One of my points in yesterday’s message to Woodland was Honor God with your Body.  If we are faithful to follow God’s guidelines on health (diet, exercise and rest) we can expect better health, more energy and stamina.  Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and should be treated that way.

All of us have heard the importance of making healthy choices with the foods we eat and exercising.  Just as important is getting the proper amount of sleep.  I’m always surprised by emails that I get time stamped after midnight, people who tell me that stay up to watch late night television or surf the web.  Lack of sleep contributes to weakened immune system, depression, poor job performance, and an inability to respond in a healthy way to life’s challenges and opportunities.

Let’s commit to a healthy life style as we seek to be passionate followers of Christ.  We’ll live out our gift of abundant life from Christ with stamina and joy and maybe add a few years to our life span as well.

The goal is not to look like a body builder, a model or the Incredible Hulk.  Our goal is to live joyfully and energetically for the Lord.  There is obsessive amount of attention paid to body image as if the goal of life was to idolize our bodies.  Instead, the Bible calls us to be good stewards of our health by respecting and protecting our health.

Today, I had the best report from my doctor since I fell ill during a mission trip.  It was a wonderful feeling to hear him say, “this is great!”

So what’s your diet like?  Do you exercise at least three times a week?  Are you sleeping well?  Is your weight under control?

Grace and Peace!