WLC Day #9
Yesterday our family celebrated a Sabbath rest. We do this every Saturday: we play, rest, and wrestle (and indulge in sweet foods). We know that we aren't commanded to keep the Sabbath in the same way that Jews are--we Gentiles aren't under the same Levitical laws that Jews must keep. But we also know that God's yoke is easy and His burden is light, and that keeping His commands is for our own good. So though we don't have to keep the law of Sabbath, we still keep it because we know it is for our own benefit.
There are many laws that God gives us throughout the Old and New Testaments. Living on this side of the cross we know that Jesus has forgiven our lawlessness and that grace abounds; we don't have to keep the law anymore because every time we break God's law, grace covers our brokenness.
Romans 6:1-2, 15; 7:12
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
*Pause*
Every 4 days of recording a perfect 5 in the nutrition category of the WLC, you get an indulgence token. An indulgence token is a free point to apply to your nutrition category, so if you are desperate for a plate of Skyline, or a glass of Coke, or whatever your indulgence may be, you can earn it through good eating habits.
Katie and I have been saving up our indulgence tokens for the past 2 days and we decided that tonight was the night to spend it. We decided to make....chocolate chip cookies.
Or rather, one really BIG chocolate chip cookie.
It was superb, delectable...very worth it. I would recommend doing the Whole Life Challenge to anyone just for the sake of eating a cookie after you have been on a sugar fast for a week. Your taste buds will thank you.
*Resume*
God's Law is like the WLC rule book. I don't have to follow the rules. Any given day I can choose to stay up too late and not get enough sleep, grab PopTarts on my way to work, not exercise or stretch, not drink enough water, and eat sugar all day. I could do that and it wouldn't really have a negative impact on my day.
However, is it the best way?
The WLC rules were given for me to actually enjoy life better--to learn new habits that are healthy for me and my family. While I don't have to keep any rules, it is better for me that I do keep them.
And yet, I know that I will not keep them all the time.
Romans 7:15-16
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Because I live in a sugary world and a busy culture, I know that there will be days when I eat the wrong food, or don't get enough sleep. But gratefully, I am given indulgence tokens, so that in the eyes of the WLC rule book, I still get a perfect score.
See where I'm going with this?
God gives us unlimited indulgence tokens through Jesus Christ. Regardless of how well we stick to the law or how often we mess up, in God's eyes, we always score a perfect 5 in every category.
Does that mean we should keep on sinning? Might as well live it up and eat all the sugar I want, since it doesn't matter! May it never be! God gives us rules for our own benefit, not to restrict us.
The law is good.
And grace is good.
Because God is good.
Yesterday our family celebrated a Sabbath rest. We do this every Saturday: we play, rest, and wrestle (and indulge in sweet foods). We know that we aren't commanded to keep the Sabbath in the same way that Jews are--we Gentiles aren't under the same Levitical laws that Jews must keep. But we also know that God's yoke is easy and His burden is light, and that keeping His commands is for our own good. So though we don't have to keep the law of Sabbath, we still keep it because we know it is for our own benefit.
There are many laws that God gives us throughout the Old and New Testaments. Living on this side of the cross we know that Jesus has forgiven our lawlessness and that grace abounds; we don't have to keep the law anymore because every time we break God's law, grace covers our brokenness.
Romans 6:1-2, 15; 7:12
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
*Pause*
Every 4 days of recording a perfect 5 in the nutrition category of the WLC, you get an indulgence token. An indulgence token is a free point to apply to your nutrition category, so if you are desperate for a plate of Skyline, or a glass of Coke, or whatever your indulgence may be, you can earn it through good eating habits.
Katie and I have been saving up our indulgence tokens for the past 2 days and we decided that tonight was the night to spend it. We decided to make....chocolate chip cookies.
Or rather, one really BIG chocolate chip cookie.
For those of you who can't decipher what this is a picture of, you are looking at a cookie log that was plopped on the tray and thrown in the oven straight out of the packaging. The edges turn a golden brown and are the perfect crispiness while the middle is gooey and slurpable chocolate fun. Mmm! Just describing it makes me start to salivate all over again.
It was superb, delectable...very worth it. I would recommend doing the Whole Life Challenge to anyone just for the sake of eating a cookie after you have been on a sugar fast for a week. Your taste buds will thank you.
*Resume*
God's Law is like the WLC rule book. I don't have to follow the rules. Any given day I can choose to stay up too late and not get enough sleep, grab PopTarts on my way to work, not exercise or stretch, not drink enough water, and eat sugar all day. I could do that and it wouldn't really have a negative impact on my day.
However, is it the best way?
The WLC rules were given for me to actually enjoy life better--to learn new habits that are healthy for me and my family. While I don't have to keep any rules, it is better for me that I do keep them.
And yet, I know that I will not keep them all the time.
Romans 7:15-16
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Because I live in a sugary world and a busy culture, I know that there will be days when I eat the wrong food, or don't get enough sleep. But gratefully, I am given indulgence tokens, so that in the eyes of the WLC rule book, I still get a perfect score.
See where I'm going with this?
God gives us unlimited indulgence tokens through Jesus Christ. Regardless of how well we stick to the law or how often we mess up, in God's eyes, we always score a perfect 5 in every category.
Does that mean we should keep on sinning? Might as well live it up and eat all the sugar I want, since it doesn't matter! May it never be! God gives us rules for our own benefit, not to restrict us.
The law is good.
And grace is good.
Because God is good.
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