Day 47 Easter Scripture: Revelations 21:7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Application: Jesus overcame the grave on Easter morning. “He is risen. He is risen indeed!” He conquered and overcame death in your stead. because He was the Son of God. The promise of inheriting God’s Kingdom and sonship is reserved for overcomers only. No where does God say that those who shirk this responsibility has the right to be called a son of God, and will rule and reign with Him. The same with dieting. The sweet reward and victory will not be given to those that quit, are defeated and give up. Is it all worth it? Yes, of course, despite the feeling of wanting to quit on occasion, you will be thrilled to hear God say someday, “Well done thou faithful servant. Come and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.” You may feel as if you want to quit, but we don’t lean on feeling, we lean on fact, and the simple truth is rewards await the overcomer, not the underachiever.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the Scriptures I have learned through this Lenten season. I thank You for showing me one way of applying Your Word to my life in this particular area of weight control in which I need assistance and strength. Most of all, Lord God, thank You for the hope that the resurrection brings us, as we shout Easter morning, “He is risen; He is risen indeed!”

My Commitment Today:

40. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I thank You for guiding me in this journey to be free from the sin of gluttony these past 40 days. I have seen Your powerful hand at work in my life, and to You alone do I give the praise and glory. I pray that meal times may continue to be a time of intimacy with You. I pray that my appetite be normal. I pray that I be reminded of my table manners and eat no more than what is nourishing. I pray that I continue to be whole. Amen
Day 46 Holy Saturday Scripture: James 4: 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.Day 46 Holy Saturday Scripture: James 4: 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.Application: Today as we drink in the silence of Jesus’ body laying in a borrowed tomb we must relive what the early disciples and followers of Christ must have experienced. And that was the devil coming at them in their thoughts and actions telling them that all had been lost. Had they stopped to recall and believe all the promises of Jesus’ foretold to them, they could have told the devil he was a liar. Jesus plainly said He was the Messiah, and the Torah prophesied these events, yet they felt all had been lost. As we reflect on this we can apply it to our dieting efforts. When the devil tells us we will never lose the weight, we are at a standstill, we will never be delivered from God, that He can’t break the bondage’s of perhaps almost a lifetime, or that we just can’t make it through the day, we need to tell him he is a liar and a thief. We need to resist him by reciting Scriptures that have been stored in our memories and are available a few feet away from us in our Bibles. If we resist the devil he must flee from us. It doesn’t say he might or he should, but he will. We know from Scripture that satan quotes Scripture as seen in the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, but Jesus quoted back to him what Scripture says, and he had to leave. When you are faced with an “I can’t do this another day”, turn to the Word of the Lord, say and mean, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Prayer: Forgive me Lord, for the times I try to reason with the devil rather than resist him with the sword of Your Word. Forgive me Father, when I react so weakly without first confessing it to You and drawing on Your power. Forgive me when I don’t resist, but give in and give up so easily. I choose to submit to You today as Your Word says. In Jesus’ name I vow. Amen

My Commitment Today:

39. Lord God, You are Light and You are Truth and You have guided me to a pleasant place. You have freed me from the bondage of overeating. I can now eat like a normal person. I can now lose the weight that I need to lose. I can now proclaim Your name to others as He who helps us in the face of our bondages. May it please You to guide me throughout the day and may I pause often to praise Your holy name. Amen

Day 45 Good Friday Scripture: 2 Cor. 12: 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Application: The grace that God gives is indeed sufficient. Two thousand years ago Jesus withstood an unfair trial and was crucified with all of mankind’s sins upon Him. God’s grace was sufficient then, how much more for us in whatever trial we face. Our trials are so very small if we put them into perspective. We are carrying around extra weight, not the weight of the world as Jesus did. It is only when we lose sight that dieting and maintaining is not impossible do we thwart our own efforts to draw upon His strength. It is when we are weak that we need to rejoice. Not when we are strong. When we are strong it is in our own might or the result of a particularly good day; but when we are weak it is then that we can count on Him rushing to our aid and resting His power upon on us. “It is not by might, or willpower, but by strength, thus saith the Lord.” Draw on Him for your every need as you realize He is willing to rest His power upon you. He did not have our support in His need–only our burdens. You can count on Him to help you through your trials of life, even weight loss.

Prayer: Forgive me this day Lord, when I blow out of proportion my small trial of losing weight. Help me to remember what You sacrificed for me on the cross without complaint or hesitancy. Grant that Your power may rest upon me when I do grow weary so that I may bask in Your strength. Amen.

