Taking Care of Your Soul

TAKING CARE OF YOUR SOUL

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance (concerning
David) or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

I want to piggy-back on Pastor John's last two Freedom Fighters and share some additional insight about soul-care. I have shared with you in the past that I struggle with my weight, and quite frankly these past several months have been not so good. I could make all kinds of excuses and justifications, but the bottom line is that I have not done my part in being as intentional about my exercise as I need to be.

It isn't like I don't have the place or equipment to do so - I have a treadmill and a total gym in my basement, and shoot, I live at America's KESWICK where there are plenty of places to walk and even use the gym.
But if all I do is think about it, and never do something about it - it will never happen.

On Saturday evening we had the Talley Trio in concert and it was a dress-up event. When I lost my 50+ lbs, I got rid of all my "big" clothes which was a good thing. They say if you hold on to your big stuff, it is easier to have your weight bounce up and down (no pun intended) because you have the freedom to fit in various sizes. Well I am at the point where stuff is tight. So I went down to Robert Hall at the Colony to see if I could borrow a sport coat for the evening. There was one on the rack that fit perfectly. Much to my dismay, it turned out to be one of my BIG coats that I had donated to Robert Hall!

The amazing thing is that numerous people came up to me before and after the concert and commented to me how good I looked and it was good to see that I had lost the weight again. It was all I could do to laugh! The coat camouflaged what was really going on underneath. The scale certainly didn't confirm their observations.

Our society spends an inordinate amount of time getting us to think about the way we look. Just turn on your TV and see the hundreds of infomercials ranging from exercise equipment and programs to diet fads that will give us the abs of a 16 year-old jock. Outward appearance to most of the world is an important thing.

But what matters to God is not what is happening on the outside as much as what is happening on the inside. It isn't that He doesn't want us to care for the physical temple He has created for us, He is more concerned at what is happening in our hearts - in our souls. The problem with the outer you is that it is easy to cover up what is going on inside for everyone else. We can fool everyone else into thinking we have it all together - but for many guys, what is going on in our souls is not so good.

Taking care of the outside is good. It may even extend our earthly life!
But think about it - our soul is something that will be with us for eternity! God is much more interested in that part of you and me!

So what is REALLY going on underneath the outward appearance? Is there something that you need to take care of today? Something that nobody else knows about but you and God? Then why don't you take that first step and begin today to take care of your soul! It really does matter to Him! Think about it. - Bill Welte is the President and CEO of America's KESWICK and is the general editor of Freedom Fighters.

Great Quote: The purpose of fasting is to loosen to some degree the ties which bind us to the world of material things and our surroundings as a whole, in order that we may concentrate all our spiritual powers upon the unseen and eternal things. Ole Kristian O. Hallesby

Don't forget our Men's Fellowship Night coming up this Thursday evening with Pastor Don Meckley. Come and bring a friend. I'd love to meet you!
Call today to make your reservation. 732-350-1187