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We have been sharing excerpts from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This book is perfect for an Easter present, and Easter is only about two weeks away.
There is a special sale going on right now, so click on the “Bookstore,” tab above to check it out.
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The excerpt today talks about how easy it is to be a “back slider,” once we become Christians. It helps us to understand what we need to do to be strong.
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Chapter 53
Done There; Been That
If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:30–31
The first week of my weight-loss program was wonderful—I lost 13 pounds in one week! (That shows you how overweight I was.) I have gone on to lose a total of 58 pounds.
It was amazing what losing 58 pounds can do. I felt so much better, had more energy and began to sleep better. I even noticed that I had a better attitude. Must be something to this losing weight stuff, don’t you think?
I saw a bumper sticker that says, “Three square meals makes one round.” Or there’s the one that says, “He who stuffeth, fluffeth.” I know the truth of those sayings and have struggled with weight for many years. I am sure none of you have. (Oh! You have?)
Have you ever said on January 1st, “This is the year I’m going to lose weight and keep it off”? You commit to going down to the club at least three times a week to work out. You cut down on your food intake and watch your eating habits, and for a few weeks things go great. Statistics say that the health clubs are the busiest during the month of January, but everyone drops out of sight by March.
Why are we so excited when we start a diet, and then fall down a month or so later?
Do you live on the corner of Boredom and Dead End? Do your days seem like weeks when things don’t go well? Does the end of the money come before the end of the bills and the end of the month?
These are things that can tear at our initial excitement about dieting? Seem silly? Not according to many experts. Depression, illness, failure, and other negative issues can stop us in our tracks, driving us to our comfort zone. And for many of us our comfort zone involves food. We even have a category called “comfort foods”: pudding, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese—things that are smooth and soft and remind us of the comfort of childhood.
That is the way it is for new, born-again Christians. They feel wonderful at first, and everything goes well for a month. Then they start forgetting where they put their Bible. They mean to study the Bible every day, but they oversleep most days. Church seems to get in the way of the big game on TV.
All the while, the same old feelings they had before they became a Christian start coming back. They are easily angered when someone is late or not doing their part of the work. Their children drive them crazy, so they retreat to a spot in front of the TV or get engrossed in their favorite magazine.
Think that none of these seems sinful enough to draw us away from God? “Give Satan an inch and he will make it a mile.” (Hey! Another great bumper sticker!) Here are a couple more good ones:
One snowflake grows into an avalanche.
Every little molehill can grow intoMt.Everest.
Don’t let the small things fool you.
Satan is very clever. He will not tempt us to do things that seem out of place—at first. Instead, he likes to chip away at our heart, and slowly get us back into his realm.
We need to go on a spiritual diet! We need to lose all those weighty problems like depression, doubt, anger and failure that cause us to be exhausted even when we see the slightest sign of hope. We need the proper food to help us grow. Here’s a good diet to follow:
1 Bible
½ hour of prayer in the morning followed by ½ hour of studying God’s Word
Constant prayer throughout the day
A Bible or a Christian book to read after the evening meal
More prayer at bedtime
Stir these ingredients into your life every day for the rest of your life, and you will see and feel the difference. You will be a clean serene fighting machine—one that Satan will not be able to cope with.
The negative pounds will start coming off. You will feel stronger, have more energy, sleep better at night, and have a much better attitude. All the benefits of what you eat spiritually will make a difference as you turn to God and let Him be in your life.
I have been on so many different diets I can’t even remember the names of some of them. There was the “Eat bananas all day” diet, but I started making strange noises, and jumping up and down. But my swinging on the chandelier did it forCharlotte.
One diet promised I could become a slender “animal” by eating only meats and poultry. I tried that for awhile, and the pounds did come off, but then whenever I looked at a live chicken or a cow, I felt tremendous guilt because I was eating their brothers and sisters!
A vegetarian diet led to other problems for me—one of them being too much time in the bathroom. I had better ways to spend my day!
This went on until I shifted to Weight Watchers. I could eat anything I wanted as long as I stayed within my point totals for the day.
There are so many ways (formulas, diets) we’ve devised to follow God that it’s no wonder so many of us go off spiritual diets.
I did some church-hopping in my earlier days in my search for the perfect church. I didn’t find one. I learned that there are pluses and minuses in every church.
That leads me to comment on the bumper sticker at the start of this chapter. I bet you’re waiting for me to finally straighten it out. You thought it should read, “Been there; done that.”
But what I put there is what I meant.
I grew tired of church-hunting. I wanted to settle into to a church so I could grow. Hence, I was done there. I was done looking for a church because I realized I was slipping away from God since I didn’t have a church home. I had been that person before. I had slipped away from God before.
So I was done there and been that!
I got on a good diet of Bible study, fellowship with other Christians, reading Christian books, and prayer. I started a journal of my hurts, good moments, and just remembering the day. It was a great way to look back at my growth—or lack of it.
We need to be done there with all the negative barriers. We cannot remain in the world of hurt; the world of worry, or the world of fear.
We have been that long enough. We can’t allow Satan to run our life. He has done it long enough. God needs to take over—and we need to let Him. He can carry us the rest of the way.
Yes, you have been that. You have been what you had hoped you would never be, but you will be done there. You never have to carry that heavy load again.
We can turn to God and say, “I am done there. I have been that for too many years, and I need Your love to be with me to keep me from going back.”
Like the loving Father He is, He will open His arms and take care of you.
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that or your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
1 Peter 3:3–4
Further Adventures
We all struggle. We all have failed at one time or another. We all have wished we would be strong and keep doing things that will make us healthy both physically and mentally. But you know what? We are humans! We can talk ourselves out of anything. It can be, “Oh that piece of cake won’t cause me too much trouble. I won’t be depressed if I fail. It is OK to not exercise to make me physically strong.” Wrong! Wrong! And wrong again.
We need both physical growth and spiritual growth. They go together hand in hand. When you’re at your proper weight and physically fit, you feel much better about yourself and want to go even further by cleaning out your polluted mind of all harmful thoughts that tear you down. Strong physically; strong mentally. You are a clean serene fighting machine.
Something to Ponder
Isn’t it funny how some choose their friends by their outward appearance, and yet they don’t like themselves?