Please, help me, Lord.

I am taking Your way out Lord. There is a way out of every temptation.

Overeating is gluttony. It is a sin. Stuffing my body for pleasure, I am abusing the body God has given me.

Food cannot fill the feeling of emptiness, only Christ can. The more I use food to run from inner pain, the worse it gets. I need to face it with courage. I will not be ruled by insecurity, fear and doubt and worry of the future. Christ has promised to supply all my needs according to his riches and glory. He is the source of joy. He is the source of peace. He is the source of love. The more I draw close to the source, joy, peace and love will come.

I am a new creation in Christ. God has recreated me into an eternal being. The Creator of the universe lives in me and I am free. I am free of addiction. I need nothing from this world. I am content with what I have.

The Bible and Junk food
What does the Bible say about diet? Very little, it wasn't a problem two thousand years ago. All food was organically grown, free of additives and used fresh because they had no refrigerators. Christians walked miles every day. The early church didn't need adrenaline stimulants and donuts to get the meeting going. If Paul were alive today, he would definitely address the problem. I can imagine what he would say.

Paul's Letter to The Church
Eating unhealthy food is a sin against your body. "Don't you know that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit". Should we use the temple of God for personal indulgence? No! "You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory."
(Corinthians 6:15-19) (GNB)