Idol Worship, Bitterness, and a Stubborn Heart.....

Deuteronomy 29:17-19 (New Living Translation)
17 You have seen their detestable practices and their idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.

19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!

I don't even have anything to say about this scripture. It cut my heart and I am going to have to pray about it.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Who is responsible? Who is responsible for my overeating or my eating foods that are not good for my body or for my turning to food when I should be turning to God? Who is responsible? Who was responsible when the doctor said you have 3 fibroid tumors 3 cm, 8 cm and 9 cm? Who was responsible when the doctor said you won't be able to give birth to children because you have PCOS? Who is responsible?

I have the ability to take responsibility for my behavior. I have made attempts at taking responsibility for my behavior.....but nothing has been lasting.

What will it take for me to take responsibility for my actions I often ask myself?

I have come to the realization that taking responsibility is a choice even when I feel as if I am stuck or paralyzed in my circumstances.

Today I am making a different choice.

I feel called to do a 10 day fast. I will be documenting my progress on my blog. If anyone wants to join me please feel free. I will be starting on January 2nd.

Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Judgement

Matthew 7:1-6 (The Message)
A Simple Guide for Behavior 1-5 "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
6"Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.

My husband and I were having a conversation about something that is near and dear to our hearts. I began to talk to him about how wrong he was in dealing with the situation and blindly ingnoring how I had been handling the situation. All I could do is point my fingers at what he was doing wrong and never considering my part. My husband brought to my attention that I had been ignoring my part and I just did not see that I had a part in it! After all it was him in the wrong, not me.

Well God is full of grace. He brought me to Matthew 7:1-6 this morning. Need I say more? I am still processing what I have done wrong and trying to make things right. I just wanted to say that God is faithful and I believe that since my heart is for Him she shows me my sin, I confess it, ask for forgiveness and it's over! What a wonderful God I serve!

Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7 speaks of a woman dressed to seduce the unexpected soul. This chapter talks about being taken out and into adultery and fornication when your guard is down. The writer says in

Proverbs 7:1-5
1 My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your nearest kin,
5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.

God's word protects us from being "taken out" into sin. When we have His word written on our hearts and we actively do what is in versus 1-5 we have a better chance at saying not to sin.

I relate the harlot in verses 6-27 to food or shall I say overeating.

The food looks so beautiful, appetizing, colorful, and it smells marvelous! You say to yourself I can't wait to eat it....It will be so good to my soul. After all I've heard it said that "food is good for the soul". I will eat until I am filled all night. After all, I can eat as much as I want, no one will know. Or worse, the people surrounding you are just as soul hungry as you are and you feel just fine feeding your face until your soul is as full as it can get.

When it is all over, you sit or lay down and think about how horrible you feel from stuffing yourself. Is it worth it? Of course not but the cycle continues and it leads to death.

"DEATH IS THE REWARD FOR AN UNDISCIPLINED LIFE".

6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the youths,
A young man devoid of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 She was loud and rebellious,
Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “ I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
And will come home on the appointed day.”
21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,[a]
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
And all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 Her house is the way to hell,[b]
Descending to the chambers of death.

Who Is First?

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." Exodus 20:4 NIV

Lord are you first or have I chosen another? You see I have put other things before God for so long I don't even know how to consistantly put Him first. So I have to fight to keep Him first everyday. It is not just something that happens automatically. It takes work. It is also not about how I feel. Emotions are fickle..... Happy one minute and sad the next.

I am choosing to put God first and glorify Him in my body and in my life.

I fasted today breakfast and lunch and I ate too much at my dinner time meal. I feel stuffed. I pray that tomorrow when it is time to eat dinner that I am able to practice self-control over what I eat. I pray that my desire will not be to over eat. Lord I pray that you will get at my heart and heal it where it hurts. Lord show me why I ate too much...in the name of Jesus! AMEN

An Encouraging Testimony

Here is a testimony from The Lord's Table....

My love of food has kept me in bondage since I was a very young girl. I used food to comfort my loneliness and sooth my pain. What was used to cover pain as a child, ended up causing pain all through my adult years. I had been controlled by food every day of my life.

Along with food, other addictions came in to my life. All were self-destructive. When I accepted Christ in my life in my thirties, God started freeing me of some of the other things in my life.
Most of them fell away so easily, and I thought for sure He would deliver me of food issues. I cried out for many years to be freed from the bondage food had on me.

When I saw The Lords Table website address in the church bulletin, I was interested. At first I was angry, because I thought I am a Christian and I spend time with God every day. Well I learned fast I was not really seeking the Lord the way the course suggested. I started turning to
the Word, and looking there for Christ, and God really opened my eyes to his truth.

I had always been a "feeling" Christian. Did I feel God in my prayer time? Did I feel God during worship? Well, I soon learned I was overlooking the way God wants to speak to me through his Word. I was always frustrated, because I really didn't know how to get anything from the Word. Well, the one thing I have been blessed with through this course is my new relationship with the Word of God. Reading and meditating on His Word does fill that hole in our hearts and, as a by-product, food has much less pull on me than before.

I thank God for showing me my sin, releasing me from the bondage of food, and bringing me closer to Him. I now seek to eat in a way that pleases the Lord, and it is a constant learning of His ways to eat, not my old way of eating anything and everything. I know if I keep looking to Him, He will strengthen me to live in this new way with food as a fuel and not a lover.

Through The Lords Table, I have gone from 188 to 168 pounds and yesterday, my last day of the course, I was able to wear a dress to my niece's wedding that I wore to my daughter's wedding. Only God could have helped me do that.

Beginning weight: 188 Current weight: 168

Paige Stahley

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Matthew 6:25--KJV

Feasting on God

So many days I went to food instead of the Lord when I was hurting, lonely, afraid, bored, happy, sad, frustrated, etc. Food was my friend. It felt so good going down. It made the emotions go away for a moment only to find that a short time later the emotions returned with a vengeance. Then I would eat again. It has been a cycle my whole life.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels." (Psalm 81:10-12)

I cried out to the Lord over and over again. I could never stay on a diet for any length of time. I had been trying to "diet" in my own strength and I failed time after time. I gave in to my desire to eat again and again. God gave me over to my stubborn heart and allowed me to eat and eat until I was often physically sick. I did not fully realize that the Lord was after my heart. His desire is to change me from the inside out! Hallelujah! I have learned that He wants me to put Him before anything else in my life. Even food. The biggest desire of my life is to grant His desire. I am His beloved daughter and I long to be close to Him.

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts." (Jeremiah 15:16)

I am learning to feast on the Lord by sitting at His feet and listening to His voice as I "open wide my mouth so that He may fill it with His word".

Under the Power

1 Corinthians 6:12 - All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.


This scripture is profound for me because even though eating is lawful, I have allowed myself to be brought under the power of food. I have allowed myself to try to fill and empty soul with food when the only One that can fill an empty soul is Jesus Christ.


With God's help, I have started to make new choices...It is not about what I eat. It is about why I am eating. I no longer wish to eat for any reason other than true hunger. If I am not hungry I will not eat. If my soul is hungry I will choose to feast on Jesus Christ.


John 6:53-58 - 53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

The Lord is Good

Tonight I sit in the presence of the Lord and I long for the words to tell Him really how good He is. There are really no words to articulate to Him how good He is. He never leaves us nor does he forsake us. He is good. How can I tell Him just how good He is. I say yet again that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever and ever. AMEN