There is a Bible scripture that says:
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
If read in context, this is where Jesus is trying to get his disciples to stay awake and be watchful as He prays before He goes to His death on the cross. My Pastor spoke on this scripture yesterday at church.
When I came home I watched a couple of episodes of "All Creatures Great and Small" on Netflix which is an old British sitcom created for TV. It is about a veterinarian's office in the early 1900s.
In one of the episodes I watched, Dr. Herriot is putting a plaster cast on the broken leg of a newly born calf which has stumbled over something and hurt itself. In the scene just following, it shows the calf walking unsteadily towards it's mother with the aid of the cast. As I watched the little animal I thought of those words "the flesh is weak" and suddenly it dawned on me that that is why we need to eat healthy -- precisely because the flesh is weak.
The flesh is susceptible to all sorts of things: from it's own environment, to what we put on or in our bodies. The flesh is weak meaning it needs help to survive successfully in the normal way. The Bible says this is a dead and dying world which is why we needed to be rescued by Christ and given new life in the hereafter -- even philosophers have pointed out that we are born to die. What we generally refer to as "life" is the space in between birth and death.
My position or place is to put my trust in God for all those things over which I have no control -- and to be trustworthy in those things that I influence -- like what I choose to eat.
I think that the reason I've had such a "disconnect" between what I eat and not only how much I weigh but how I feel and the state of my body fitness is... well I'm not sure about that -- but I feel a connection now through the words "the flesh is weak." I fully see now that I need to nurture my weak flesh as well as I can in order to give my flesh as much strength and health as I have influence over. Knowing that my flesh is weak and needs my help is inspiring to me. That may sound funny, but I mean it sincerely. By those words I am inspired to eat my salads with the full understanding that I am helping my body gain strength with each mouthful.
I also feel inspired to not betray my own body with food that will not add to its strength. Some foods will force it into overwork and illness -- things it finds hard to deal with. It is hard for my body to deal with starchy carbs. It is hard for my body to deal with candy and junk food. The food that helps my body to heal and to be in health is fresh raw organic vegetables and a little good protein, plus some nuts and seeds. Each person's body is weak in its own area. Mine is weak in handling sugars and things that turn to sugar after they are eaten.
"The flesh is weak." I never realized how inspiring those words could be. I always focused on the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak as almost an excuse for being weak. But seeing that little calf supported by that cast just let me see that even though the flesh is weak we can do things to strengthen and maintain it. Not like God, but like a steward. God gives the calf healing and the cast keeps it in place until that comes. God gives us what He gives us, and we are to be good stewards of His gifts -- keeping our faith in Him and expecting good things to come from Him.
We do not all have the same spiritual gifts and we do not all have the same physical gifts, either. I am planning on helping my body to deal with its weakness through what I give it to eat. This is a change in perspective from being the victim to being the guardian. From the perspective of living in American, I am the guardian of what goes into my mouth. There are some people who have not much choice and I intend to pray for them -- but I live in a land of abundance. The economy is bad but the grocery stores don't look any different -- they are still burgeoning with boxes and cans of processed foods which do not aid the flesh. The only thing that aids the flesh that God gave us, is the food He also gave us, in its most natural state: fresh, raw, unprocessed. This fresh raw unprocessed food is the cast we can place on our bodies until God's healing comes.
Today this is called "organic" -- but it must also be uncooked, for the most part. I truly believe, because I have experienced the difference, that fresh raw organic vegetables do good things for my body. What we put in our mouths affects our health on many invisible levels. The flesh is weak, so we need to be careful to guard and protect it. How many studies have shown that eating a specific thing will have a specific effect on the human body? It really is important to be on guard and not eat those things that harm the body -- like processed corn syrup and sugars, like food colorings and preservatives that are found in processed foods. Like starchy carbs for the diabetic and prediabetic.
My own sister has told me for years that she believes she now has rheumatoid arthritis because of inhaling paint fumes, and eating chemical preservatives and food colorings. She can see the difference when she does not eat processed foods containing those things. I, myself, had recently gone back to eating fast food and I can tell the difference in how I feel -- and it is not good. I have a friend at church who has commented on how I look when I eat certain foods. She can tell when I am eating right and when I am not, simply by looking at my face. Yesterday she did not ask how I was doing, she just said that I needed to get back on the "diet." She knew what I was eating by looking at my face.
I can see it in the mirror, too. I no long wish to succumb -- I wish to overcome through my eating. The words "the flesh is weak" will be my reason and my inspiration. I shall no longer be the victim of my own weak flesh, but shall be the guardian and steward that protects my flesh as well as I can -- leaving the rest to God. I trust in Him! He is the One in charge and He loves us! I shall pray each day for His help and guidance in this matter and I shall overcome by faith, because He said so. Please help me Lord, to overcome.
Thank you Lord for your gifts!! Praise the Lord.
