Are You Solid or
Crumbling at Your Very Core?
Today more than ever we must be aware of the physical requirements of temple stewardship. Our Nation is battling an obesity epidemic and the church is in no way exempt. We promote fellowship around food that is not always the healthiest of choices. Cookies, cakes, desserts of every kind, pasta dishes laden with rich sauces are some of the fare that frequent church gatherings. High cholesterol, high blood sugar, cancer, and numerous other diseases are on the rise because for the most part we are simply not eating the way God intended in order to maintain our health. Am I advocating never eating dessert? Of course not, but we have become a Nation and a church that is overindulgent and consequently overweight and weak. As killer viruses now threaten life itself it is incumbent on each of us to make sure we are doing all we can to strengthen our bodies and our immune systems.
What Are You Ingesting?
Much of the food produced today is laden with chemicals, growth hormones, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and antibiotics. Our bodies are not formed to handle such an overwhelming onslaught of unnatural toxins. When possible, choose to buy locally grown organic fruits and vegetables. Choose to eat grass – fed, free – range poultry and meat. Choose to buy clean, wild seafood. Add organic garlic, ginger and fresh herbs to your food. Choose whole food supplements.
Choose clean, filtered water. Drink plenty of clean water rather than copious amounts of soda and coffee. Water is necessary for the human body to function well. Much of our municipal water supplies are loaded with chemicals and medications discarded in homes across this Nation. The water supplies often contain unused blood pressure medication, hormone replacement medication, heart medication and pain killers, to name a few. Think about the implications. We are drinking medication not prescribed for us. We are drinking medication that could cause unhealthy if not lethal side effects. Filters are available to filter out some of these toxic chemicals and even some of the medication. You must be proactive. You must be knowledgeable in today’s environment. Otherwise, you could die for lack of knowledge.
You can reduce the toxic load on your system through the foods and water you select. Choose to live a healthier and longer life for your family and friends. Choose to serve in your fullest capacity for Him on this earth. It is never too late to make healthier choices.
How Is Your Countenance?
How can you stand ready to fight spiritually if you are not strong physically? It is never too late to take back the physical portion of your temple responsibility and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah did not eat the delicacies of the king and came out strong with knowledge, skill, and understanding from the Lord. Purpose to limit the “delicacies” that could render you ineffective over time. Purpose in your heart (it is always a heart issue) to walk in wisdom and discernment in the nourishing of your body.
At the end of ten days without the king’s delicacies even the countenance of Daniel and his companions was visibly healthy. I am not advocating that we all become vegetarians (unless so led by the Lord) but it is clear from this story that what you eat can have an effect on your system right down to even your outward countenance. It is easy to see when someone abuses their body with poor food choices or excessive use of alcohol or tobacco. Their visage is dull and lackluster. There is an old adage that ‘you are what you eat,’ and truly the choices of what we ingest result in what we will become. Will we be broken and sick? Or will we be vibrant in divine health? How can your light shine if your temple is dull from misuse?
Take the Responsibility…Do Not Look for Blame
Many Christians blame disease on the enemy, thus releasing themselves from any personal responsibility for their health status and their body/temple. God requires us to be good stewards, and that stewardship includes the care and maintenance of our temple. As with reading the Word, as with how we steward money, as with gaining control in our thought life, as with how we soften our heart, as with our commitment to prayer, all is a choice. Likewise, it is a decision to follow God’s way for divine health. It is always an option. It is always the exercise of our free will that we and we alone have control over. The Holy Spirit may convict us but we can choose whether or not to act appropriately on His conviction. Live responsibly. Do all that you can do to be well while living in the world.
Taking a Sabbath Rest
In addition to ingesting good wholesome food and drinking clean water, make sure you have adequate sleep to replenish and renew. Running here and there, burning the candle at both ends, will catch up. It is only a matter of time. Your physical temple houses the Holy Spirit and is the vehicle through which the Lord can operate. If you are not up to par physically because of neglect or abuse of God’s laws, you will be ineffective in the Kingdom on earth.
