There is a growing interest in adding high protein food to everyone’s diet which reflects a number of factors, that are inspired by social media. Food manufacturers are adding more protein to their products that are not necessarily healthy like donuts, candy, and even drinks to allure people to buy their products.
A recent study actually found that 71% of Americans said they want to increase their protein. But people don’t take into consideration that high protein diets can be harmful for people with certain health conditions, like diabetes, and kidney disease. It just goes to show us how a little bit of propaganda can affect our minds. Most people don’t consider the health risks involved before jumping in the latest fads without thinking it through or talking to a health care professional about pre-existing conditions, family history or lifestyle.
A recent study from Geneva suggested that a high protein diet could cause neurological disorders. Remember every choice has consequences good or bad. It’s important to do some research before jumping in feet first into something the media is trying to promote. Then make an informed decision.
The reality of life on earth is that it is not immune to hardships. Even though the Bible is full of promises the power of these promises comes from prayer.
In John 16:33 Jesus says,
“In this world you will have trouble.”
This is not a “feel good” promise but it’s the truth. One thing about Jesus is He never sugar-coated anything. He told us how is was, how it is, and how it will be. This life was not designed for us to never have hardship. But it is in the suffering that we grow. It’s the seasons of being tested that challenge our faith.
Whether you are in a storm right now or just getting out of one, at some point, you will come face-to-face with another one. Walking through hardship in a storm is where our faith has an opportunity to become stronger.
There will be seasons where God may allow us to struggle beyond what we think we can handle or solve on our own. His desire is to strip us from ourselves. And if you’re stubborn like I was it may take 10 or 30 years. We were never designed to suffer alone. We were designed to allow God to help us in our struggles.
Prayer gets us in communication with Him. But we have a tendency to only pray when we’re struggling. As with everything in life we have a sporadic nature in our commitments. We start things and then let them go by the wayside. As we’ve gained a clear perspective of who we are it’s easy to leave things behind that we once thought we’re important.
A commitment to prayer should not be one of those. God is our refuge and our strength, our very present help in trouble.
Prayer enlarges our hearts until we are capable of containing God’s gift of Himself.
While I always think I would love to open a business that included something to do with animals. Recently I have seen a few off the wall business ideas that have made people quite a bit of money.
One in particular was being a pooper scooper. Going around to others and picking up after their dog’s bathroom habits for a cost. while I’m sure this idea maybe go over big in large cities, it would not in small towns that I live in.
I have answered this writing prompt before. I still think an animal day care would go over big. Especially if people don’t want to crate their dogs while they are at work. My area only has one in town and they are costly and involve having a dog in a crate all day anyway.
Seven major Bible principles are released when people sow what God holds us to in His Word.
The world operates on a “pleasure now but pain later” basis. But God’s kingdom operates on a “sowing and reaping basis.
First, we do the hard work and then we reap what we sow.
“Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” – Galatians 6:7-8
Instead of seeking immediate short-term gain with long-term pain the Bible teaches that we must to in the hard work first to sow now and later we will be rewarded for our diligence.
An example of this is going on a spending spree with your credit card. You will receive immediate short-term gain, but it will suck paying back the money with the high interest on the credit card. You will become a servant to the credit card company. It’s better to save up for what you need to buy so you won’t be saddled with suffocating debt.
Proverbs 104:5 tells us,
“Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
American culture tells us we don’t have to work. The government will take care of us. This is wrong on so many levels. We have to remember everything we have belongs to God, and He has entrusted it to us to make the best use of it for His purposes.
Some in this country want socialism or communism. Where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is why it has never worked in the past, or in other countries. This system is straight from the pit of hell.
One of the major themes in the Bible is freedom from bondage. Just as God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt He wants to release us from slavery as well.
This is the difference between the world and God’s kingdom. The world wants us in slavery as its servants. God wants us free from this bondage.
The kingdom of the world advances by exercising “power over,” while the kingdom of God advances by examining “power under.”