My Commitment Today:

38. Mighty is Your name, O Lord, and to You we turn to for redemption. I thank You for coming to me in the midst of my food bondage and speaking, “Peace be still.” The battle is not as fierce now. You have given me control over this area of my life. It has become profitable for me to talk with You throughout this journey, for You have heard and You have answered. I will not rob you of the glory for this wonderful freedom. I will proclaim to others my help is in the name of the Lord. Grant me another day, in the name of Jesus, freedom from overeating. Amen

Day 44 Maundy Thursday Scripture: John 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Application: Jesus told His disciples at the Last Supper that He would be betrayed and would be taken away from them. He wanted to prepare them by telling them beforehand, and they still didn’t get it, did they? They still forsook Him, fled, doubted, and hid themselves for fear of what might happen to them. They reacted with quick solutions to a complex problem. When we are dieting and trying to get back to what is a normal weight, we sometimes take desperate measures and go for the quick fix remedy or fad diet. We might even drop some weight, often times we may just drop some money and time. Either way, we have rewacted poorly. Jesus told us that we would be in the world, but to not be part of the world. If you keep on losing the same pounds over and over every year, there is certainly no peace in that. Taking a sensible approach to your weight loss, losing slowly but surely, and then keeping it off would be the way to overcome. Overcome means to longer face the same obstacle over and over again. “We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.” If you desire to shed your weight permanently you can’t expect the ways of the world to present you an eternal solution. And you can’t forsake Him and flee either. Jesus offers you eternal victory. Jesus offers you escape from bondage, deliverance from the propensity to overindulge, and rest to the weary, those who are tired of falling on and off the dieting wagon. To receive His peace will take some effort on your part. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” What is the truth? The truth is to gain, lose and regain means we have something wrong in our eating habits, emotions, and thought processes. Our bodies are not meant to be put to the test of yo-yo dieting. In fact, this process will eventually ruin your metabolism and health and make any genuine and lasting attempt to regain normalcy to become nearly impossible. Peace may mean some soul searching as to why we turn to the comforts of food rather than to turn to the Comforter who is able to sort through our emotions and give us help in the time of our need. God has said, “Come now, let us reason together.” It would be more wise to seek out the root cause of why we have this reoccurring problem, or perhaps why at a certain time in our life we developed a weight problem. Our body is rebelling and telling us outwardly that there is a problem by its testimony of unhealthy overweight gain. We are told to take heart, that He has overcome the world. If we want to overcome our weight problems, then let us continually turn to Him who has overcome everything on our behalf. He holds your victory in store for you.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord God, that You make a way of escape from reoccurring problems in my life. I believe You have the answer for me to overcome once and for all my weight problems along with the issues that caused them. Today I will seek You for guidance and answers, though it might be painful, as to why I turn to food when You are right along side of me to help me instead. Free me from the false comfort of food and give me your peace instead, in Jesus’ name. Amen

My Commitment Today:

37. Blessed are those that put their trust in You, Lord. I have trusted You to help me overcome my gluttony and You have shown Your servant favor. I thank You for delivering me from the false god of food addiciton.  You have set my feet on the right path and each day I become stronger and less apt to wander. I thank You for freeing me and for leading me in the path of righteousness for Christ’s sake. Dine with me this day and prevent me from over-indulgence. Amen

Day 43 Scripture: Acts 13:39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

Application: The Lord God gave the Israelites dietary laws for their health and well being. Daniel and his companions would not eat the fine fare of the King. Many in times past have listened to God’s advice on eating, but what happened with us? How did we go so far away from what is good and natural for us? Clinging to the dietary laws did not justify the Israelites but was a school teacher with instruction until the Messiah came to justify through faith. But can we learn a great deal of valuable information from the Scriptures and incorporate them into our current diets? Yes, it is amazing as one goes through Scripture and finds so much of it dealing with food. I am reminded that Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life. If we choose that Bread of Life over and above all the pomp and attention we pay to eating we discover that we may eat what we want, but we no longer want what we used to eat. This is a commitment to a healthier lifestyle; not just a dieting remedy. Many churches nowadays are raising up groups of diet, exercise and Bible studies as one unit focused on the entire needs of a person. First Place has an excellent program as well as Fit 4. You might even start a support group yourself if your church doesn’t have one, or ask your pastor about the possibilities of incorporating such a program into your church structure. Support is everything while dieting, and more than that, now that we are once again right with God, we are now justified by Christ Jesus and our past is erased. If you haven’t made a fresh start yet with your eating habits, what are you waiting for? Justified means, just as I’ve never done that. Jesus can truly make a new creature out of you.

