Full Size Candy Bars?!?! – Trick or Treat - Purity
554
Purity 554 10/20/2021 Purity 554 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of a Halloween Display on Maple Avenue in Troy NY on a sunny
October day comes to us from yours truly as I was rolling through the
neighborhood on the way back to the garage at the end of the workday on the 7th.
Well Halloween is only eleven days away and although I don’t have any
plans to celebrate in any significant way this year, I have already fallen
victim to the temptation to overindulge on candy treats! And for those who don’t
know that is kind of a mini-personal disaster.
Since December, I have decided to trust the Lord to help me overcome my
food addiction and get healthy by transitioning from obese to overweight. Through
my faith, a food plan, and accountability I have had some success and was on my
way to optimal health.
But lately, I have been a little less disciplined in monitoring what I have
been eating and over the last couple of weeks watched the weight loss stop and
actually gained a pound or two. I was
keeping an eye on it and even confessed my failings to my coach but hadn’t
taken any drastic measures to right the ship because I was basically staying “on
plan” in terms of the things that I was eating. It’s just that I compromised in
the amounts and not staying “on schedule” with my regular “feelings” to keep
the “tank full” so I wouldn’t binge eat.
So I started slipping a little bit, but I figured I would just stick to
my regular routine, and I would be “back on track” in a week.
Well, the thing is my regular schedule has been drastically changed this
week because I am volunteering my time at FICM’s Fall Practicum at Grace
Fellowship in Latham until today and man can I tell you that Grace Fellowship
really knows how to put on a conference and provide for their guests.
The staff and volunteers at Grace Fellowship have met all the needs of
the attendees of the Practicum by catering for breakfast, lunch, and snacks
throughout the afternoon. On day one, I
was pleased to see that they provided healthy options like salad, meats, and yogurt
so I wouldn’t have to “go off plan”. But
I also noticed that they made available a nice variety of FULL SIZE candy bars!
On day one for breakfast I stayed on plan. For lunch, I stayed on
plan. But as the afternoon dragged on
and the coffee didn’t seem to be doing its job to keep me alert, a funny thing happened:
The Full Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups made me aware of their presence and
they seemed to start communicating to me telepathically from the hallway in
which the snacks were made available to freely partake of.
Like Pookie in New Jack City, I was overcome by temptation as the Peanut
Butter Cups “just be calling me man, be calling me man… and I just had to go to
it”. So like many addicts who give into temptation
when I fell I fell hard.
If you went to the snack table late in the afternoon on Monday you may
have wondered what happened to all the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I can tell you that there were some there but
“they gone now”. My cravings drove me to
be “in for a penny, in for a pound.”
You may also wonder what happened to all the 100 Grand bars, and the
Baby Ruth’s. Oh Yeah! There weren’t many granted, probably less than 10 a piece
but what was there were consumed by me by the end of Monday afternoon!
So Tuesday came, and as those varieties of candy bars were all gone, I
moved on to the Twix and Peanut M&M’s and I am somewhat please to say that while
I had a couple of bags of M&M’s and several Twix bars yesterday, I didn’t
eat them all!.
Also yesterday, while I did overindulge in desert and had a can of Coke at
the evening meal at one of the volunteer’s homes, I ended up confessing my relapse
to several of the attendees assuring them that I had only succumbed to “missionary
rules”, which refers to the understanding that you shouldn’t refuse the hospitality
of you hosts, for eating and would
repent of my sugar relapse after the Practicum was over.
And so I confess to you here on the blog and the podcast. We as humans are not strong and the enemy
knows our weaknesses. Be it sex, alcohol, drugs, or Reese’s peanut butter cups
the enemy will come after you and tempt you to fall into the sins of the
flesh.
The problem is that saying “the devil made me do it” isn’t well received
as an excuse and if we are honest with ourselves we know that we are personally
responsible for our choices. So that’s
why I “threw myself under the bus” last night, I had to confess my sins to my
brothers and sisters in Christ so I could start the process of healing.
