Week 23
Never Overextended, God’s Competence to Care for His Creation
Service providers sometimes take on more accounts than they have time, equipment, or staff to properly care for. Car repair shops, home improvement contractors, and even health care providers are sometimes examples. They are motivated, not so much by making money, but by greed. The losers in those relationships are the customers/clients because they receive poor service.
So we check references before choosing a company. Marketing people will sometimes say anything to gain business.
But the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth who cannot lie – John 15:26; Titus 1:2) wins our confidence that God is competent and faithful, and that, although over 107 billion people have lived on the earth since the beginning of time, God did not overextend his ability to care for their needs when he created them.
“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” – Palm 145:15-16
“Give thanks to the God of Heaven who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.” - Psalm 136:25-26
“Give thanks to the God of Heaven who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.” - Psalm 136:25-26
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F08
Choices for DELS Commendable but Exceeded by Our Experience of Christ
Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle (schedule/budget, for example), and Supplementation have significant benefit for health and longevity, but they will not as deeply establish us in health and happiness (especially for living out God’s calling in redemptive service to others) as the single most essential choice we make each day in our quiet time to experience Christ by the Holy Spirit through his Word.
But while DELS does not have the same value or power as (and is not a substitute for) our experience of Christ (EOC), still it is essential.
That’s because poor physical and psychological (mental and emotional) health is a hindrance - not to experiencing God, but to manifesting his Life in service to others.
Again, our experience of Christ will support us increasingly for making the DELS choices, including getting proper rest and sleep so that we are not hindered by tension and fatigue in our service to others.
This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I did not come to abolish the law (set aside DELS), but to enable you to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17).
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F07
Why Celebrities Support Liberals: The Politics of Convenience
The celebrity revealed his politics when he insisted in a recent Fox News interview that disease is a genetic issue (never mind diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation) and that the solution is traditional medicine (prescribed drugs and surgery).
When asked about his politics, the celebrity confessed to being a liberal. No surprise here. I have long suspected the reason Hollywood celebrities/entertainers support liberal/socialist politics is that the people who mostly buy their products are entertainment junkies (users) – that is, they make choices to superficially manage/relieve pain rather than to make wise choices for health which, in turn, would support them for making the wise choices that lead to success and independence – including from government programs.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F06
Personal Health: The First Goal of Marriage Counseling
Grace counseling is very different – as we try to make clear on our website. There is another counseling model (Plan B, I call it) which provides support to couples for learning how to manage the hurt in their troubled marriage. It is a worthwhile counseling because, sometimes, pain management (surviving their unhappiness) is the only goal couples have for counseling.
Plan A (grace) counseling, however, supports husbands and wives for making the choices that help establish them in personal health. This means it’s first focus is not the marriage itself, but the individual.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F05
Getting It Right About Heaven, Holiness
My mentors got it right about justification for going to Heaven - that it is not by trusting in self-effort or good works, but by trusting in God’s provision of the Blood/death of Christ on the cross as the only price he will accept to satisfy his judgment against the human race because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.
But they did not get it right about sanctification leading to health and happiness and usefulness in service to others (holiness). For that I was told to try hard, and if that failed, to try harder - which did not work for going to Heaven (Titus 2:14), but it was somehow supposed to work for sanctification - even though the Bible says we are saved (which includes sanctification) by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) – that is, by God’s provision of Christ’s Life to which we open the door of our hearts.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 12F04
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