The Lord established the Sabbath as a day of rest from work to commune with Him. God knew when he created man and established a day of rest that man needed a day to replenish and renew himself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to stay healthy and strong. It is especially true today when we are so ‘connected’ to others electronically to have a period of disconnect. It is necessary to keep the thieves out of your temple and to keep your temple holy unto the Lord.
Strengthening Your Core
Exercise is an important adjunct to wholesome food, clean water, and adequate rest. It is most essential to strengthen the core of your physical body/temple. There are so many options on the market today for exercise programs and equipment that there is no excuse to be physically stagnant. Again, simplicity is best even as it pertains to exercise. Walking, enjoying the beauty of nature can be an excellent way to spiritually decompress and to physically strengthen. This will result in a strong body held upright and firm, able to stand and stand therefore in the challenges of daily living.
As we strengthen our physical core we must also strengthen our core beliefs to ensure a solid foundation. Just as Ezekiel had the vision of dry bones and was told by the Lord to prophesy life and breath to them so we must speak life. Speak life into your own life, into your own church, into your own Nation to allow what is dry to live. God placed the responsibility on Ezekiel to speak to the situation. Although this direction was concerning the whole house of Israel, I believe it has spiritual implications for us in America today. Speak life!
Never forget that others are watching how you choose to live your life. If you make healthy choices on all levels your children, grandchildren and others you encounter will be positively affected by your selections. You have the ability to affect generational temples and leave lasting, healthy habits for the future. Purpose today to choose health. May God richly bless you with wisdom and discernment that leads to a health filled walk in His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. God bless you and keep you this week and always.
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” ~Jesus, Matthew 5:16
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” ~Jesus, Mark 2:27
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” ~Proverbs 18:21
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank….” ~Daniel 1:8
“And at the end of ten days their countenance appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the your men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.” ~Daniel 1:15
“So I prophesied as He commanded me and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” ~Ezekiel 37:10
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” ~Hosea 4:6
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” ~1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ~1Peter 2:9-10
“Come on, parents. Start a health legacy by modeling a healthy lifestyle. If you teach your children their principles of good health by setting a good example, your children will reap a lifetime of health. Remember that Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~Jordan Rubin, The Great Physician’s Rx, Seven Keys to Unlock Your Health Potential
“Yesterday, the EPA removed the last hurdle in the race to rush Dow’s new Enlist-brand corn and soy crops to market, by approving Dow’s Enlist (Deadly) Duo herbicide (made from a highly toxic combination of 2,4-D, one of the toxic ingredients in Agent Orange, and Roundup, whose key active ingredient, glyphosate. The herbicide will be used, liberally, on Dow’s new GMO corn and soy crops”. ~Organic Consumers Association, 10/15/14, http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_31189.cfm
”New reports coming out every day citing the health hazards of Monsanto’s Roundup, and blowing holes in the company’s lies about how it “helps farmers, “protects” the environment and will feed the world.”
~Organic Consumer’s Association
“Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) aren’t allowed in organics because they fall into the “excluded methods” category—meaning things that are excluded from organics”. ~Organic Consumer’s Association
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our diplomatic corps, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. We as Americans and the families of those murdered in Benghazi deserve to be told the truth. Pray that God will open doors to let the truth on all that has been hidden flow for all of us in this United States of America! The truth shall keep us free.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for Christians throughout the world who face violence and death for their faith.
May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. We continue to pray for truth to prevail as we saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk. Fail not in this hour. #Pray for America.
Please Join Me in Prayer
Father God, We thank You that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Lead us in Your ways for divine health. Teach us to make healthy choices that will keep us strong physically, emotionally and spiritually. Grace us with the will power to choose what is in our best interest to fulfill the call on each life You have placed here ‘for such a time as this.’ We thank You that You keep Your hand on America. Forgive our sin and heal our land that we will remain One Nation Under God. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.
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