And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night, when lo an angel of The Lord came upon them and the glory of The Lord shown round about them and they were sore afraid, but the angel said unto to them “Fear Not! For behold I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people. For unto you is born today in the city of David a savior, which is Christ The Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying.
Glory to God in the highest
And on Earth, Peace, Good will toward men.
Luke 2: 8-14
There are undoubtedly three components to weight loss the first is the body. The body is what we want to take weight off and, in many ways, the means in which we get the weight off. We eat the right things and do physical exercise with the body. The second is the mind. The mind must make the decision to lose weight. It then needs to learn methods of good nutrition and healthy exercise to instruct the body what and how to do what to do. The third component is the spirit or the souls if you will. This is the core of our being. It is what makes us who we are. You can say all that you want about DNA but when the body dies the DNA remains but who that person was is gone not to come back. It is with our spirit that we find the inner strength to meet the goals we have set for ourselves. It is with the spirit that we get through the rough times of meeting those goals. This week I am going to talk about my spiritual life and how it pertains to weight loss.
First off I am a Christian. Being a Christian is not popular these days. It has been said that we live in a post Christian age. In the past, in America, almost everyone described themselves as Christians. Most folks went to church on Sunday and taught their children their prayers. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and The Our Father were probably the top two. At the end of those prayers the children would be heard to say, “and God Blees Mommy and Daddy, and God Bless my sisters Sue and Patty and brother Vince, and God bless the dog.” The pets were never forgotten.
Today a lot of children don’t know those prayers. They aren’t brought to church on Sunday and their lives are sadder for it. Of course, we all know that God is not welcome in public buildings or in Schools. When I grew up Jesus and his angels were as much of a public-school Christmas as Santa and his reindeer, but that’s gone now. Time off at Christmas is now referred to as the winter holiday. So much is lost.
I think that’s because people do not really understand what being a Christian means anymore. It’s very simple. We live in a complicated age and we complicate the simplest of things. Here is Christianity in a nutshell. Jesu was born in Bethlehem. He was born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit and so he was both God and man. Both equally so. As was predicted thru the Hebrew scriptures Jesus was killed by crucifixion and died. On the third day after his death he was raised from the dead and was seen by many people. After 40 days of teaching his disciples he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God.
In the Hebrew Scriptures God sets out many rules for the Jewish people to follow. These rules were almost impossible to keep but God gave them a system of sacrifices to make up for how they didn’t follow his rules or for how they sinned. He knew that one day he would come himself and be the ultimate sacrifice for those sins. Not only freeing the Jewish people from their sin but the whole world at the same time. The only thing that is required to become a Christian is to admit that you sin, and we all do. Anything from a white lie to murder is a sin and that sin creates a gap between us and God. You admit that sin and then accept the fact that Jesus paid the price for those sins. That he died for you and those sins are forgotten. The gap is closed. You can then call God Papa and Jesus brother. That’s it, That’s all there is to being a Christian.
What comes with it is the ability to know God hears your every prayer. We learn as scripture says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We learn that Jesus himself will be there for you at all times, the good and the bad. And if we are willing, we learn that Jesus can turn the bad times into good. For all things work together for good, as the scriptures teach us.
Weight loss is hard, but as scripture says I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me. I can reach out for His strength when mine is fading and He will meet me. The pain of exercise can be brought to all things work together for good. Our current pandemic is covered by that verse from the Book of Romans. To lose weight, I must nurture my spirit as I nurture my mind and body. I feed the body food, I feed the mind information, and through prayer and the reading of The Bible I feed my spirit what it needs. If I strike a balance of these three things my chances of getting this weight off and becoming a healthy person rise exceedingly.
I want to say one last thing. Christianity is for everyone. No matter where or who you are God is right now reaching his hand out to you and saying, “come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” He doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve done, he wants to love on you better than any parent ever could. But God is a gentleman. He is waiting to be asked. I asked Him on September 9, 1979 in a college dorm It is a choice I am glad I made.
Merry Christmas and stay healthy friends.