S5 E4 - I Don't Even Miss It Anymore

Kylie and I have been doing a healthy living challenge, and at the start it was very tough - especially what felt like a very restrictive diet. But the longer we've done it, the better we've felt. I've started to realize how poor my diet was before, and it wasn't the way I was designed to eat. Our new way of life is freeing - and I don't want to go back. 

The Christian life should be seen the same way. Following Christ is not restrictive and burdensome - though with certainty it can be challenging. But following Christ is freeing - leading to true life and life abundantly. The longer you walk with Christ, the more you should never desire to go back to the old way of life in the world. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 5 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Let’s grow together! 

So, for nearly the entire past month, Kylie and I have been on what you might call kind of an extreme diet of sorts. We, along with about several dozen others from our gym, are all taking part of what we’re calling a “healthy living challenge”. In this challenge, there are several things that we have to do every single day – each with a corresponding score of points that you can earn for each day, earning a total perfect score of 13 each day. Here are the different elements of the challenge. Mental Health (1 point) – you can earn a point daily for journaling, praying, or not having screen time (other than for work) each day. Sleep (1 point) – you must sleep a total of 7 hours minimum each day, but naps do count, which is awesome in case you have a long night with young kiddos. Supplement (1 point) – you must choose a new dietary supplement that you have not been taking daily prior to this challenge, something that specifically would make an impact if you were consistent with it. Water (1 point) – you need to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces each day. So, for me that’s at least 93 oz of water a day. I’ve been hitting around 120 oz consistently. Stretching (2 points) – you must stretch for a minimum of 10 minutes every day – although go getters can earn an additional third point by going to yoga (hard pass). Exercise (2 points) – every day we need at least 30 minutes of activity. We have been practicing a true workout about 5-6 times a week, while doing other “active” things for the other days 1-2 days each week. And finally, Eat Well (5 points) – day in and day out, we have had to make conscious decisions that support a healthy lifestyle, and this has been the hardest part.

When I first looked at the dietary guidelines and restrictions, I thought to myself, “There is no way I’m going to be able to stick with this.” It’s far too extensive to get into all of the details, but here are some of the highlights: no sugar, no deli or processed meats containing extra ingredients, very limited dairy, no bread. I started thinking of all of the things I loved to eat…sandwiches, cookies, milk, cheese, bagels, normal peanut butter – all of these and more I was going to have to say goodbye to for at least a month. And so we started the challenge, and at first I started with what I would call a “grin and bear it” kind of an attitude. I saw this as a temporary, restrictive diet that essentially meant “no more happiness” until it was over. It was burdensome, it was undesirable, I told myself it was unrealistic. But then something incredible started to happen – I started to feel so, so much better. My weight started to go down. I had greater clarity of mind and far more energy. And then even more significantly – I stopped craving the things I once wanted so badly. I have not been tempted by bread or sugary foods in the slightest over the past few weeks. The better I felt, the more I began to realize how poorly my food choices were prior to this challenge. My body simply was not designed to ingest all the junk I was putting into it on a regular basis. And the longer I’ve stayed away from it, the less I’ve wanted to go back to it. My mindset has changed from thinking this was a burdensome diet to rather an empowering healthy lifestyle. Sure, after the challenge is over I’ll probably still have cheese occasionally and a slice of bread every now and again, but for the most part I’m sticking with what we’ve been doing. I’ve grown to love eating well, and I don’t want to go back to the way of living that I was before. 

Now, all of this is certainly important as it’s about my physical health – but I believe we can all understand then how much more important our spiritual health is. Today I want to ask the following question: how do you view the Christian life? Do you see it as a restrictive, unrealistic way of living? Or do you see it as a freeing, empowering way of living that is in line with who we were created to be? 

Let’s begin with the first group: the restrictive mindset. For many people, following Jesus can be summarized by simply a big list of rules you have to follow that make life unfun and unfair. You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you have to do this, you have to do that. Does that sound like anyone you’ve heard before? Or, perhaps does that even describe the way you’ve thought about it yourself? There are a few things that we have to recognize if this is the mindset that one has. First, one must understand the destructive nature to our soul the things of this world have. In 1 John 2:15ff, we read the following, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.”  Now when John says “the world” he is not using it in the sense that he uses the term in John 3:16, “for God so loved the world.” There is no contradiction here, because John is talking about the things that are not from God. Things that are sinful. Things that are unrighteous. Things that are wrong. Lusts of our flesh & eyes and the pride of life. We were never created or designed to indulge in these things – sin is a departure from who we were made to be as image bearers of God.  Certainly, the desires of the flesh seem pleasant in the moment – but that pleasure is fleeting while its consequences are everlasting. You’ve heard the old expression when it comes to junk food, “A moment on the lips, forever on the hips”? I don’t know what it’s spiritual equivalent would be, but whatever comes to your mind, this is it. Perhaps it’s equivalent would be another expression I grew up hearing, which goes as such, “Sin will take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you wanted to stay.” Sin is destructive, filling our hearts and our souls with all kinds of ungodliness that will keep us from that which is truly life together with God. 

Remember, Jesus did not come to place a heavy yoke and burden upon us as his disciples. Certainly, following Christ is not easy – we’ve spent a great deal of time discussing that on this podcast in the past – but the Way of Christ itself is in fact the way to freedom. Galatians 5:13 reads this way, “For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” Here Paul, in context, was contrasting the way of Christ with the Mosaic Law. To see following Christ as simply a long, exhaustive list of “do’s and don’ts” is missing the entire point. While Jesus, without question, expresses many “do’s and don’ts” for discipleship – following Jesus is not about law keeping. It’s not about restrictions or preventing us from enjoying or loving life. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Jesus would teach that he came to bring “life and life abundantly” (see John 10:10). My friends, this is what you will find – the longer you walk in the footsteps of the Savior, the less you see discipleship as restrictive and burdensome. As God works and wills in your life, and transformation begins from the inside out, you start to see and feel life in ways you never thought possible before. In ways the world could never bring you true satisfaction, your hunger and thirst for righteousness does – why? Because you were never designed to fill your soul with the creation, you were designed to fill your soul with the Creator. The longer you walk with Jesus, the more you want to be like him and the less you would ever want to go back to the ways of the world. You begin see sin for what it really is and what it did to you in your life. The restrictive and burdensome way of living is not the Christian life – it’s actually a life lived in slavery to sin. The way of Christ is truly the way to life, and life abundantly. 

I would encourage you to read the Psalm in its entirety because there is much more that applies, but for now let’s conclude by looking at the words of Psalm 37:1-11, “Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.” 

My friends, do you long to love life and see good days, as Peter would ask in 1 Peter 3? It’s not found in indulging in the sinful desires of our flesh and the things that this world has to offer. It’s found in a humble life lived by faith in the love, joy, peace, and hope found in our Savior. So if you’re looking for life, true life, then reach out and take hold of it by following Jesus. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 5 episode 4 – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped every Friday, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating or most importantly share it with someone else – it would help to reach others that I never could alone.  And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.