“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works because I am going to be with the Father”
To continue from last week, I would like to remind you of the following:
For us to come to a complete understanding of this teaching, I would like you to look at section 5/page 15 of the booklet, “The Holy Spirit.”
You will find an exemplary illustration of our human form showing images of what I am about to share with you. If you do not already understand, then let me explain. We humans are made up of:
1. Body
2. Soul
3. Spirit
These three components operate as one; no one can function without the other.
My own experience, in terms of the functioning of the tri-part human, is this: there is an excessive focus on the spirit aspect of ourselves and a lesser focus on the Body and Soul. There is no question about it: the spiritual function is of prime importance, but remember, without Body and Soul, the spirit cannot function in its intended purpose.
Let’s start with the Body. Many scriptures cover the care of the Body and Soul. Following this link and reading the scriptures would be worth your time. The scriptures care for both the Body and Soul.
Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.[1]
“So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer .”[2]
Exodus 23:25 – Food
Matt 26:26 – Pray blessings on food.
1Cor 9:24-25 – Exercise
We care for our bodies by what we put into our mouths and the exercise we give our bodies. A caution here: You need to eat foods that benefit your Body, which should be in quantities that are beneficial to our bodies, too. Guard against habits like ‘comfort eating’ when you are not hungry. Be careful what you eat; today, many substances are included in foodstuffs on your favorite supermarket shelves mixed into food to give it a longer shelf life. These same ingredients can reduce your (shelf) life on this earth. Check labels on packaging, especially the ‘traffic lights’ (colors that indicate the percentage of substances like salt, sugar, fat, etc.)
When it comes to exercise, get advice from a specialist on what exercises are beneficial for your Body – there is no such a thing as, one-size-fits-all when it comes to diet and exercise.
Now, let us deal with the Soul. As I mentioned before, my reference to the Soul is the area of our minds.
It is a known fact that the thoughts we think shape our lives. The cycle goes like this:
Thought leads to emotion, which leads to action and outcome.
I wrote a book on thoughts and how they affect our lives (because it’s so important), but in this brief article, where the principal message is spiritual, spending too much time on thoughts would be inappropriate. I recommend you follow this link to an excellent, enlightening article about thought and its effects.[3]
You could be thinking upwards of 10,000 thoughts a day. Of these, over 90% are harmful, and over 80% are repetitive. If you think I’m exaggerating, search the net. Either way, it’s shocking news if you only halved these stats.
We must ensure our negative thoughts are correctly managed. Managing your thoughts is what the scriptures refer to when they speak of ‘renewing the mind,’ [4] [5] We do not need to ask God for help in managing our thoughts – we need to thank God for the Holy Spirit within providing us with the ability to manage them. Jesus never asked God to help Him perform miracles – he just performed them.
I struggled for years, battling with negative thoughts, sometimes begging God to take them away. God said to me one day – ‘I cannot take your negative thoughts away – that’s your job; why do you think I put My Spirit inside you?’
So, stop whining and start managing! Be sure that if you don’t manage your thoughts, they’ll manage you!
Last and most important and most straightforward to manage – The Holy Spirit inside you. I have a few words to say about the Holy Spirit: It is the most awe-inspiring power in the Universe and resides in you – use it!
Love and Blessings
Peter-James