Prayer: Lord, had I reasoned with myself about eating only that which was wholesome for me and the right portion, I would not be here struggling to lose weight. Father, as I close in on making my goal weight, I pray that through Jesus I’ll be justified—just as if I had never done that. Remove far from me the propensity to eat awry, and give me each day the Bread of Life instead. Amen

My Commitment Today:

36. Lord God, You have said when we delight ourselves in You, You will give us the desires of our heart. It has been my desire to overcome my gluttony. You are giving me the victory. I am conscious of Your ever present help. I am not drawn by the lure of overating as I was. I feel hope arise each and every day. And it all started with a prayer and seeking You in this area daily. Thank You for caring for all of the things that trouble us. Thank You for setting us free from ingrained habit and willful sin. Be our guest at meal times today. Deliver us from temptation. Amen

Day 42 Scripture: Colossians 1:10 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Application: That we might please Him in every way! That includes whether we eat or drink, doing all for the honor and glory of Christ. It is not pleasing to Him to see us with ill effects of weight gain or obesity. It says so little of Christ when we know there are the homeless and the hungry and we continue to overfeed ourselves. Did you ever really stop to wonder if your eating habits were pleasing to Christ? My problem was that I was an overeater. Once I started, I could not stop. I only ate one meal a day, but it was a constant binge. One meal a day would be all right if I were fasting, but I wasn’t. Plain and simple I was bingeing. Do you know how to stop once you have had your appropriate portion, or do you tend to go overboard, and not quit when you’ve had enough? Here is a passage from Proverbs. Proverbs 25:16 “If you find honey, eat just enough — too much of it, and you will vomit.” Read the following statements taken from The Big Book of Health Tips to see if you are a compulsive overeater undermining your diet. If you think about food most of the time and find it difficult to stop eating once you start, you might be a compulsive overeater. It’s not what compulsive eaters consume that’s their biggest problem. Rather, it’s the emotional problems behind their food obsession. If you are a compulsive eater, here are five ways that you can develop a healthy relationship with food and regain control over your eating: 1. Learn to love and accept yourself. Make a list of your good qualities and then read that list over often. 2. Find a group of people, such as a network of friends or a support group led by a person trained in eating disorders, where you will be accepted while you work on your eating problem. 3. Don’t try to be “cured” by a strict diet. Nerve chemicals and hormones go wildly out of whack during quick weight-loss diets. The result is more cravings and binge eating. Have several small meals a day, balanced with carbohydrates, protein and fat, instead of a couple of huge ones. You’ll keep your blood sugar and brain chemicals stable, as you help curb your overeating. 4. Learn to recognize your trigger foods. If you find potato chips irresistible, don’t buy them. Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. 5. Get in touch with your feelings. Is your stomach hungry or is it really your heart? What emotional traumas do you need to deal with? Get these issues out in the open and deal with them. Most important of all, confess it to God and seek His healing touch through the Bible and repentance through sensible dieting.

Prayer: Father, You know that I have caused my own problems with my weight gain issues, but now that I know the truth, I believe You have set me free for life. Keep me in Your Word and will that whatsoever I do I may glorify and honor Christ Jesus, even in my eating habits. Amen

My Commitment Today:

35. Dear God, I must thank You for taking my focus off of food and placing my affection upon You where it belongs. The answer was there all olong but I was to blinded to see. Thank You for setting me free in Christ Jesus. As I dine today be with me. Help me never to return to the bondage of food I was trapped in. Cause me to pause and pray if I am tempted. I do know that it is a daily walk. I do know that it takes focus and comittment on my part. And I do know that You are there helping me on this journey. I thank You and I praise You for the wonderful change You are making in me. Amen

Day 41 Scripture: James 1:2-3 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Application: Perseverance is the key word to taking off any amount of weight whether it be ten pounds or one hundred pounds. It doesn’t, as we full know, come off as easily as when it started coming on us. We may need weeks or possibly a year or two of perseverance, day in and day out to rid ourselves of the excess weight, but being faithful–perseverance– is what will do it. Our faith is on line here. Does God really care? Will He help me? Is it true that when I am weak, He is strong? Can He give me his power to accomplish my goals? It is a trial of faith in a sense, because each one of these statements above refers to our faith and belief system about God. Is He really the Master of all? Did He create our flesh, but is unable to contain or sustain it? Does He really want all areas of my life turned over to Him? If you answered no to these questions then your faith was placed on trial and you are guilty of shortchanging God and tarnishing who He is and who He says He is. Count it all joy then as God proves to you, even through your dieting efforts that He is able to do all He has promised and more.

Prayer: Father, forgive my slightest doubt. I know that You are able to do all that You have said and promised in Your Word, and today I am trusting You to build a faith that is unshakable in all areas of my life, in Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen

My Commitment Today:

Day 40 Scripture: Hebrews 12:11 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.

