Praise

"Destined For The Throne," it reads "If the highest function of angelic hosts is praise, it follows logically that the highest function of the human spirit must also be praise. Ever-increasing approximation to the infinitely lovely Character of God is the most sublime goal of all creation. This is the sumn um bonum, the greatest good, the highest joy, the most exquisite delight, the supreme rapture, and the most ravishing transport of the human spirit. Just as antagonism, hostility, and cursing against God exercises and strengthens all that is most abominable, diabolical, and base in the human spirit, so worship and praise of the infinitely lovely God exercises, reinforces, and strengthens all that is most sublime, transcendent, and divine in the inner being.

Thus as one worships and praises, he is continually transformed step by step, from glory to glory, into the image of the infinitely happy God. Here is one of the greatest values of praise: it decentralizes self. The worship and praise of God demands a shift of center from self to God. One cannot praise without relinquishing occupation with self."

Psalm 19:7-14 (Contemporary English Version)

I went through multiple versions this morning and this one resonated with me the best. I'm going to memorize it :)

Psalm 19:7-14
Contemporary English Version (CEV)


7The Law of the LORD is perfect;

it gives us new life.

His teachings last forever,

and they give wisdom

to ordinary people.

8The LORD's instruction is right;

it makes our hearts glad.

His commands shine brightly,

and they give us light.

9Worshiping the LORD is sacred;

he will always be worshiped.

All of his decisions

are correct and fair.

10They are worth more

than the finest gold

and are sweeter than honey

from a honeycomb.

11By your teachings, Lord,

I am warned;

by obeying them,

I am greatly rewarded.

12None of us know our faults.

Forgive me when I sin

without knowing it.

13Don't let me do wrong

on purpose, Lord,

or let sin have control

over my life.

Then I will be innocent,

and not guilty

of some terrible fault.

14Let my words and my thoughts

be pleasing to you, LORD,

because you are my mighty rock [a] and my protector.

Psalm 19:7-14

I usually go to facebook or my favorite book right after I make Nate's breakfast if I don't have school. But today I reached for my bible.

It wasn't out of obligation or because I felt it would make God happier with me. But just because . . . I wanted it. I wanted it in my hand, I wanted to glean something about God from it. It wasn't a big moment, I didn't feel super empowered or anything, I just wanted to hold a piece of Him . . . if that makes sense.

Anyway, I know it's not most ppl's favorite way of going to the word, but I just opened it and decided to read what I landed on. Boy am I glad! God can lead. Pshhh to all the haters.

So I came to Psalms 19. And verses 7-14 were perfect for what I'm experiencing right now.

God's Instructions on How to Live My Life:
-Perfect
-Change me
-Revive my Soul
-Trustworthy
-Make me Wise
-Right
-Give Joy to my Heart
-Radiant
-Give light to my eyes
-Pure
-Sure
-Righteous
-Better than Money (gold)
-Sweeter than food (honey)
-warn me from trouble
-offer me a reward

My Part + Consequences
-Overeating and turning to food for entertainment is a willful sin. I am not only choosing to sin against God, my Best Friend, but I'm delighting in it!
-Allowing this foothold to go on has put me in bondage, it truly rules over me.
-But God can keep me from it. I can be blameless and innocent of this.
-May my words and thoughts be pleasing to You God.

The Process (as it stands now)
1. Memorize.
-Get in the Word, allow God to lead me on this subject and get those Scriptures into my heart.
2. Pray.
-Pray at the start of the day, when I start to think about food to much, when the idea of food gives me a really happy feeling, while preparing a meal, when I'm about to eat, while I'm eating, after I eat and so on.
-That may seem ridiculous, but I'm not about to be that guy with the arrows who only pounded 3 times! I'm going to create a hole in the floor of my transgressions, I want to be delivered from my adversary, y'all so I'll do whatever it may take!
3. Trust.
-Do I trust that God will deliver me? He is so faithful. He has in the past and that's what I'll cling to this time too. There have been 2 very very very hard parts of my life and He's delivered me from both of them. Both times I thought it would never end, I thought I would struggle for the rest of my life. While I still have flare ups, I have been delivered! Seriously, I wish I could go into detail on something so public because it's just so cool!
4. Obey
-Trusting Him means being patient enough (Fruit of the Spirit) to allow Him to follow through on His promise to fight for me and deliver me. Often when the storm is at it's roughest.
-Resolving to refuse to sin against God and leaning on Jesus' enabling power to keep me from sinning. His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness. Rest on me Jesus.

Morgan

My Golden Calf

Wow. After making Nate's breakfast I came in here and wanted to go to my bible first. I think it's true that the more you taste, the more you want. Yesterday I went through the highlighted parts of Jeremiah in my bible and had a deep talk with God. I asked Him to forgive me and to restore me into a right relationship with Him.

Right now, I'm seeing that the way I interact with food needs to change. I keep trying to fix it my own way: looking stuff up, following ppl who have had success, trying to put the pieces together in my mind and experimenting with different factors to try and get fit! It's exhausting and despite my best efforts, hasn't been going as I planned.

I need a biblical perspective. Candace Cameron Bure's book Reshaping It All, talked about how we can try to morally sweep out the house, but as Jesus said in Matthew, the demon will come back with 7 more. It's not enough to do things in my own strength. I need spiritual Reformation. I need for God to change me and for the Holy Spirit to lead me moment by moment as Christ enables me to follow through.

She also gave me chills in writing about the people of Israel and the golden calf. God brought them deliverance but they wanted to go back to captivity before waiting long enough to see God come through and do His work. They clung to and worshiped their golden calf instead of God. O how that describes me and food.

So I want to hand this to Him. Doing it for the right reasons as He changes my desires. I've also emailed some Christian women I know asking for prayer. It was so embarrassing! I know it shouldn't be but still - it was hard to do. But I think there's power in that and I need all the help I can get ;D

Morgan