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Scripture for the day: Ephesians 4:17-21 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Thought for the day: Every so often, each of us, whether we’re willing to admit it or not, are prone to take stock of our lives and determine within ourselves that we are going to change the way we have been living. This determination usually revolves around a diet of some kind. And there are a lot of them, aren’t there? The variations we see in diet plans is truly staggering. Here are a few for you to consider.
*Mediterranean - eat a lot of pasta and such / tons of olive oil
*Atkins - low carb / high protein
*French woman’s diet: I guess most of them tend to be skinny or something
*Asian woman’s diet: same thing; different foods
*The Zone: consists of getting into the right balance, whatever that means
*Glycemic Index: eating only low G/I foods keeps blood sugar level low so you don’t feel hungry
*Blood type: certain foods are good for you; some are neutral and some are bad. Everything depends on your blood type.
*Sugar-busters diet: eat organic as our ancestors did (you know, the ones who had ½ the life expectancy we have)
*Low Cal / Low Fat / Low Colesterol / Nutrisystem / Jenny Craig / Weight Watchers
*Then there’s the heart healthy diet, which is what I’m on. Basically, this one says, “Eat whatever you want; if it tastes good, spit it out.”
Not to be outdone, there are hundreds of “Christian” diets: Hallelujah Diet: based on Genesis 1:29, which reminds us God gave them all the fruits of the trees to eat. (Personally, I like reading on a bit to the part where He said, “Go ahead, eat meat.”)
My favorite: the cabbage soup diet: I don’t think you really lose weight; the cabbage gives you so much gas, you look smaller from a distance.
Now, there’s one thing all these diets seem to have in common; they never work in the long run. Nine times out of ten, the person who strictly follows these, or any other, diets will put all that lost weight back on – and probably a bit more. Why? Because you can’t suppress over-eating. The tendency to overeat has to be changed, not simply overcome. The same is true for that “sin that so easily besets” us.
Today’s scripture is Paul’s way of reminding his readers where they’d been before the met Jesus. Often, he would reference his own past as an example of just how wrong we can be in our thinking about the Christ. Though we don’t live in the past, we should never forget what we were without Him. At the same time, we must never forget how Jesus has made all things new and different. Look again at verse 20 – “But you have not so learned Christ.” This word ‘learned’ comes from the same root as the word disciple. Once we’ve come to Jesus, he begins to not only teach us, but to transform us into His very likeness.
The key to any effective diet is not found in strict adherence to the “rules” of the diet. The key is to transform our way of thinking about what and how much (and even why) we eat. The key to success in following Jesus is not to adhere strictly to the “rules” of Christian living. The key is to transform our way of thinking about who and what Jesus is, and to allow Him to make the changes necessary. The key revolves around discarding the old and embracing the new. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.
Now go take on your world. – Bill