The No-Loss Diet

John 4:31-35 In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, "Rabbi, eat. Aren't you going to eat?" He

told them, I have food to eat you know nothing about. The disciples were puzzled. Who could have brought Him food? Jesus said, The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work He started. As you look around now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest?   Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time! (The Message)

How would you like to be on the No-loss Diet? Some of you may feel like that is the diet you are on. You cut back on your eating and weigh after a few days and you don't weigh any less. If I was talking about physical weight loss it would definitely be a bummer. But, what I am talking about is our spiritual appetite. Jesus' disciples were concerned that Jesus needed to stop and eat, and he took this time to drive home a very important point for them, and for us. His hunger was being satisfied by doing the will of the Father and finishing the work He had started. By the way, Jesus was the best "finisher" of all time!!!

So, if you want to be a good finisher you need to eat the right foods. These are foods where you don't lose spiritual weight but gain weight spiritually. Doing the will of the Father should be the battle cry of every believer. Doing that will means the "weight" of our testimony changes for the good. We don't lose weight, we gain it!! Let's see what gaining weight by doing the will of the Father does in our life.

Gaining weight in our words - Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be Yes or No, anything beyond these is of evil. A person who is light in their spiritual britches will have a tendency to say yes, when they know they aren't going to follow through on something. When that happens those who depend on them will not depend on them anymore because they know they aren't dependable. Their words have no weight because their commitment won't back them up. Weak, weaker, weakest....

Gaining weight in our actions - James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (The word delude means impose a misleading belief upon someone, deceive, fool.)This scripture covers a lot of people, including pew sitters, TV watchers, fans in the bleachers, etc.... I have heard messages at times that impact me so much I immediately start doing what God told me to do from His Word. I mean immediately. Some people listen to a message from God and even say Amen, then turn around and do nothing. So sad to see that kind of deluded person. More weight in our actions will cause a huge awakening in the Lord's church and revival WILL take place!!

You might call this the "key" to the whole thing and that's because it is just that, the key!!

Gaining Weight in our Convictions - 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Hoy Spirit and with full conviction." Hardly anyone has their own convictions anymore. Usually they are the convictions of some other person, usually a pastor or priest, or Bible Study teacher, or friend. Those convictions are most generally second hand and light. What the world needs now is someone with some strong, weighty convictions that are original with the Word of God. A person who is dedicated to the cause of Christ with no thought to position or power. Just following what God tells them to do. Anything less than that is leaning toward cultism and that is not good. Any conviction we have should come from the Holy Spirit and as Jesus said in John 14:25 25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

So the No-Loss Diet is the best diet and it begins by committing to do the will of our heavenly Father. It's actually a Weight Gain Live It that consists of living and feeding on the Word of God and His ways for nutrition. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said "It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

That's good enough for me. I hope it is for you. Now pass me the Spiritual Big Macs and eat up!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren