Friday, July 12, 2013
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Now, it's hard to lose weight; I know that very well. But the real trick in weight loss is keeping the weight off. Years ago I dropped about 55 pounds. Oh, I didn't drop it; I mean, it went away thankfully a little bit at a time. I found out that it is possible to hang around the level of where you got your weight loss to. Of course, you can't eat grapefruit all the time, or celery, or diet bars for the rest of your life. No. That's the way a lot of people regain what they lost. No, what you've got to do is to learn new ways of eating that fit your metabolism. I call it making friends with your metabolism.
One challenge for me in keeping that weight off is when it's vacation or a holiday time, because, "Hey, I have a fun mentality and I don't really want to watch what I'm eating." So I want to eat lots of fun food. In fact, I want to eat more food during those times. And so my calorie intake jumps up during my time off. Well, man, I'd be back up to that 210 if I didn't make an important adjustment when I'm eating more. Suddenly I'm working more, biking more, playing ball more, fervently hoping as I'm doing that that I'm losing more calories somewhere in the process. Okay, very simple: when you eat more, you've got to exercise more.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Cure For Over-Feeding."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in James 1:22. It says: "Do not merely listen to the Word..." We do a lot of that, don't we? "... and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." Interesting! The Bible is saying it's possible for people who listen to the Word all the time to be kidding themselves if they're not doing what they hear.
My daughter had the privilege of being on a team that went to the Soviet Union in the days of turmoil and uproar that were beginning to change that part of the world forever. They were asked to sing at a Christian Music Festival as part of a historic outreach. Right there in Lenin Stadium. Wow! Well, in the process, she met some beautiful Soviet believers who had been through so much. And one of them made a very insightful comment. It was a Soviet pastor who said to her, "You know, one burden I have is for American Christians, because I think you are over-feeded." Well, his English may not have been perfect, but his point sure was. He swept his arms around the people in that auditorium. He said, "We are so hungry and so thirsty."
He's right. Look, we here in the West, we've got seminars, and books, and recordings, and websites, and Bible studies, and concerts, and church programs. We sit and eat a lot, like me on vacation. But I can't help where I live; I didn't decide that. I do get over-feeded. But what about Luke 12:48, "To whom much is given, much is required." What's the answer to over-feeding? More exercise. James 1:22 says, "You're kidding yourself if you're eating it and not exercising it." Just because you know it doesn't mean anything.
What does exercise mean? Well, number one, it means specific obediences to the Lord. For today I open God's Word and I must be looking for a concrete response that I can measure by tonight, "Did I do it or did I not?" I don't just hear it. I do it; I write it down so I can hold myself accountable. I share it with other people so they can hold me accountable. I look for something to do today because of what I read, or shall we say what I 'ate' spiritually.
Secondly, you look for a personal mission; something on your heart that has broken God's heart, and you've allowed Him to break your heart with it. You've got to have a mission, a piece of the action, a place where you're doing Kingdom business; where you throw money, and time, and sacrifice into it.
See, obedience and mission burn up spiritual calories. God doesn't feed you to make you fat; He feeds you to make you active; to give you energy for doing the things that advance His Kingdom.
We are "over-feeded", but we can balance that intake by leaving the table and going out daily to run a race for Jesus Christ.