Self-Control

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” ESV

My sister will probably shoot me when she reads this post someday, but it’s a great story to prove my devotional thought for the day. She is 3 years older than me, and my only sibling. We did everything together as children, for the most part. This particular Sunday happened to be our mother’s birthday, and our dad had baked her a cake, complete with frosting. I think it was Italian Creme. Anyway, Sunday afternoons in our home were typically nap times, but my sister and I weren’t sleepy. We knew that cake was just sitting under the Tupperware Cake cover in the kitchen...just sitting there. And we knew our parents were asleep. To the kitchen we tiptoed to just get a little finger swipe of that delicious icing. We stuck our little pinkies in that icing, licked it off, but then quickly realized that one little taste would definitely not be enough. The sugar was calling us back, and back we went. In fact, we went back so many times that when we stopped, there was NO icing left on that cake. We had finger-licked the entire cake clean. What were we to do? Put the Tupperware cover back on! They’ll never notice! Inwardly, we both knew what would happen, but little girls can hope, right? 

Paul speaks in Galatians 5 of the marks of the Holy Spirit on a person’s life. These things are the evidence that the Holy Spirit dwells in you and lives through you. When He takes up residence, the evidence that He is there are things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. An entire sermon series and even a college course could be taught on these two verses alone, but today, I’d like to just focus on the self-control part. 

Paul emphasizes here that because we are saved and filled with His Spirit, we no longer need to live life by our own strength but by His Spirit. He gives us the power to produce the kind of fruit referenced here in this verse. Self-Control. Self-control is something that I’ve struggled with my entire life. I’ve lived a moral life, never stealing, never murdering, never vengeful and spiteful, but I definitely have self-indulged. I’ve indulged in hurling hurtful words to make myself feel better, telling lies when it benefitted me, and eating so much that I went into an emotional coma just to drown my sorrows. Overall, I’ve always battled with self-control. Living a self-controlled life, though, is something that marks us as Holy-Spirit filled people. I want to share His love, joy, and peace with others, along with every other good fruit He produces, but I can’t just leave out self-control. What catastrophes we would make of relationships and situations if we didn’t exercise self-control! And imagine what catastrophes we could avoid if we did.

The great thing here about this list isn’t the gifts we receive when He fills us though, it’s the fact that He gives us the power to control ourselves! Don’t you see? He tells us to be self-controlled, but He empowers it! How awesome is that?!? We don’t have to live life realizing only after we’ve licked the frosting off the entire cake that we should’ve done better.

Where do you need to exercise self-control? Is it in your nutrition, exercise, or speech? Ask Him to help you. He gives us the power to live life pleasing to Him. 

Encouragement for Today

Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” NLT

2 Peter 1:5-7 “...make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” NLT

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” NLT

Weight Loss for the Time Crunched

Ephesians 5:15-17 “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the lord wants you to do.” NLT

“People do what they want to do,” my daddy always said. If I heard it once, I heard it a hundred times. And as I’ve grown, I realize that he is all too correct. For years, I made the excuse that I couldn’t exercise regularly because I just didn’t have enough time. I homeschool my children, I also work in the evenings, for years we pastored churches, and I have a home to clean, bills to pay, groceries to buy, meals to cook, errands to run.... But it’s funny that I always had time for television, and the internet, and Facebook, and going shopping and to movies. In fact, I could always make time for recreation when the opportunity arose.

While I do live a legitimately busy life, I’ve always been able, somehow, to make time for the things I want to do. My daddy’s quote is all too true. People do what they want to do. If people want to read their Bibles and pray, they do it. If people want to skip church to sleep in, they do it. People’s actions define their priorities. If you want to know where you stand in any given relationship, think of where you stand on their list of priorities. 

We live in a society that screams loudly that you should put self first. We don’t mind at all going to buy a new outfit, having our hair done, and getting a mani/pedi. But for some reason when it comes to our health, we often put that on the back burner and stick our heads in the sand...especially when we’re younger. In my years of ministry, I’ve visited countless older adults in hospitals, nursing homes, and in their own homes to have them tell me that they’d wished they’d taken better care of themselves. Diabetes, heart disease, and a plethora of other health issues can be avoided if we only put forth the effort when we’re younger (and keep at it when we’re older) to take care of our bodies that God has created.

But we serve a God whom we put first...before even ourselves. We serve Him and love Him because He loved us first. Jesus gave His life for us, and for that, I will ever worship and serve Him. But that same God we serve created us. He created our bodies in His image. Doesn’t serving Him mean caring for His creation?

