Daily Devotional for Saturday April 4, 2020

What we eat!

(Genesis 9:3)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, give me a passion, a hunger for Your Word. Let me wake up each day, excited what You will show me that day from that precious Word of God. Help me Lord each day to not just be a reader of the Word, but a DOER of the Word. In the name of Jesus I pray…AMEN!!!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: Obesity kills! Over the 21 years of Liveprayer, I have spoken often of keeping our “temples” in the best shape possible in order to be the best servants of the Lord we possibly can be. One of the factoids coming out of the Wuhan Flu pandemic is that on top of being elderly and/or having pre-existing medical issues like diabetes, auto-immune system problems, asthma, and cancer to name a few, a common denominator in many who are dying is that they are obese. We have known for decades now the many medical issues obesity causes and exacerbates. If there was ever another warning sign for people who have ignored their weight, this is one! I get it! At 62, I understand the war that exists with your weight as you get older. It seems like a lifetime ago when I could eat a pizza, a liter of Coke, a box of Hostess cupcakes, go to sleep, wake up and start the day with a huge breakfast...and never gain an ounce! As my workload at Liveprayer and nagging injuries stopped me from playing sports competitively at 41, I soon started hitting the gym 3-4 days a week and for the first time in my life eating a very disciplined diet. That lasted 15 years and was incredibly profitable physically. The past 6 years I have dropped the gym, yet still eat a disciplined diet. The past year I have had to force myself to take 30-40 minutes a day and walk, do some light weights at home, and work up a good sweat. YOU NEED TO BOTH EAT PROPERLY AND WORKOUT REGULARLY IN ORDER TO FIGHT WEIGHT GAIN AS YOU AGE, THE TIME WHEN THOSE EXTRA POUNDS CAN HURT YOU THE MOST! As always, I never ask people to do anything I don’t do first. I loved playing sports, loved the competition, those days are gone. I have to force myself most days to put in those 30-40 minutes a day working out, but I do it because I HAVE TO! I still eat pretty much what I want to, but am disciplined in doing it. I have no idea when God will say my work is over and He calls me home, but I have a RESPONSIBILITY to be in the best shape possible so I can be at my best for HIM each day! So I challenge you today to do the same. This is a personal choice each person has to make for themselves based on their individual situation as far as their current physical and health condition. However, no matter what those conditions may be, EVERYONE can do some form of exercise and EVERYONE can eat a disciplined diet. I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT EVERY DOCTOR YOU HAVE EVER SPOKEN TO HAS ENCOURAGED YOU TO DO BOTH! I will be praying for you as you seek the Lord regarding His strength and discipline each day to do some form of exercise and watch what you eat EACH AND EVERY DAY!!!

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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 Haagen Daze ice cream anywhere in the Bible. These are now trips I make less frequently. 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 until I got in my 50s. I have no excuse for abusing my temple and not taking the proper care of it that I should.

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 to the best of our ability our bodies, 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, when we have energy. It becomes our responsibility to be the best we possibly can 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 a while back, 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, 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 closing, I have done much research in this area and have tried my best to help give you a push in the right direction. Now it is up to you. If you have prayed about this, and know God is calling you to take control over this aspect of your life, then NOW is the time. TODAY is the day!!!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller