Take the Freedom Path

I tell you, the enemy you face does not come from without but from within.  There is nothing keeping you from blessings but the paralysis of fear through which Satan would afflict you with laziness and overweight, not as primary sins, but as offshoots of a need to escape from the terrible discomfort of fear. 

The Lord is going to make you a way through, Child, but you must have courage to walk the path. 

Ease will come as you walk the freedom path.  Freedom from overweight.  Freedom from weakness.  Freedom from procrastination and its accompanying helplessness of guilt and remorse.  The Lord is with you. There is time yet.  Take the freedom path.  

Scripture:  "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).  

Self-Discipline

The key to self-discipline is to remove “self” from the discipline; "disciplined to obedience” is a better phrase.  Strive to abide, rest, exercise, eat, relate to others and serve in Jesus' Name and for His Sake.  Don’t research the art of discipline, you will be overwhelmed.  Moment by moment walk, talk, breathe and live in the Lord, and discipline will be a result rather than a goal; an effect of the Holy cause of abiding in Him   

Do not pray for self-discipline, pray to abide more consistently in the Lord.   

Abiding is a state the devil can’t disrupt; his strategies only spur you to abide more closely.  Understand that abiding in the Lord is your best pursuit.

Scripture: "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it...'" (Luke 9:23-24 NIV).

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7, KJV).   

Discipline Is Your Friend

Embrace discipline, because it will serve as a vehicle for strength.  Push yourself a little bit. The fruits of this will be for good and not evil in your life.  The Lord is with you,  and He will protect you. 

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it"  (Hebrews 12:11). 

From Spirit to Flesh

The mystery of Christ is that we must die in order to live.  Giving up in order to receive is the opposite of the world’s philosophy, which tells us we must strive hard to obtain what we need and want. The Bible tells us that flesh must die to its own desires, giving way to the Christ-submitted spirit.    

The focus of the Christian’s heart is to know God, in fact, knowing God is to be the goal of our lives. The nurture God provides enables us to be lifted above the storm of earthly care, and we are provided every blessing in the Heavenly realms. This translates into corporeal blessing, because it is through intimacy with Christ that the reality of Christ is translated from Spirit to flesh. 

Scripture:  "...those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14 NIV).  

Dieting and Legalism

You are being strengthened toward the only diet plan that will truly work for you, and that is moment by moment abiding and moment by moment obedience.  You don’t have to discipline yourself; your challenge is not one of self-discipline.  It is nearly the opposite; it is a challenge of falling back into the Lord's arms, a release of your will into His hands.  You do not have to tame your will, you need to release it.  Release your right to yourself; practice releasing your right to yourself, and watch and see what God will do.   

 If the Lord were to allow you permanent success through your own efforts, you would acquire the inaccurate belief that your liberation arrived because you followed your own rule (or that of a diet plan).  With that belief would come judgment toward those who do not also follow your rule.  This is the tyranny of legalism, which enslaves not only those who believe in it but also everyone who has the misfortune to come into contact with that person.  Pity the one who is loved by a person who suffers the sin of legalism. 

The way to be truly thankful for the food you eat is to stop taking for yourself and start receiving from God's hand.   

Re Dieting

Do not put "do and do" and "rule on rule" over your own head. The devil loves lists. They help him to organize his strategies of attack; and you cannot stand against him. The only way you can be unpredictable to Satan is to abide in the Lord.

In-the-moment obedience will protect you.

The enemy of your soul can’t touch your will; he can only manipulate your desires. A commitment to obey is difficult for him to attack.

An obedience commitment differs from the kind of desperate game you play when you attempt to outfox your sinful nature. Commitment does not need to destroy the source of temptation or even to hide from it.

Commit, not to abstaining or partaking or to any set of rules; but to the Lord.

Scripture: "...he said, 'This is the resting place, let the weary rest'; and, 'This is the place of repose'—but they would not listen. So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there—so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured (Isaiah 28:12-13).

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God..." (Hebrews 4:9).

 

Just This...

Self imposed discipline kills. Christ centered obedience liberates.

The above was a direct word from the Lord that I've questioned a bit in the weeks since I recorded it here. The word "kills" seemed a little strong. Self-imposed discipline, if I could only attain it, doesn't seem so bad. But this morning (11-4-08) I've found this Scripture:

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" 2 Corinthians 3:6

Faith First

Self-castigation will not have the effect you desire; you cannot draw near to God by reviling yourself. You must partake of God's mercy rather than pleading for Him to be merciful. He IS merciful; stop begging Him to be what He already is. You do not have to pay penance. You do not have to analyze how you have gotten into your present state. You seem to believe that this analysis is necessary so that you can retrace your steps, but there is no going back. You cannot travel into the past; you cannot "have another go." You can only walk forward from this point in time.

You've come to believe that your heart can be reconciled to God through obedience. This is incorrect. Peace with God is possible only as you partake of the Holy blood of Christ. Obedience is a natural outflow of love for God. Nurture your love for Him and obedience will flow. No program of self-improvement will change your course of healing. God is the one who will heal you. You do not procure healing for yourself; you receive it as a gift.

Set your heart on things above and quit worrying about your circumstances. The day-to-day responsibilities God has allowed will take care of themselves; you cannot affect them either for good or for evil through worriment. Rest in the Lord. He is in your circumstances.

Your circumstances may have eroded your ability to obey, but they have not touched your faith. Obey out of love and gratitude to God, but do not seek to set up for yourself rules in an attempt to earn His favor. You can never come to Him through obedience; you come to Him through acceptance. Remember this one principle and your life will become one of unadulterated joy and freedom in Him.

Scripture: "...from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Error Made by Job's Friends

Do you really think God to be so harsh a taskmaster that He would punish you instead of healing you? Do you expect to meet with condemnation rather than acceptance despite the Holy blood, the forgiven sin, the free pardon of grace?

Remember the error made by Job's friends, and do not fall to the same deception. Each of Job's counselors analyzed Job in order to discover some sin or shortcoming that had caused his misfortune. Their conclusions were wrong although their counsel was good. You have fallen to a similar misconception.

Physical pain is not punishment. Give up your guilt; its stain is cleansed by the blood of Christ. Is there any stain of guilt that God cannot cleanse through the blood of Jesus Christ? Is anything too difficult for Him? Is there any sinner who, having confessed and asked forgiveness in Jesus' Name, is denied? Give up your self-condemnation. You are not weak, you are strong in Him.

Remember: make no plea but the blood of Jesus. No effort of yours can cleanse or heal. He is your healer. He has purchased your salvation. He is with you wherever you go. The path before you is not too difficult for you because the Almighty God Himself will help you.