While they can’t stop me from making those bad choices 24/7, confessing
our falls to our brothers and sisters in Christ does two things:
1.
It takes the darkness and puts it into the light. Once the “jig is up”, we can stop running and
hiding. We are only as sick as our
secrets so instead of keeping my eating a secret and continuing in my dark and delectable
shame, I “told on myself” so I can turn from it and go back to the ways that
made me feel healthy.
2.
It makes me accountable.
I confessed my fall to others and to God so I could show that I repented
and don’t intend to repeat my sins. So
while I made no promises to anyone in particular not to indulge in sweets today
at the final day at the Practicum, I will probably comment to anyone I
confessed to last night that I am “back on track today” and demonstrate it by abstaining
from the sugary snacks and desserts that I indulged over the last two
days.
The enemy loves to pull the old “trick or treat” of temptation on us but
if we confess our weakness to others and to the Lord we can successfully turn from
the error of our ways and lean on and follow the Lord to start the walk down victory
road once again.
Until we are glorified, we will not win every battle with temptation but
when we utilize the body of Christ to help us and go to God in repentance and
ask for His strength and guidance we can overcome. The struggles are real but the victory and
freedom in Christ is real too.
Even the most successful athletic teams sometimes get blown out by a
seeming underdog but when they do true champions don’t quit. They admit their
defeat and their mistakes. But then they go back to the drawing board, figure
out where they went wrong, and reapply the disciplines of their craft that made
them successful in the first place and go back into battle and conquer.
Likewise, if we fall down, we just need to take the Lord’s hand and get
back up by telling the truth and by repenting and leaning on the Lord to give
us strength for the next victory parade.
Today’s Bible verse
is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Psalm 37:8 (NLT2)
8 Stop being angry! Turn from
your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.
Today’s verse is a warning to those who misapply “be angry
and do not sin” from Ephesians 4:26 and walk around frosty with what they think
of as “righteous indignation.”
Today’s verse tells us not to be angry, to turn from our rage
and to not lose our temper because it only leads to harm. While we can be angry at sin and work
against the kingdom of darkness in many ways, we as Christians should realize
that while our anger can motivate us to do many things for the kingdom of God,
anger is not to be our default setting.
After “Be angry and sin not”, Ephesians 4:26 advises not to
let the “sun go down on your wrath” meaning that an angry disposition is not the
attitude that Christians should be walking through life with, because as today’s
verse indicates it “only leads to harm.”
We are not to be trusted in our anger. When our emotions run
hot we generally do or say regrettable things that cause harm. The negative
consequences of anger are vast affecting others outwardly and affecting the
angry person inwardly. Anger is not one
of the fruits of the Spirit.
So as Christians we examine our anger for the root causes
and seek to resolve them. Often anger comes from ignorance, imposing your will
or expectations on others, or bitterness and unforgiveness.
The wisdom of God teaches the truth about the world and our
position in Christ. When we utilize the truth of God’s word we can see things
as they are truly are, from God’s perspective which tells us to forgive even our
enemies.
When we are angry we usually forget who we are in Christ or
who God is and how that truth answers all the situations we will face here on
earth.
So keep walking and talking with God. Tell Him what makes
you angry. Get it off your chest with your Heavenly Father and then listen to
His counsel and try to see things through the lens of truth.
Walking with God and
living according to His ways may not resolve all the problems of the world but
when we remain in a close walk with Him we can navigate through this world with
wisdom and have peace by seeing how things truly are and knowing that God has
the course of the world in His hands.
As
always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from
prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with
their walk.
Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s Dating: Secrets to Great Relating When Dating
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $5.00:
F. What Are the "Red Flags" of Destructive Dating?
What is it about "red flags"...those gut feelings that warn us
something isn't quite right? It's a feeling that protects—warning us to watch
out. At times, these red flags are as bright as the morning sun. At other
times, they are as obscure as the moon on a cloudy night... nearly impossible
to see.
Consider Carrie and Greg. When Carrie is with Greg, all is right with her world.