In Chapter 5 of Ephesians, Paul discusses living in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Paul admonishes the Ephesians not to live like fools, for they have no understanding of Him and a life in Him. He tells them to be wise, making the most of every opportunity. Paul tells those in Colosse the same thing in Colossians 4:5, making it somewhat of a theme in his epistles. Could it be that Paul knew that we have a tendency to procrastinate even on things that are important? 

Everyday, I am given opportunities to witness to others about what Christ has done for me, and I’m thankful for those. It gives me a chance to share His love that He has bestowed upon me, and if I allow Him, He can work through me to change those around me. 

Likewise, we have opportunities to care for our bodies every day. Some days are busier than others, I know, but be honest. Is there time spent on recreation and just flat-out laziness that could be better channeled into physical activity? Could you work out while you watch television? I’ll be honest; this is what I do! 

If we spend time taking care of His temple, we will be in a better to place mentally and emotionally to care for our families, our ministries, and those around us. It’s amazing how much more efficient I’ve found myself to be once I’ve worked out for the day. Most of all, my time with Him helps me to focus on everything else, including my health. He centers me and gives me hope and peace, knowing that with Him, I can accomplish anything.

Where could you carve out more time to give to Him, first, and to care for His creation?

Encouragement for Today

Colossians 4:5 “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.” NLT

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” NLT

Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” NLT

Picky Eaters

1 Corinthians 9:27 “I disciple my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” NLT

“I know I need to lose some weight, but I don’t like all of...that,” my co-worker waved her hand at my plate. This particular co-worker had watched me lose the last 20 pounds and she was getting curious. Every day, she would ask me questions, but she would always refute my answers with reasons why she couldn’t do it too. Today, her excuse was that she was a picky eater. So, I asked her, “What are two fruits that you like?” She told me that she liked bananas and apples and went on to share that she ate beans and corn. I came up with a few options for her off the top of my head, but I honestly thought that she just wasn’t ready.

Picky eaters will struggle in areas of nutrition when trying to lose weight. Things that picky eaters enjoy usually tend to be starchy and full of carbs. I also enjoyed starchy foods and I still struggle with my bread consumption. But there are always options, even for the pickiest of eaters to consume. After all, the picky eaters I know typically eat the same things over and over anyway. 

When I started my weightloss journey, I read countless blogs and articles of the benefits of certain foods. I wanted to know what would help me lose weight, feel full, and add to my overall health. There are foods that I regularly consume today that I never ate before I started this journey. Without this lifestyle change and research, I never would’ve discovered that I like greek yogurt, green tea, or almonds. But on the flipside, there are things that I had to learn to enjoy. I always thought that raspberries tasted like soap before, but now, they’re a regular part of my diet. Avocados were only to be used for guacamole, but now I use them along with greek yogurt as a base for chicken salad and sandwich spread. Asparagus had never been present in my mouth before, but now it is a weekly occurrence in my home.

While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a picky eater, I am indeed a picky exerciser. I am physically incapable of playing most team sports because of my birth defect, and I absolutely despise pushups. I can do them if I force myself, but it’s just not something I enjoy. I certainly didn’t enjoy running at first either, but now is a different story. Picky eaters may find themselves having to discipline themselves to eat certain things for their health, and they may actually find that in time, they start to enjoy new foods.

Paul writes in the last part of 1 Corinthians 9 about the historic Isthmian games, an Olympic type event, held in Corinth every two years. He illustrates his point of spiritual discipline is much like athletic training. If we were to compete in an athletic event, we would prepare rigorously so as to win the prize. If we’re not planning to win, why play the game, right? In the same way, strict self-discipline is required if we are to grow as believers in Him. We must press on in our Bible Study and in prayer. We must submit to obeying Christ in all things, so as to win the prize of salvation, eternal life in Christ. 

Paul goes onto express his fear of being disqualified. He expresses his concern that after he has taught others how to obtain the prize, he might not get it himself. Therefore, he has disciplined himself in such as a way so that he would not fall away from Christ.

As we transition ourselves into living a healthy lifestyle, we often find that changes are hard. We are accustomed to living one way only to change several things at one time. Those changes may be uncomfortable, but we press on, knowing that our discipline will win us the prize in the end!

Enjoy some time today reading through 1 Corinthians 9-10 and see how Paul explained food consumption and discipline. It’s quite enlightening and encouraging!

