The Disciple's Well Part 2

Last week we introduced the Disciple’s Well. We talked about the idea that Jesus has come so that we may have a full and abundant, now and forever life, and that we have a very real adversary who wants to steal that life away.
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Our adversary has been rendered virtually powerless at the cross and is now reduced to tricks, schemes, deceptions and lies. He steals our life away when we listen and buy into his life stealing lies that he shouts constantly at us.
I talked about our new reminder for this series, 1 – 2 – 5.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NCV)
13 “My people have done two evils: They have turned away from me, the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells, which are broken wells that cannot hold water.
I am one of the One More in Christ, I have to choose which of the two wells I will drink from, and to keep focused on the living water I need to keep these five areas in balance:
Praying Well / Eating Well / Moving Well / Living Well / Resting Well
We are talking about praying well and living well on Sunday mornings, so in this Sunday evening series I am going to take time over the next season to get into detail about the three physical areas of our lives that we need to get into balance.
3 John 1:2 (NIV)
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
We will spend time covering each area. Today, I want to start talking about eating well. Next week we will start talking about moving well. The following week will be about resting well. Then we will dig deeper into each area. So let’s talk about eating well. Let’s start with some scriptures about eating.
Eating Well
Genesis 1:29 (NIV)
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Genesis 9:3 (NIV)
3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
Mark 7:15-19 (NIV)
15 Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ 16 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? 19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)
Romans 14:1-4 (NIV)
1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
1 Corinthians 6:12 (NIV)
12 “Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I have food issues. I have addiction issues. I was explaining my broken thought process to my wife the other day. I was talking about a Kind bar. These are nice little bars that are fairly good for you. 180 calories. Taste good. Not loaded with a lot of preservatives. They consist mostly of nuts and dried fruit and honey. Here is the only problem with them. They are not big enough. When I finish one I want another one. Actually, before I finish the one I am eating I am thinking about eating another one. Trying to justify and rationalize it. I actually feel some kind of loss when I finish the bar. Why isn’t one enough? Why do I always want more? Because I am broken. There is something about the Kind bar that makes me feel good and I don’t want it to end. When it does, I am sad. And this is the struggle. I have to be willing to be sad and trust that God will move into these areas in my life. And it is a struggle. I have eaten for comfort for most of my life.
This was in January of 2010. Check out the angle on the guitar. Also notice that if you wear a big shirt open over a t-shirt, then no one will notice that you have a belly. It hides it perfectly! I use to have to pre-stretch t-shirts before I out them on.

So, I have to learn how to not listen to the life stealing lies of the enemy that wants me to take matters into my own ends, drink from my own broken well, and comfort myself illegitimately with food, and learn to trust that God is my comfort.
When I first started dealing with my eating three years ago, Alice tells me I would actually whimper at night. I was eating enough, but I was not eating for comfort sake. I thought I was hungry but the reality was I was just mourning the loss of not satisfying my own uneasiness with food. I had to trust that God would meet me there and He did and does. That is why the praying well part of what we are doing is so critical. If you are not connected well, it is harder to sense His presence, His peace, and His comfort for you.
Part of eating well is learning to enjoy food appropriately. It is largely about portion control. When it came to food, my eyes were broken. They still are. I have to measure out food to understand what a normal portion is. Like what a cup of pasta looks like. Or how much a tablespoon of something is. I also have to watch foods that trigger me into wanting more. Like the Kind bar. Triggers are strange. The other night Alice had a scented candle burning that made the house smell like cake. I wanted cake so bad it was ridiculous. We will talk more specifically about weight loss in the coming weeks, but let me introduce this one idea to you tonight. This is the common sense science of eating well.
It takes 3500 calories to burn a pound of fat. If you burn 500 calories more a day then you consume, you will lose one pound in a week. That is all it takes. Not magic, not trick diets, just portion control to get your calorie intake under your calorie output.
Action Steps for this week:
Praying Well – Let’s keep working on making the morning and evening reading of the Psalms a habit.
Eating Well – Keep recording everything you eat or drink throughout the day. I also want you to start looking up the calories for everything you and drink and start thinking about foods that might trigger you into eating more than you should.
Moving Well – I want you to email me some ideas for moving that are fun. Like, walking the beach on Bahia Honda….Moving well is not boring. It should be an enjoyable part of life. Something you look forward to. Maybe we can incorporate some of your ideas into affinity groups. I think in a few weeks I would like to do a walk and pray through the neighborhood on a Saturday morning. Also, if you haven’t done this you need see a Doctor before you start any exercise program or routine.
Living Well – Live every day trying to do the next right thing.
Resting Well – This needs to become a priority and not a luxury. Make changes here. Don’t stay up too late watching TV, or being on Facebook, etc. At a reasonable time, take a few minutes to read the Psalms and pray and then go to sleep.
Start a journal or use Twitter:
Praying Well = Tweet when you entreat
Eating Well = Tweet before you eat
Moving Well – Tweet your moving feet
Living Well = Tweet before you cheat
Resting Well – Tweet when you retreat