Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:24-25, NKJV)


I invited you to embark on a journey to achieve good health. The first thing we must do is make the decision that we’re ready for a life change and willing to take the necessary steps to achieve that change. We must accept the fact that what works for some doesn’t necessarily work for others. I had a man ask me “Don’t you think it is possible to lose weight without God?” Well of course it is. People lose weight everyday using secular programs all the time. However, the secular programs don’t work for me. I need the Holy Spirit’s program. So I’m sharing with you what works for me.


Do you know that the Bible uses the word “body” 179 times? This should let you know how important our bodies are to God. Society tells us our bodies are ours to use anyway we want. The Bible teaches us that we need to have a Bod4God. We need to acknowledge that God created our bodies to be used for His purpose.


Our lives should be all about God and should honor Him. We are given specific instructions as to how we are to honor God with our bodies. Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”


The weight loss program that God established in my heart, Losing to Live, comes from the Scripture, Matthew 16:24-25 (quoted above), where Jesus basically says, if you desire to follow Me, deny yourself. I had to learn how to deny myself - especially at meal time. I had to realize, it’s not about me. God created my body for Himself. I needed to recognize my body as His body, His temple. The scripture goes on to say “take up your cross”. My cross was excess food and lack of exercise. I had to take up the cross and deny myself in an area that was difficult for me, but I sincerely wanted to follow Him. What’s your cross?


After taking up our crosses we must be willing to follow Him. If we follow Christ we will discover true life. It’s an issue of being willing to lose to live. In order to follow thru with this command, next month from the
D-I-E-T acrostic we’ll discuss D-dedication-honoring God with your body.