The kingdom of the world seeks to control our behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out.
We saw this during the COVID scare a few years ago. Even today some people in government want to introduce 15- minute cities.
15 minute cities are wanted to reduce the use of vehicles and promote walking, and using public transport which emphasize features like green and public spaces, bike lanes and walkways, rather than roads. I don’t Know about you but this doesn’t sound like freedom. If I see a sale at a grocery store 20 minutes away I would want to check it out. No only visit a store within 15 minutes that has increased its prices because they know you are not able to leave the 15 minute barrier. That’s not freedom that’s isolation.
The Bible gives us fundamental rules or laws that guide a persons actions and decisions to lead us to say to live where we will have an abundance of blessing, instead of curses.
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
I didn’t have many physical things in my childhood. But I was attached to the cats my father bred. But they were sold by about 8 weeks and were gone.
Besides my music, I would just try and stay away from my mother all long as I could. I became close to a few neighbors who would spend time with me.
I remember being attached to an African American couple the lived about few block away from my house. They would feed me, and talk to me as if they actually cared. But soon they moved away.
I have never had too much of a problem talking to much. Probably because I was made to observe things rather than speak things. But I can still have problems controlling my tongue. I still can say the wrong things, and even speak my mind in unwholesome ways and when my mouth doesn’t say it, my face usually does.
Ephesians 4:29 says,
“Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.”
It’s difficult for me to promise God I will control my mouth. But hopefully little by little I hope He can help me. When I focus on what I’m saying my mouths will pretty much under control. But when I just start babbling what’s in my mind that’s where I get in trouble. I tend to not remember the “but only what is helpful for building others up” part sometimes.
I was reminded of this when someone was speaking about someone and I finished their sentence with what I was thinking. And it wasn’t building them up.
My mind immediately went to the scripture in Psalm 19:14,
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
So as in pure fashion I came home and went to my Bible for help.
Proverbs 18:21 tells us that words can tear down or build up. Our speech is important if we don’t realize this, we will continue to hurt people.
Many of us are not even aware that our words are negative. Think before we speak and pay attention to what we are saying and how we are saying it.
Are our words complaining, critical, hurtful, disrespectful, or pessimistic?
What topics do we talk about most? Are they always centered around ourselves or what’s wrong with the world? Do our conversations ever include God?
Do we talk with purpose or are most of our words frivolous? (Matthew 12:36-37)
If we don’t gauge our words, we will never be able to change them.
Proverbs 21:23 says,
“Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
I think it all goes back to our hearts. It’s hard to speak good of a person, who has done us wrong or hurt us. That’s where forgiveness comes in. If we don’t forgive we can’t expect to change our hearts or our tongues.
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of evil treasure brings forth evil things” – Matthew 12:34-35
Without God, we are not good (Romans 3, 10). God gives a new heart when we choose Him, but we must remain active and apply good things to get rid of our old habits.
Our hearts are jammed full of life challenges and our mouths are the overflow valve. Our mouth (the overflow valve) is what’s in the reservoir.
We have to be careful to not be conformed to the world, don’t do as the world does.
“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, well–pleasing, and perfect will of God.” -Romans 12:1
We can change our tongues. One step at a time, one word at a time. Forgiveness is available, but we have to do our part.
I for one need to not go on autopilot and let my mouth run without putting brakes on my tongue. And I trust God will do His part. He has not failed me yet.
My mission in life is to show others there is a peace that surpasses the everything this world can offer. Teach people that is this peace can only be found with God.
I do not believe in preaching God’s Word to others, but to lead by example. Mark 12: 30-31 and Colossians 3:15 pretty well sums up my mission:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor (others) as yourself.”
“For by Him, all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth things disable and th8ngs invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things have been created through Him, and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things are held together” -Colossians 1:16-17
Jesus died a horrible death on the Cross to set us free from sin, and to give us an eternal life. He also died to give us an abundant light here on this earth. as we know him more and more defend our hearts, he can set us free from anything. Addictions, pain, all the stuff that keeps us in chains. He wants to be the glue that keeps us together on the inside and makes us whole.