Encouragement for Today

1 Corinthians 8:8 “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.” NlT

1 Timothy 4:4-5 “Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.” NLT

Matthew 4:4 “‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” NLT

The Sabbath Rest

Genesis 2:2-3 “On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” NLT

I just didn’t see how this was going to work. I had learned during my first few days of my new lifestyle that weight loss really boiled down to calories in/calories out. And I realized that the more calories I burned through activity, the greater my calorie deficit would be; therefore, that would equate to more weight loss. But I was stuck this day because there was an internal struggle occurring once again. I knew that today was my Sabbath, a day my family worshipped together and rested from our work. But I was having a major dilema as well, trying to figure out if that meant exercise too. I mean, honestly, I had extra time on Sundays to work out, and I could really put some effort into it today! In addition, I reasoned that since I’d be spending time sitting in a pew and not up cleaning my house, there would be more calories that I wouldn’t be burning that day. It was decided then, that when I returned from church, I would work out. God understood after all. He wants me to care for my body!

I went 21 days straight working out, lifting weights, and having a calorie deficit of 1000/day until I realized that something wasn’t right. I was tired and sore, and I felt like I had an injury in my knee. But I kept pushing. Finally I resorted to the internet to search out my problem. I thought I was doing well, but obviously I had gone wrong somewhere. I kept reading over and over from multiple reputable websites where I needed to rest one day a week from working out in order to give my body time to recover and get ready for another week of physical activity. My muscles needed to repair, and I needed to be rejuvenated in my mind to face the mental battle I would have that week when I felt like giving up. Still not convinced that it was worth it, hesitantly I gave in to rest from workouts one day a week. To my amazement, that one day was I needed to restore me to my best.

God Himself rested. From the beginning of creation, He instituted a day of rest. This seven-day framework structured Israel’s week, with the last day set aside as holy. It was to be different than the rest of the week. The first six days they were to work and live unto Him, but on the seventh day, they were to cease from their labors and worship Him. 

In today’s society, we want to be seen as productive and responsible members of society. The demands on modern life keep us busy and stressed out, and we need every minute possible to accomplish as much as possible. But God didn’t design us in this way. He created us for work, but He also created us for rest. He even gave us time to rest! I find it amazing that a calendar week correlates perfectly with the way our bodies were designed.

I myself have chosen Sunday as my rest day. It’s a day of ministry for my family, which actually keeps us too busy to do much else anyway. Our day to rest from our jobs and other work comes another day during the week. Whatever day works out best to cease workouts is fine, but ensure that you’re taking that time to restore and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. You were designed for it!

Take some time and read the creation story as revealed in Genesis chapters 1-2. Soak in the refreshing knowledge that God has handcrafted us in His image. 

Encouragement for Today

Exodus 23:11 “but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest any volunteer crop that may come up. Leave the rest for the animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.” NLT

Psalm 127:2 “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” NLT

Preparation

Matthew 24:43 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” NLT

Nothing to eat! I had just come home from work on a hot, humid summer day and was trying to make dinner plans. Nothing sounded good, and I was tired. Normally organized, I would at least make a mental plan for dinner earlier in the day so that things wouldn’t take so long once I’d arrived home. But today there was no mental plans happening outside of mortgage escrow, my current profession. There was no meat thawed, my lettuce was wilted, and I was tempted to just order pizza. That had been my go-to before...before I asked Jesus to help me, I thought. I had asked for Him to take control of this area of my life only a week before, and now here I was, considering pizza of all things. 

I had prayed prayers many times before over a pizza dinner. “Lord bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and our bodies to your service.” It’s laughable now that we pray those kind of prayers. If that’s the food that’s provided, then by all means be thankful for it. But in reality, we somehow spiritualize our bad eating choices and ask God to magically change the molecular structure! That night, there was a first prayer uttered that hasn’t gone unrepeated since. “Lord, please help me resist the temptation for pizza.” In that moment, I’m not kidding, God brought to mind a recipe I had read a few days before, and most of the ingredients were already on hand. I just had to run out to get a couple of things around the corner. 

I was thankful that God had delivered me from the temptation, but inside I was frustrated at myself for the huge struggle that had just occurred in my head. I realized that if I had only prepared ahead of time, the temptation wouldn’t have been so great. Don’t get me wrong; every time I open my mailbox and retrieve pizza coupons, there’s still a struggle there as to whether or not to throw them in the trash can. 