He is sensitive and caring—always knowing the right thing to say at just the
right time. He owns his own business, and it's going great. Everyone loves
Greg. Even if he's running late, it's because he's helping someone, and he's
always genuinely apologetic.
If Greg even has a fault, it might be he loves Carrie so much that he
worries about her all the time, which Carrie finds endearing. To calm his fears
she makes sure to text him anytime she goes anywhere and to let him know when
she returns.
Several hours after celebrating their one-year anniversary of dating, Carrie
notices that Greg has left his phone at her apartment. She laughs and taps the
screen to access his photo files and reminisce over snapshots taken earlier
that night. Then her heart sinks as she sees other images. Graphic porn
pictures and videos! She can't tear her eyes away from the shocking discovery.
And there's more. Instant messages filled with lurid language and more photos.
Ambushed by disbelief, Carrie's head throbs as her heart shatters. Why
would he do this? Just hours ago, she felt treasured...now she feels
trashed. How could he? As her burning tears flow, her breached heart
attempts its rescue...she thought she knew Greg, but this? This is a
deal breaker.
"The fruit of the Spirit is...self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Could you be in a destructive dating relationship? Identifying an unhealthy
relationship is often difficult without the aid of objective criteria. If you
are presently involved in a dating relationship, read the following statements,
then circle either yes or no for whichever best reflects your
relationship.
Destructive
Dating Check List
|
Y / N |
• When I don't respond as my date wishes, I'm belittled
and rejected. |
|
Y / N |
• When I don't please my date, it always seems to be my
fault. |
|
Y / N |
• When we go out, I feel indebted to do whatever my date
wants me to do. |
|
Y / N |
• When my date uses phrases like: "You
should..." or "I expect you to..." I feel guilty if I don't
comply. |
|
Y / N |
• I feel responsible for the happiness as well as the
unhappiness of my date. |
|
Y / N |
• My date blames me without taking responsibility for personal
failure. |
|
Y / N |
• My date tries to assume absolute authority. |
|
Y / N |
• My date has little regard for my personal feelings or
desires. |
|
Y / N |
• My date has taken the place that God alone should have
in my life. |
|
Y / N |
• My date allows little opportunity for an appeal or
compromise. |
|
Y / N |
• My date privately degrades me, my beliefs, and my
friends, but publicly appears polite. |
|
Y / N |
• My date acts excessively jealous and possessive of me. |
|
Y / N |
• My date keeps track of my time, wanting to control where
I go and what I do. |
|
Y / N |
• My date has exerted physical control over me. |
|
Y / N |
• My date has threatened to harm me. |
If you circled yes
to any one of these statements, your dating relationship has a destructive
impact on your life and needs to be changed....
"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and
pay the penalty." (Proverbs 27:12)
Love and Negative Qualities
Question: "For several years I've
been dating someone I love. He has many good qualities but is also negative,
possessive, and controlling. Should I overlook his negative qualities and stay
focused on his attractive qualities?"
Answer: Let's assume that while shopping, you find a pair of shoes you
really like. If the shoes were extremely uncomfortable, would you buy them? No
matter what attractive features the shoes have, if you buy them, they won't
wear well! Likewise, if you feel undue pressure now in your dating
relationship, consider it a warning that "it's not the right fit."
While unselfish love covers a multitude of sins (offenses), the attributes
mentioned are not merely offenses—they are character flaws that should not be
overlooked. These qualities are not consistent with someone who is Spirit-led.
The reality is, they are self-led. Love overlooks minor offenses but challenges
major character flaws so that they can be corrected.
"It [Love] is not self-seeking" (1 Corinthians 13:5).
Dating An Angry Person
Question: "I'm dating a man who is
angry all the time. Sometimes he explodes. I love him, but I wonder, if I should
continue to date him?"
Answer: No. The Bible is
not silent on this issue. Decide now that you will not continue to date him.
Destructive anger—if not stopped—is progressive and leads to domestic violence
in marriage.
"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with
one easily angered." (Proverbs 22:24)
Biblical Counseling Keys: Dating: Secrets to Great Relating When Dating.
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