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
My concept of living a long healthy life contributes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Eating a healthy diet, exercising every day, getting enough sleep, avoiding tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol, and managing stress.
Psalm 90:10 describes the human experience of life, including the fact that most people live to be around 70 or 80 years old, but that is filled with trouble and sorrow.
“ The days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast I’d only labor and sorrow. For it is soon cut off, and we fly away” -Psalm 90:10
Human might be short, lasting only around 70 or 80 years, and even within that time, it is often filled with hardship and quickly fades away, emphasizing the fleeting nature of earthly existence. It’s a reminder to value our time wisely.
I’m sure I’m not alone when I have asked throughout my life, “How could God have allowed this to happen to me?” It’s a common feeling when things don’t go the way we hoped or envisioned. It is extremely easy for imperfect human beings like us to blame God.
This human tendency clearly reveals how far our hearts have strayed for our Creator. Sin has done quite a number on our hearts and minds. We tend to assume God owes us something.
Paul wrote in Romans 8:32,
“He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how would He not also with Him freely give us all things.”
Until our lives are grounded on the Gospel message of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus we can easily end up imagining that God is not concerned about our struggles. Those who perceive God to be distant and uncaring often blame God when things are not going well. Let’s face it, we all have times when things don’t go well. Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, everyone experiences various types of turbulence and pressure throughout life.
In the middle of our daily difficulties, we can either assume that God owes us a trouble-free life on this planet, or we can place our faith in the fact that God chose to send His only Som to pay the price for our sins that we ourselves could never afford to pay. What we choose to believe about God truly does make all the difference in the world.
Whether we believe God is for us or against us, Ephesians 2:8-8, Galatians 2:26, and Romans 8:10 explain to us that when a person accepts God’s love and grace through faith and relies on Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, Jesus instantly takes up residence in our hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when this happens, all things become new.
A relationship with Jesus does not make all our earthly problems go away, (John 16:33) but it does provide us with a new and godly perspective. We begin to view God as our loving Father, our beautiful Savior, and our ever-present Comforter. In other words, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit become much more that just religious doctrine. God becomes our source of Joy and becomes the source of everything we do.
How much does God owe you? If you are a believer in Jesus, you realize He owes us nothing, but He has given you everything.
David wrote in Psalm 8:4,
“What is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that You are for him?
After all, God is our Creator. Why should He care about our needs? Yet He is concerned about us because How loves us. He wants what is best for us, even when He works in surprising ways that require us to have faith and patience.
Wise and loving parents do not want to spoil their children. Likewise, God does not spoil His children. Instead, God teaches His children how to spiritually mature by being humble, thankful, forgiving, faithful, trusting, and patient.
When God allowed Job to go through his extremely painful ordeal. Job eventually began to question God’s plan for his life. He mistakenly attempted to figure out his excruciating circumstances through his human wisdom and natural assumptions, just as we do.
And when God finally spoke to Job He said,
“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? (Job 38:2-5
What a wake-up call it must have been for Job when God spoke such penetrating words to him. It is foolish for us to doubt God or question His justice.
We must never assume that we know better than God. If we are not careful we might end up blaming God when difficult circumstances come our way.
This is exactly what Satan wants us to do. To turn our hearts against our Creator. Just like he turned against God. Satan was among the highest angels in heaven and his pride caused him to turn against God. Satan wants us to believe that God is against us and does not care about our trials and difficulties. But that is a complete lie and could not be further from the truth.
We owe God obedience because He is our Creator. If you are a follower of Jesus. Your allegiance is a supernatural response to God’s grace in your life.
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” -Philippians 2:13
God owes us nothing, but He gives us everything
Whether you find yourself blaming God or Praising God, either way, it comes down to how much you think God owes you.
From Pity to Praise 