But preparation is truly the key. Every week before I go grocery shopping, I jot down a quick meal list so I at least have a rough plan in mind for things to buy. Having healthy ingredients on hand and readily at my disposal vastly cuts down on resorting to a quick fix in a drive-thru. Personally, every day, I make an eating plan for myself, calculating my nutrition and activity so I know how I’m doing and ensure that I’m able to stand against temptation. I even go so far as to cut up things like cantaloupe and watermelon and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator so they are quickly available when my sweet tooth takes over. I boil a few eggs every few days, peel them, and put them in a plastic baggie in the refrigerator. 

But things happen. Work takes longer than normal that day, traffic is backed-up, or someone gets sick, and we end up having to fill a need quickly. If we have yogurt cups, fruit, and almonds on hand, trust me, we can be ready for anything!

In our text today, we see Jesus speaking about His second coming. He speaks of the time when the Son of Man will come back for His church, and no one knows the time or the hour. The Scripture says that, unexpectedly, He will appear to claim those who have been faithful, and there are those who will be unprepared. Those who have not accepted Him as their Savior and have not lived a life pleasing to Him will be left. The Day of Judgment is coming, and no one knows the day or time. People who spend much time trying to figure out when/where He’s coming are only spinning their wheels and wasting valuable time. We must simply be prepared. That’s all He asks. Trust Him as your Savior and live a life pleasing to Him! Share Him with others so that they may be prepared too. When He comes, we’ll wish we had done more.

Are you prepared? Have you accepted Him as your Savior, or are you thinking that you’ve still got time? The Scripture is clear. “The Son of Man will come when least expected.”


Take some time today to read through Matthew chapters 24-25. He’s coming!

Encouragement for Today:

2 Timothy 2:15 “Work hard so that you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” NLT

Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” NLT

1 Corinthians 2:9b “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” NLT

Ideas for Preparation

1. Search blogs like skinnytaste.com and Pinterest for healthy recipes. Print them off and have them readily available.
2. Chop vegetables ahead of time for recipes so that they come together quickly when you’re ready to prepare.
3. Brown ground turkey/lean ground beef and put in a sealable bowl.
4. Make individual salads ahead of time and put them in the refrigerator.
5. Cut up melons.
6. Make things like chicken salad and tuna salad and store in the refrigerator.
7. Make sure there are healthy snack options waiting in the cupboard before a craving hits.
8. Get rid of everything that is unhealthy in the house. 
9. Boil eggs and peel them.
10. When bananas are going bad, I peel them and freeze them. Frozen bananas work well in smoothies.
11. When I’m grilling chicken, I grill double the amount to have it available for chicken salad and maybe tomorrow night’s dinner.
12. When eating out, check the nutrition facts online beforehand. Make a plan of what you’re going to order before you get there so as not to cave to temptation when faced with a plethora of unhealthy delicacies.
13. When I make a big pot of soup or chili, I freeze half of it in individual freezer bags. That’s portion control at its finest!

Setting Goals

Philippians 3:13b-14 “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” NIV

Throughout my adult years, I always laughed about how I had weighed 135 pounds in junior high school, but that number was totally unattainable. I would shop for clothing and skip the misses section altogether. Straight to the plus sized selections I’d go, inwardly feeling discouraged and hating the thought of having to try on yet another bigger size than the last time. They were just making clothes different than they used to, I’d reason to myself. 

“If I could just get below 200 pounds, I’d be happy,” I thought to myself. I had just started my weight-loss journey, and I didn’t really know what my goal should be. All I knew was that I wanted to lose weight. I was currently 225 pounds, and I remembered having been around 190 when I became pregnant with both of my children. That wasn’t so bad I thought. Surely, if I can lose just 26 pounds, I’d be satisfied with that. So I set my goal. 199 it was. I reached it. And I still wasn’t happy. I knew it wasn’t enough because I was only one size smaller! How could this be? I thought my life would be so different. After all, 26 pounds was a lot of weight! And besides that, no one had even noticed. Really! Not. one. person. noticed that I had lost the equivalent of a toddler! I was certainly proud of myself for my accomplishment, but I knew that I deserved to be healthy, and that God wanted me to be as well. 135 was starting to feel like the goal I needed to hit. I didn’t want to admit it, though, because that would mean that I had simply been making excuses all these years. Truth be told, that’s exactly what they were. I have a small skeletal frame, I’m only 5’3”, and 135 is a perfectly healthy weight for me. The only problem? 135 pounds was 64 pounds away! 

