Losing Weight God's Way...pt3

Why are so many people overweight? First, lets look at some of the excuses for being overweight. Obesity tends to run in families, but since family members share diet and lifestyle habits as well as genes, identifying genetics as the sole cause may be difficult. Simply put, you are not overweight because your mom was, or your grandma was, you are overweight, and they were too, because of poor eating habits. There are some medications that will make you gain weight. I have taken steroids for bronchitis and felt like I could eat a buffalo on the run. The effects should not last a lifetime though. I am guilty of overeating at stressful times. When Abe was so sick and in the hospital I put on over 10lbs from stress eating. I had my focus on the wrong thing. I am getting back on track finally.I love what Charles Stanley said, "Remember the flesh that rages within you is at war with God, not with you. You may feel as though the battle is yours, but in a spiritual sense it is God's battle. We are the ones that must learn to say no to the desires of the flesh, but not just because we are disciplined. Without a sincere love for God and a desire to obey His will for our lives, discipline becomes nothing more than a physical exercise."The flesh is the part of us that stands in opposition to God's truth. It cannot be improved, disciplined, or changed. It is totally self-focused. It is self-centered, self-pleasing, self-promoting, self-seeking, self-concious, self-righteous, self-indulgent. Oswald Chamber writes: "If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself." We overcome the flesh by setting the focus of our hearts on loving the One who gave us life.There you have it, the answer to permanent weight loss is summed up in those 2 paragraphs. Change your focus. Change your eating habits for God, not because you want to look good in a pair of jeans. When you say no to that second helping, or that krispy kreme, because you want to please God, He will help you with the rest. Soon, you won't even be thinking about food. But it is a DAILY battle. Have you ever noticed how much the Bible says about "today?" Choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve, TODAY is the day of salvation, etc. That is why you should live for the day, not worry about tomorrow. Every day give your eating to God as worship, you won't believe how much that will change your spiritual life. So give up the urge to listen to worldly wisdom. Admit your gluttony is a sin problem, and remember, only Jesus can deliver from sin. You can't get deliverance from a pill, or a diet.How many overweight people 50 yrs of age or older have you seen in church requesting prayer for different things like diabetes, heart disease, etc, and testify that the devil put those diseases on them when the truth is the devil had nothing to do with it. They chose death by their years of overeating. Deut 30:19 - I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life... Lets not spend our lives digging our graves with a fork, and expect the results of that to go away in a prayer line in an instant. Yes, God is a loving God but He is also just. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.