When Jesus was in the desert Satan tempted him with food too. I can barely go 40 hours without food but Jesus had not eaten for 40 days. He was hungry when Satan said to him, If you are God's Son, tell these stones to turn into bread (Matthew 4).
Many people have a complicated relationship with food - they either eat too much of it, or are afraid of eating too much of it. I suffered with an eating disorder for many years and kilos are not the only thing you lose - you lose your joy. God wants us to eat for health and enjoyment. He doesn't want us to be obsessed with it or to binge on it.
0 Comments
Some versions of this verse say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This is possibly one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. It doesn't mean we can do absolutely anything in Christ - it doesn't mean you can make a million dollars by the age of 25, become the next pop sensation, or be the dux of your school.
In verses 10-12 Paul was telling the Philippians that had learned to be content whether he was in need or whether he had plenty. This verse means that we can bear any hardship, endure any temptation, perform any duty with the strength Christ provides. CHALLENGE: Can you think of situations where Christ's strength helped you through? Are you facing a situation now that you don't know how you will get through? Ask God for his strength. This verse is pretty self-explanatory but it's worth reflecting on. If you had to write down all your thoughts for the day in two columns, true, pure, right, holy etc. or false, impure, wrong, unholy etc. what would it look like? I have to be perfectly honest and admit that there would be quite a few things in the second column. That time I judged someone because of what they wore, that time I looked at a guy lustfully, that time I was critical of the sermon, that time I wished ill on someone who had hurt me...
So how do we think about the good stuff instead of the bad stuff?
In Luke 18:24 Jesus says, It will be very hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom. Jesus had just been telling the story of the rich man who had obeyed the commandments and lived a good life. Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor but the rich man was too attached to his things and his money so he didn't. The poor are happy because they don't have possessions and wealth weighing them down and distracting them. They will inherit God's kingdom which is worth more than any worldly goods.
This is one of my favourite verses. Probably because I tend to worry a lot and I need to be reminded to pray and give thanks instead. Worrying about stuff doesn't change anything - it just wears you out. It is also bad for your health contributing to headaches, muscle tightness in your neck and shoulders, affects your eating (overeating or not eating enough), stomach aches, trouble sleeping etc. 1 Peter 5:7 says, Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you. This is why you don't have to worry, because he is looking after you.
CHALLENGE: Write down the things that you are worried about. Pray and give them to God. Now write the things that you are thankful for - thank God for them. Cambodia has a tragic history - it has been torn by civil war, fought over by the Thais, Vietnamese, French and Japanese. Then in 1975 the communist Khmer Rouge took over the country and killed between 1.5 and 3 million people. The hope of Christ is for all, regardless of nationality, history, wealth, education, gender... When I visited there recently I met some The same is true for you too - no matter how tragic your past, there is hope and healing in Jesus.
I was never great at running (always came last) but even I know that when you are running in a race you always look ahead (30-40m ahead according to running expert, Mitchell Phillips*). If you look to the side to wave at your friends, or behind to see how far ahead you are, it slows you down. The spiritual application of this is that it's hard to run the Christian race if you are distracted by your past, or the people or things around you. Hebrews 12:2 says, We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.
CHALLENGE: What are some things that distract you from being more like Jesus? What steps can you take to fix your eyes on Jesus? Here's an example from my own life. I love music and often have it on at home and work. I realised that a lot of the secular music I was listening to was about sex, drugs, living to please yourself, money etc. and there was a lot of bad language. Not all secular music is bad but I decided to change the radio station when an inappropriate song came on. I also purchased more Christian music to listen to. That helped me to fix my eyes on Jesus and not on the worldly stuff around me. * https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/how-to-run-correctly/ I have just returned from a trip to Cambodia to visit our sponsor child and see the work of Transform Cambodia. Transform is a Christian aid organisation that helps children from the poorest slum areas of Phnom Penh. It was my second trip to Cambodia and it probably won't be my last - I love it!
Cambodia is a very poor nation. A lot of the aid work being carried out there is by Christian organisations such as Transform Cambodia. When we help nations like this we identify with Luke 4:18 which was a prophecy by Isaiah about Jesus. We are now Jesus' hands and feet and it's our job to carry out his work on earth. If I asked you to write a list of things that are important to you, what would you write? You might include things like family, friends, being happy, getting good grades, being good at sport, money, having a boyfriend, your pet dog, music, chocolate... Paul says that everything is nothing compared to knowing Jesus. He's not saying that we can't enjoy those other things, we just need to put Jesus first. He should be everything to us - we should talk to him, worship him, think about him and study his word every day. In the end, none of the other things will matter, just whether we loved Jesus.
CHALLENGE: Are there people or things in your life that are more important to you than Jesus? Pray that he will help you to put him first. Rejoice means to be cheerful. As Christians we have so much to be cheerful about.
We can be cheerful that:
This is easier said than done. So how do we rejoice in the Lord?
CHALLENGE: Look back over the last year and think of a time when things went wrong but worked out for good in the end. Thank God for this. When you feel moody, angry, sad etc - listen to worship music and talk to God. |
About UsShort and sweet inspirations for Christian teen girls. Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|