I again went to the Lord and asked for His help. He help me set attainable goals, 20 pounds per stage. I would only focus on 20 pounds at a time, trusting God for the next level. He was faithful. Trying to change my lifestyle and my body without having a goal was hard, to say the least. Once I organized my plan and had my goal in mind, it was much easier to finish my marathon.

Paul frequently uses athletic language in his writings, as he explains the goal of our spiritual lives. That is, to really, truly know Jesus, our Lord, in such a personal way as to share in His nature. As with a healthy lifestyle, and with weight management in general, our spiritual lives are also a journey. We must hold to the progress we have made in growing more like Him, never turning back, and ever drawing closer to His side. Paul was willing to give up everything, his education, his standing, his reputation, his freedom, and even his very life to obtain the “heavenly prize” of eternal life.

If we are going to be successful in our Christian lives, we must set goals for ourselves as well. How do we know how to pace ourselves in the race if we can’t locate the finish line? Could you set a goal for how long you will spend time with Him each day? Maybe you could set a goal for a particular ministry with which you want to be involved. Start attending a Bible study group and see where that leads. Aimlessly trying to live a Christian life without pressing toward a goal is difficult to say the least. Christ is the goal, though. Press toward Him!

Encouragement for Today

Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” ESV

2 Chronicles 15:7 “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” ESV

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ESV

Expensive

It’s too Expensive

Read Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. NLT

My co-worker was exasperated. She had just gone to the grocery store and was shocked at the price of fresh produce. She had recently become interested in a life-style change but was frustrated quickly after her first grocery shopping trip. “I can’t believe how much it costs to feed my family a healthy diet for just a week! My bill this week was 30% more than I normally spend, and I just don’t have that every week,” she said. She was discouraged. Desperately wanting to model better habits for her children, she had committed but was worried she just couldn’t keep it up.

Many people blame their poor food choices on the opinion that eating healthy just costs more. In reality, this isn’t always the case. Need a quick snack? A candy bar costs roughly $1.29 versus $0.50 for a lunchbox apple. Didn’t have time for breakfast? Forget the $3.00 you would normally spend at the donut shop and opt for a $2.25 bowl of steel-cut oatmeal at Starbucks. For dinner, try using ground turkey instead of ground beef and save $1.00/pound, as well as about 50 calories and several fat grams per serving. 

There are also other factors to consider when changing your eating habits. Eating at home is always healthier and certainly saves on the pocketbook over dining out. As you lose weight and gain muscle, clothing choices will explode and the price tag gets smaller! As you become healthier, doctor bills come less often and premiums for health and life insurance decrease. When looking at the bottom line, it all comes down to looking at the return on your investment.

Matthew’s Gospel records the Parable of the Three Servants who were entrusted with their master’s money. Two of the servants invested the money entrusted to them, and one dug a hole and just hid the money in the ground. In the end, the first two servants doubled their’s while the third merely held onto his initial endowment. The Master was quite pleased with the first two servants, but threw out the third servant, angry that the servant didn’t even make an attempt. 

God has given us gifts, in today’s case, our physical bodies to care for and nourish. When we fill them with unhealthy food, chemicals, and processed substances, we have not profitably invested in the body that God, our Creator, has entrusted to us. We will not see a profitable return on our investment if we continue to make unhealthy food decisions and refuse to burn the energy that our food provides. Like the master in the parable, our Master expects us to use our body to glorify Him, and that takes an investment. Remember also, not only has He created us, He has purchased us with His blood. 

How will you invest? Investing the time and treasure to living a more pleasing lifestyle to honor God with our body will ultimately pay off in the end. The investment in the temple that God has created you to be will earn great rewards.

Encouragement for Today:

Proverbs 28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. NLT

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. NIV

Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. NLT



Here is a quick list of healthy foods under $1
Eggs
Yogurt
Apples
Bananas
Individual Portions of Nuts
Carrots
Onion
Sweet Potatoes
Garlic
Tea
Cabbage
Individual String Cheese Sticks
Beans
Lentils
Chicken Breast (Per Serving)
Canned Tuna
Canned Salmon
Milk (per Serving)
Wholegrain Pasta
Brown Rice
Quinoa
Popcorn (No Butter of course)
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Watermelon (per Serving)
Pears
Oranges
Tomatoes
Lettuce (an entire head)
Squash
Broccoli
Water
Coffee