--Marcia
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
If read in context, this is where Jesus is trying to get his disciples to stay awake and be watchful as He prays before He goes to His death on the cross. My Pastor spoke on this scripture yesterday at church.
When I came home I watched a couple of episodes of "All Creatures Great and Small" on Netflix which is an old British sitcom created for TV. It is about a veterinarian's office in the early 1900s.
In one of the episodes I watched, Dr. Herriot is putting a plaster cast on the broken leg of a newly born calf which has stumbled over something and hurt itself. In the scene just following, it shows the calf walking unsteadily towards it's mother with the aid of the cast. As I watched the little animal I thought of those words "the flesh is weak" and suddenly it dawned on me that that is why we need to eat healthy -- precisely because the flesh is weak.
The flesh is susceptible to all sorts of things: from it's own environment, to what we put on or in our bodies. The flesh is weak meaning it needs help to survive successfully in the normal way. The Bible says this is a dead and dying world which is why we needed to be rescued by Christ and given new life in the hereafter -- even philosophers have pointed out that we are born to die. What we generally refer to as "life" is the space in between birth and death.
My position or place is to put my trust in God for all those things over which I have no control -- and to be trustworthy in those things that I influence -- like what I choose to eat.
I think that the reason I've had such a "disconnect" between what I eat and not only how much I weigh but how I feel and the state of my body fitness is... well I'm not sure about that -- but I feel a connection now through the words "the flesh is weak." I fully see now that I need to nurture my weak flesh as well as I can in order to give my flesh as much strength and health as I have influence over. Knowing that my flesh is weak and needs my help is inspiring to me. That may sound funny, but I mean it sincerely. By those words I am inspired to eat my salads with the full understanding that I am helping my body gain strength with each mouthful.
I also feel inspired to not betray my own body with food that will not add to its strength. Some foods will force it into overwork and illness -- things it finds hard to deal with. It is hard for my body to deal with starchy carbs. It is hard for my body to deal with candy and junk food. The food that helps my body to heal and to be in health is fresh raw organic vegetables and a little good protein, plus some nuts and seeds. Each person's body is weak in its own area. Mine is weak in handling sugars and things that turn to sugar after they are eaten.
"The flesh is weak." I never realized how inspiring those words could be. I always focused on the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak as almost an excuse for being weak. But seeing that little calf supported by that cast just let me see that even though the flesh is weak we can do things to strengthen and maintain it. Not like God, but like a steward. God gives the calf healing and the cast keeps it in place until that comes. God gives us what He gives us, and we are to be good stewards of His gifts -- keeping our faith in Him and expecting good things to come from Him.
We do not all have the same spiritual gifts and we do not all have the same physical gifts, either. I am planning on helping my body to deal with its weakness through what I give it to eat. This is a change in perspective from being the victim to being the guardian. From the perspective of living in American, I am the guardian of what goes into my mouth. There are some people who have not much choice and I intend to pray for them -- but I live in a land of abundance. The economy is bad but the grocery stores don't look any different -- they are still burgeoning with boxes and cans of processed foods which do not aid the flesh. The only thing that aids the flesh that God gave us, is the food He also gave us, in its most natural state: fresh, raw, unprocessed. This fresh raw unprocessed food is the cast we can place on our bodies until God's healing comes.
Today this is called "organic" -- but it must also be uncooked, for the most part. I truly believe, because I have experienced the difference, that fresh raw organic vegetables do good things for my body. What we put in our mouths affects our health on many invisible levels. The flesh is weak, so we need to be careful to guard and protect it. How many studies have shown that eating a specific thing will have a specific effect on the human body? It really is important to be on guard and not eat those things that harm the body -- like processed corn syrup and sugars, like food colorings and preservatives that are found in processed foods. Like starchy carbs for the diabetic and prediabetic.
My own sister has told me for years that she believes she now has rheumatoid arthritis because of inhaling paint fumes, and eating chemical preservatives and food colorings. She can see the difference when she does not eat processed foods containing those things. I, myself, had recently gone back to eating fast food and I can tell the difference in how I feel -- and it is not good. I have a friend at church who has commented on how I look when I eat certain foods. She can tell when I am eating right and when I am not, simply by looking at my face. Yesterday she did not ask how I was doing, she just said that I needed to get back on the "diet." She knew what I was eating by looking at my face.
I can see it in the mirror, too. I no long wish to succumb -- I wish to overcome through my eating. The words "the flesh is weak" will be my reason and my inspiration. I shall no longer be the victim of my own weak flesh, but shall be the guardian and steward that protects my flesh as well as I can -- leaving the rest to God. I trust in Him! He is the One in charge and He loves us! I shall pray each day for His help and guidance in this matter and I shall overcome by faith, because He said so. Please help me Lord, to overcome.
Thank you Lord for your gifts!! Praise the Lord.
--Marcia
Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mr 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
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