Application: The discipline that dieting is creating is to reap a harvest of righteousness and peace. We will become righteous for following the pathway we should be on, and we will have peace with ourselves for losing the weight, and peace with God for forsaking a long standing sin. Note that I didn’t say that the discipline would be without some unpleasantness at the time we are being trained by it; for God disciplines and chastises those He loves. We erred with food, now we need discipline to learn how to be its master, rather than vice versa. When you train for a marathon the discipline is often truly physically and mentally excruciating. You build yourself up by the day to prepare for the one big day that you want to cross the finish line. The discipline to face each day despite weather conditions, painful knees, and possibly even colds or upsets stomachs gives a person an overall view of how they will run the race. If the disciplines are too hard during the training period, perhaps one might forget about running the race on the big day while competing against others. We compete against ourselves and challenge ourselves when we diet, so that we might win the race, and have health restored to us. In that light, discipline does not look so painful after all when it yields such a rich harvest afterward.

Prayer: Thank You Father for the virtue of discipline. Lack of discipline put me on a diet, so the reverse principle will work at regaining my self control in this area. We thank You for this period of training where we become physically able once more, and we especially thank You for the fruit of this discipline which we can apply to our spiritual lives also. Thank You for showing us the benefits of discipline in a way that I can comprehend it. Amen

My Commitment Today:

34. You alone, O God, have stabilized me and given me the ability to reject my propensity to overeat. I feared I was trapped in this sin, and You have come and set me free. I desire to please You and honor You in my food and drink. I give You the glory and honor for breaking this bondage. I thank You for the second chance to allow my body size to return to what is normal and healthy. Thank You, Lord, for freedom in Christ Jesus. Amen

Day 39 Scripture: 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Application: If you have successfully been losing weight, you might take a moment to pause and thank God for another added benefit of weight loss, healthy foods, and exercise. You may notice that the dark cloud of depression that once overshadowed you endlessly is now being lifted. It is pretty hard not to equate your weight loss and good habits now without feeling much better, physically, mentally and spiritually. Food is fuel. If you put gasoline into a car tank, and that gas was tainted with a mixture of water, you will have serious engine problems. So it is with the food fuels that we put into ourselves. There will now be so many notable improvements in your overall health that you will wonder why you put off the decision for so long to lose weight the sensible way. There will be less depression and more energy. The backaches will cease and without that constant pain you find your moods are more cheerful. The feet quit hurting and you are allowed to once more enjoy activities which you dread. Again, you can see the cloud of depression lifting because losing weight has enabled you to start enjoying some simple pleasures again. Pleasures that our darkened minds had buried long ago. God loves you and the fullness of the life in Christ Jesus as He has promised is proof enough.

Prayer: We thank You, Lord, for the benefits of living within Your confines of how we are to treat our bodies. We thank You so much for laying down basic principles for us to follow. We also praise You that You have translated us from the kingdom of darkness to Your Son, Jesus Christ’s Kingdom. Thank You, Lord for showing us the way in mind, body and spirit. Amen

My Commitment Today:

33. Heavenly Father, a wonderful thing is happening within me as I take control over my food addiction. I no longer feel condemnation. I know that You have forgiven me, and I am beginning to forgive myself. The scale is no longer an obsession. The mirror does not point back an accusing finger at me. I am beginning to feel better about myself. I heartedly thank You for Your help in this troublesome area. I pray this day for continued grace and renewed strength that I might not slip back into the sin of gluttony. Be my strong tower that I can run to in moments of weakness, in Jesus’ name. Amen

Day 38 Scripture: Romans 14: 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Application: Once more through another Scripture passage we are told what the Kingdom of God is not all about. It is not about eating and drinking in which we devoted so much time and pursuit into. And now that we are dieting, this is so true now. We cannot become obsessed about how we will face the day being so restricted in our caloric needs, but instead our every day focus should be on righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, I call Him the forgotten one of the Trinity. How many of you are in Him every day? How many think of Him as Scripture tells us as the Helper and the Comforter? He was given for us that we might have power to be the children of God. We need to develop a relationship with Him which results in righteousness before God, and peace and joy in our lives. Food and drink, with all its time consuming demands would not be such an unsavory master over us. Perhaps before our dieting efforts begin in earnest, we need to do a little soul searching to see why we prefer the false comfort of food over the One who gives us true comfort. A good adage to quote here is, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We need to analyze why we would forfeit righteousness, joy and peace for the temporary satisfaction that food gives. God is greater than our undisciplined appetites. I seek this well being which the Holy Spirit gives instead.

Prayer: Thank You Father for the gift of the Comforter. May I allow Him free reign in my heart and life so that I may truly know You and Your Kingdom instead of the temporary pleasures of the earth which will some day perish. I commit this day to learning ever new things about the third Person of the Trinity, and may He be pleased to dwell within me. Amen

My Commitment Today: