God's Spiritual Diet Plan (Part 3 of 5)

Proverbs 4:20-27 (King James Version)

20My son, (my daughter) attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

4Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
That is just as we have to guard our heart, we must look at one of the gates to our heart, our mouth. Perverse means fraudulent and deceitful.
Proverbs 19:1 says, "Better [is] the poor that walketh in his integrity, than [he that is] perverse in his lips, and is a fool."
In the free online dictionary by Farlex it says, "A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.
Fraud is commonly understood as dishonesty calculated for advantage. A person who is dishonest may be called a fraud."
God's Word is absolute. There are no white lies. Are you living a life of integrity or one of a fraud?
Matt 5:37 says. "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
Does your word mean anything or are you saying what you think people want to hear?
Let's bring it a little closer. Do you tell yourself the truth? Sometimes we live in a state of denial with an addiction. We say, "I can quit any time I want>'
Is that really the truth?
Show me. In reality it is that froward mouth.
Why do we boast, exaggerate, tell half truths, accuse? Very simply, it is fear. Fear of man-fear of rejection, fear of not fitting in,, fear of not meeting someone's expectations-. Shouldn't we speak each word as if Father God were listening? He is you know.
I have found that when I speak words that are not pleasing to Him, I have a need to put something sweet in my mouth. It is as if I think/believe that the bitterness of my words will be sweetened by sugar.
25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
I sometimes get into trouble spiritually because I am looking at others instead of my Father. Whether I am comparing myself to someone else to see if I measure up or critiquing someone else's behavior, it is all sin.
I was in abusive situations over 25 years of my life. I learned to be hyper-vigilant, always checking to see if I was safe. What resulted was that I became in charge of my safety. There was no need to trust God, I was in charge. Having to be in charge all of the time comes from fear. If I don't do, who will? If I don't do it, things will fall apart? If I don't do it, fill in the blank. When I was in that mode, I had become a god to myself.
It was very humbling to recognize that, even more humbling to recognize that even with all of the Word I knew in my head, there was a lack of trust in God to love me, take care of me and protect me.
During part of that that season, I lived in the Dallas, TX area. I was asked to do some interviews at a Christian concert. I don't remember all of the people I interviewed, but I remember the one with Michael W. Smith. When he walked into the room, he brought God with him. He was a vessel of His glory. During the interview, he said quite pointedly that we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies as temples of God. It was said in love and it pierced my heart, but I quickly dismissed it. I did not let my eyes look right on.
I chose not to take to take responsibility for my sin.
Nearly fifteen years later I would hear Mary Kay National Sales Director Kathy Helou say, "Anything that is an enemy to your body, is an enemy to God's plan for your life."
I have an addiction to carbs. I cannot quit without God's help.
I lift my eyes up to the source of my help.

New Year, New Beginnings

During the last two months of 2010, I received a bad report from a doctor, a dear friend was killed in a car wreck and another friend had a stroke. God got my attention.
I have known for some time (understatement) that my weight was impacting my quality of life, but I had chosen to ignore it.
I had chosen to admit that eating the way I do is a sin.
Since I made the decision to do something about it, I have had such peace. It is all about choices and attitudes.
I am addicted to simple carbs which of course, includes sugar. I have begun cutting back significantly and take responsibility for I do eat instead of mindless eating. Hasn't always ben easy, but I find it getting easier.
Pastor Henry said the other day that the key to longevity is knowing God's Word and doing it.
Knowing AND doing.
I have a lot of head knowledge, but I have failed to "just do it!"
Now is the time!

The Bewitchment

Some people lie to themselves and say, "Well. I know I have a problem with food, but at least I am not an alcoholic or drug addict."
Wake up! An addiction is an addiction is an addiction. There is no grading system. I can be totally sugared out by 10 am and walk into church and people think I have it together. However, there is little difference between the drunkenness of a six pack of Reese's peanut butter cups and having that extra beer. Simple carbs convert to a low grade alcohol when you overindulge.
I was already reading the book, Feeding your Appetites, when I received the following message in my inbox: "If you don't know how to deal with the stresses of life that can bring hopelessness and despair, you can develop an addiction by continually attempting to soothe or comfort yourself rather than resolve the source of pain. If you cannot stop a behavior by simply choosing to lay it down, you may have an addiction. It doesn't matter what it is. It might be pornography; it might be drugs; it might be food; it might be gossip or television. It might be an ungodly relationship. Many people are in relationship with someone, not because they are best friends, but because they have a need. Almost anything you can think of can be an addiction. The enemy's kingdom uses many mechanisms and knows how to control you with your needs. Addictions are common to every nation, every race, every culture and every economic status.
The foundational root of all addictions is spiritual bewitchment.
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Addictions are rooted in the need to be loved. You stand complete in the gospel by accepting God's love and receiving the love you need for yourself. Accept who you are in the new birth once and for all. Love God, love yourself, and love others. Be complete in that love and you will never need to find love in any of the wrong places. But because your enemy knows that if he can get you into a place where you do not feel like you are loved by God, or that you do not love or like yourself, and you are not sure about your neighbor, then he can get you to start looking outside for a "fix."
When you don't love yourself or when you don't accept who you are, the first thing that happens in your body chemistry is a dip in your serotonin levels. When you have a serotonin deficiency, you do not feel right physically or spiritually. The enemy knows there is no way you can increase your serotonin level unless you take a drug because you are in chemical imbalance. The pharmacist knows you can take a drug that is a serotonin enhancer to make you feel good. Then you become addicted to the drug which serves to create a chemically altered state of consciousness or false peace. Your enemy caused the problem without your realization or consent. He will begin to engineer thoughts to ensure you will take steps to enter into the various areas of counterfeit fulfillment. If you take your peace with God, yourself and others, the hypothalamus will recognize your fulfillment and signal the brainstem to release and increase serotonin values. This causes your spirit and your body to come into balance again so you feel more complete. Addictions are found in people that are separated from love. When someone is struggling with any type of addiction, that person has been spiritually bewitched away from the simplicity of the gospel, which is love."
These mini-teachings come free from www.beinhealth.com.You subscribe to them. The timing could not be more perfect. It was time to get real.
I had a boyfriend once who said, "You were perfect before your mother spoke to you."
What he meant is our parents program us with the stuff they were programmed with. If they weren't nurtured, they probably didn't know how to love and nurture you properly either. So the cycle continues.
We were born with a desire to be loved. Yet if I earthly father did not or could not love us, it is difficult to believe that Father God can or will. So we look for love in all the wrong places.
Some of the addictions that we are going to look at in the coming year are:
Food
Shopping
Sex
Dependent Relationships
Workaholism
Power
Knowledge Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:7
Self including self-pity and self-idolatry
This is an an all-inclusive list. However, in my life's journey, I have discovered that where there is one addiction, there is another. Deal with one and the other(s) will manifest. This is simply because you are not dealing with the root of the problem.
Step one recognize that there is a problem and that you cannot do this by yourself. You are God's creation. Only the Creator has life's manual.
I could blame the abuse, the pain, the betrayals or I can accept responsibility for where I am right now and repent for taking the the less painful route.
His mercies are new every morning. So today I choose to repent and begin anew.