Daily Devotional for Sunday January 24, 2010
God in His Infinite Wisdom Gave His Children Everything Needed to Sustain This Life
(Genesis 9:3)
God, in His infinite wisdom, gave His children everything needed to sustain this life. I have always maintained that the Bible contains everything we need for every aspect of our life. That includes what we eat. In the study I have done in regard to Biblical diets, I have to admit that the dietary laws found in the book of Leviticus are perfect for sustaining our bodies and health throughout this life. God made us, He should know best what it takes to run these human machines we use during this lifetime.
Now, I have to be the first to admit that I DO NOT eat according to the dietary laws found in the book of Leviticus. I don't see a trip through the McDonald's drive thru, drinking a liter of Coke to wash down hot dogs and pizza, or even a pint of Haggan Daaz ice cream anywhere in the Bible. I have made up my mind to do better. God has blessed me with great health throughout my life. I have been able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and never worry about gaining weight. I have just been blessed.
That still gives me no excuse for abusing my Temple the way I do, and by not taking the proper care of it that I should. Over the past 6 years, I have done a much better job in eating a balanced and nutritional diet that has enabled me to do what I do for the Lord 24/7/365.
As you know from reading these Devotionals, our purpose in this life is to serve and glorify God. Only God knows when our work here is over and we graduate to Heaven. So it is our responsibility during this life to maintain our bodies to the best of our ability, so that we are at maximum efficiency in our ability to serve the Lord. That means getting the proper exercise, and eating the right foods. There is enough research on the books to tell us that how we feel each day, our immune system, many infirmities we get, even major diseases can be greatly affected and influenced by our diet.
That being the case, it is then incumbent on us to research and discipline our eating habits so that we are putting into our bodies the best things possible. It is amazing how much more we can accomplish each day when we feel good and when we have energy. It becomes our responsibility to be the best we possibly can be each day to serve God, and that means eating the things that will keep our bodies healthy and strong.
I really do love you and care about you. I have been involved long enough in the nutritional world through my study of the Word, to know that it does make a big difference what we put into our bodies each day. I received so many wonderful emails after my Devotional on gluttony, thanking me for talking about something that is clearly defined as sin in the Word, yet seldom discussed. While I do my best each day to prepare you and try to encourage you to be the best servant of God you possibly can be, today it has been necessary to point out an obvious, but often overlooked aspect of our service.
It is difficult for God to use us when we are always tired, when we are always sick, and when we have neglected ourselves to the point we have trouble just getting around each day. I want to challenge you today to pray about this part of your life and ask God to help you to have the discipline to take control over your Temple. Ask Him to give you the discipline to exercise regularly and to eat the right things, so that you are in the best health possible. I will be praying for you in this area.
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller