Daily Devotions For Dieters

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December 27

Revelation 2:17
'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.'

Donna thanked God for giving her a whole new life. Losing the weight had only been part of it. Donna had fervently prayed for transformation, but she never bargained for all that God would do for her. Her attitude was transformed from one of doom to one of hope. Her appearance was transformed from one of dumpiness to one of beauty. Her emotional stability had been transformed from one of teetering on the brink to solid rock. She couldn't believe it, but she was a totally different person than she had been a year before. The God of miracles and life had certainly worked in Donna's life. He's available to work in ours, also.

Today's thought: With God's help I will lose weight, los e hate, and lose my desire to denigrate!

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December 28

1 John 5:5
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Burt couldn't help but rub it in. Terry had claimed to have found the diet breakthrough of the century. He lost seven pounds. Greg got hold of some miracle pills, and he lost eleven pounds. Craig had mortgaged his house to buy a membership in a health club. He managed to lose fourteen pounds. Burt had simply told his friends he was going to lose weight on the Jesus plan. Whenever he got hun-gry between meals, he was going to go off and read the Gospels. They had all laughed long and hard at him, but he who laughs last, laughs best. Twenty-eight pounds had dropped because of the Jesus plan. There's nothing like it.

Today's thought: God can do for me what nothing on earth can!

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December 29

Matthew 4:11
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Victory! Steve felt he'd really run the good race. No matter how great the temptations had gotten lately, he had been able to withstand them. Christ was pulling him through the roughest times yet. Each time he beat back the temptations, he felt better than ever. It was as if God was rewarding him by making him feel so good. The pounds were coming off, and it was actually beginning to get easy. Steve never thought he'd come to say that. Steve was convinced. If God could make a diet tolerable, then God really could do anything!

Today's thought: I will not take part in devil's food!

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December 30

1 Corinthians 10:31
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Leah remembered the question her pastor had asked, 'What do you think God wants you to eat?' At first, it had seemed like a silly question, but the more Leah thought about it, the more she realized there really wasn't any food God didn't want to let her have. It was the quantities and frequency of consumption that Leah realized God would disapprove of. Moderation in everything was the rule she needed to follow. She felt so much better. Her diet didn't need to be a lot of heavy sacrifices. All she needed to do was develop some self-control, and with God's help, she would.

Today's thought: Let my eating and drinking offend no one, especially God!

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December 31

Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

There will come a day when the diet is truly over. We must endure until that day with a strong spirit and an earnest desire to please the Lord. We have been blessed with much, and in some cases, too much. God has been good to give, and He will be equally good to help take away. Remember the Lord every step of your diet. Call upon Him for strength, for comfort, for hope, and for courage. He will hear you, and He will be sure to answer you. In time, you will come to that day, not too distant, when you can eat your bread with joy and without guilt, drink and make merry, and stand confident and proud that you have indeed glorified your Lord.

Today's thought: I will be a conqueror, through the mighty love of God.

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January 1

1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

As Christians, we believe that God dwells within us. Our bodies become His home, and it makes sense that we should try to make His surroundings as nice as possible. The temple of God in Israel was kept immaculately clean and pure. Only the most clean and holy of men were allowed to enter it. It was revered by all. The temple was the most holy and special place of all. When we are told that our bodies are the temple of God, it is not an option whether or not we will take care of it; it is a duty. When we care for our physical being, we are making God's temple a holy and special place.

Today's thought: We diet not only for ourselves, but for God!

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January 2

1 Peter 1:16
...it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Too often we think that holiness is merely a matter of the spirit. We feel that if we read our Bible, pray regularly, and attend wor-ship, we are being holy. But holiness requires that we tend to our physical health as well as our spiritual health. Early Christians realized that they were more alert and better able to concentrate on God when they felt good. Tending to the body made them better at their spiritual pursuits. Dieting may make us look better, but it will also make us feel better, and it will enable us to pursue God in deeper and more meaningful ways.

Today's thought: We please God when we try to be the best we can be!

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January 3

1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God hath not called us unto uncleaness, but unto holiness.

When we try to figure out what it means to be holy, we think of many things that we do which we shouldn't. Our minds fill with 'thou shalt nots' and we promise ourselves that we will do better. Our minds should not be so filled by the bad things we have done; we should focus on the good things we can do. Certainly, dieting requires sacrifice, but the benefits involved far outweigh the costs. Our focus must be on what we receive rather than what we must do without. Dieting is not turning from what we shouldn't do. Dieting is doing what God calls us to do.

Today's thought: God will not leave us when we respond to His call!

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January 4

1 Corinthians 6:20
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Sometimes it is difficult to stick with a diet once it has begun. If we are dieting for ourselves, we often lose heart, but if we feel we're dieting for someone else, it can be the motivation we need to stick with it. Every day we make promises to God, and those promises we do everything in our power to keep. God calls us to be the best we can be, physically as well as spiritually. We should commit our diets to God. If we see dieting as a sacrifice we make to God, then we can find a deeper power to remain committed to our efforts to lose weight. Let everything we do honor and glorify God, for that is what truly pleases Him.

Today's thought: We are not alone in our attempt to lose weight!

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January 5

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Once we decide for ourselves that being overweight is wrong, then it is vital that we put ourselves in God's hands. Though being overweight is not a sin, few people would say it is good. We should avoid everything that is not good. God will help us whenever we turn from things that are bad. Prayer is an important part of our attempts to lose weight. We can trust God to bless all our efforts to do what we feel is right. There is no reason to feel guilty for being overweight, for God forgives us our weakness and offers His own strength as our own. We can start our diets with a clear conscience and an assurance that God is with us every step of the way.

Today's thought: We have nothing to feel guilty about!

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January 6

Hebrews 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

If we learn anything at all from being a Christian, we learn that good things do not come without sacrifice. Jesus had to give everything He had in order to reunite us with God. If we decide to be the best we can be, then we need to accept the fact that there is some sacrifice required. When we learn to sacrifice, we learn what it means to be a Christian. Sacrifice is a good discipline. Sacrifice teaches us what is really important, and it helps us be thankful for what we have. When we stop to think of how great Christ's sacrifice for us was, it inspires us in our diets to become better people; people worth dying for!

Today's thought: Dieting can draw me closer to being a disciple!

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January 7

Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

A friend of mine who was dangerously overweight lamented to me once that she was 'so fat that God wouldn't even recognize me as the person He created.' She felt that her weight problems had driven a wedge between her and God. How sad. Nothing that we do ever really separates us from God, but when we feel badly about ourselves, we feel we are unlovable, even by God. It is important that we see ourselves as good people. God loves us no matter how we look, but He is delighted with us when we take pride in who He created us to be. God will bless our efforts, so we need to draw as close to Him as possible as we attempt to diet.

Today's thought: God loves us just as we are.

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January 8

John 6:58
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Face it: Dieting wouldn't be so hard if food didn't taste so good! Like anything good, we want to get as much of it as we can. It's easy to place a high value on the food we eat. But, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. God has given us many freedoms, but one we should not abuse is the freedom to consume as much food as we want. No one can limit what we eat except ourselves. We need to realize that our daily bread supplies what we need, not what we want. Excessive eating is selfishness, and selfishness is sin. When we feel the urge to overeat, let us turn to God and nourish ourselves on the true bread that comes from Him-His Word.

Today's thought: God's bread of life is nonfattening!

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January 9

1 Timothy 4:8
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

There is an old adage that says, 'Don't put the cart before the horse.' Many people try to lose weight without a specific goal in mind. Often people set a goal that is unrealistic. In our attempts to become more mature as Christians, we grow a little at a time. God doesn't expect us to be perfect right away. He knows that our growth takes time. The same is true of our attempts to lose weight. We need to take it a little at a time. Crash diets and heavy exercise programs are not the way to go. Our Christian growth should provide us with an example. Let us approach our diets with patience and take it a small step at a time.

Today's thought: Dieting is easier if we try to lose weight little by little.

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January 10

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The stomach is a spoiled brat. When we miss even one meal, it kicks up a fuss and makes us feel as though we're going to starve. Of course, we're in no danger whatsoever, but once our stomachs get started, it is hard to ignore them. To diet means to engage in mind over matter. We need to realize that we can get by on a lot less food than we actually eat. We need to renew our mind, change our thinking, and decide that we're not going to be made a slave to our stomachs. We resent it when someone else tries to control us. Why should we so easily succumb to our own stomachs? When we refuse to be ruled by anything but the Spirit of God, then we truly please Him.

Today's thought: God can liberate us from slavery to the stomach!