David (00:00.846)
Today I'd like to talk about the reason why we should pursue health. You see, when we get clear on our why, then we'll find our way. Oftentimes, when I'm speaking with some of my Christian friends about the spiritual component of health, many people who know their Bibles quite well say, yeah, I get it. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and therefore we should take care of them. They're referring to 1 Corinthians 6, 19, and 20.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Now in context, that passage is not about physical fitness. It's an admonition to avoid sexual immorality. It shouldn't be the top reason why we pursue health.
If we make it our top reason or perhaps our only reason, we're making a big mistake. To use that verse as a motivation for pursuing health is to be living the Christianity of keeping the rules, being good little boys and girls and believing God's happy with us because of our obedience. Appeasing God is not the reason why we should obey him. We should do what God says because we understand that he's our heavenly father.
and lover of our souls, and he always has our best interest in the forefront of his thinking. For me, the best reason for pursuing health is John 10, 10. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. The abundant life includes service to others. If we're living abundantly, we'll have enough spiritual strength, mental-emotional fortitude, and physical vitality to fulfill our mission well.
When someone dies and has never figured this out, it makes their death all that much more tragic. With that in mind, in this episode, I'd like to read a couple chapters from my book, The Christian's Guide to Holistic Health on the Abundant Life. Let's talk about it.
David (02:18.626)
Welcome to the Christian Healthy Lifestyle podcast where I help you navigate natural health so you can stay out of the doctor's office, age gracefully, and live a more purpose-driven life. I'm your host, David Sandstrom. Today I'm reading from chapters two and three from my book, The Christian's Guide to Holistic Health. Now wrote this book several years ago and now and then I go back and read some of what I wrote and I say to myself, man, that was a real blessing. I needed that reminder.
So today I want to read from chapters two and three of my book on the abundant life. Abundant life part one. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. John 10 10 B, my life verse. My favorite Bible verse is John 10 10. This verse has spoken to me in profound ways over the years. It's my life verse and has served as the inspiration for this book. So I think it's appropriate to spend a little time on
hacking these powerful words as they apply to our health. Madison Avenue. Abundant life. Isn't that what we all want? But how should we define the abundant life? As Americans, we've come to define the abundant life as the Madison Avenue lifestyle. Our culture tells us we deserve a big house with a view, an expensive import in the driveway, and a fat 401k. If we're honest with ourselves,
Deep down we know this is not abundant living. No one has ever seen a hearse with a U-Haul in tow full of the deceased's possessions and trophies. All that stuff that the world has assigned great value to is one day going to end up in the garbage heap. If abundant living isn't Madison Avenue, then what is it? God has placed inside every one of us a desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves.
Our lives only have significance when we become a part of this larger story God is unfolding in human history. I would define the abundant life as our hearts being redeemed, fully alive, and free to be all that God has created us to be. If we live in the abundant life, then we'll produce spiritual fruit. Our relationships will flourish, the will of God will be done here on earth, and we'll experience love, joy, and peace and fulfillment along the way.
David (04:43.192)
Fire insurance versus true meaning. Forgiving it on my way is the mantra of many churches I've been a part of over the years. Say this prayer and when you die, you'll go to heaven instead of hell. That's reducing Jesus Christ to nothing more than a fire insurance policy. John 10, 10 doesn't say, I came that they may have forgiveness, period. He came to bring us life, capital L-I-F-E, in all its fullness.
If we know Christ as our Savior, we've been set free from sin and death, which is awesome in and of itself. Not only that, we're also free to grow and become the men and women He had in mind when He created us. Jeremiah 29, 11, Ephesians 2, 10. That's abundant life. If you'd like to know more about the life Jesus Christ offers, refer to the appendix at the end of the book. The abundant life brings meaning and purpose to our existence. It also brings peace and joy unspeakable.
Helping us find this life is why Jesus came, John 10, 10. We must understand that we were created for such a time as this, Acts 17, 26. Every life is precious, Genesis 1, 27, and each and every one of us has a unique role to play, 1 Corinthians 12, 7 through 11, Ephesians 2, 10, in the greatest story ever told, the restoration of mankind.
Spiritual maturity is tied to health. So what does health have to do with all this? Everything. You see, our physical and mental emotional well-being are intimately connected to our spiritual well-being. We'll have more on the spirit, mind, body connection in sections three and four. This is why God's desire for us is to be in health, 3 John 1, 2. We're created body, mind, and spirit, and the three cannot be separated.
and they are interdependent. A change in one part of our being, for good or bad, will inevitably alter the others. God is after our complete restoration, body, mind, and spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5.23 Why? Because He wants us thoroughly equipped and prepared for good works. 2 Timothy 2.21 and 3.17 It stands to reason that God wants us to enjoy good health.
David (07:10.626)
We've been so conditioned to expect sickness and disease that it almost sounds heretical to claim that God wants us healthy, partnering with God. Health is in our divine design. God's desire for us is to be healthy, vibrant, and strong. Now, I know what some of you are saying. Dave, God works through our weaknesses and is glorified when we succeed despite our weaknesses. Haven't you heard of Paul's thorn in the flesh?
I would agree. If we're in God's will and found lacking, He does fill in the gaps. Gaps are supposed to exist between our strength and God's assignments for our lives. Otherwise, there's nothing spiritual to our lives whatsoever. We should be expecting God to come through for us big time. This brings Him glory, and that's what He loves to do. We mustn't forget that God is a relational being. He's chosen to partner with us in life.
and he expects us to do our parts. If you don't believe this, just read Genesis 2, in which God holds Adam responsible for Eve's transgression. Adam had a role to play and a responsibility to fulfill, and he went flaccid. Passivism is not what God had in mind when he created us for good works, Ephesians 2.10. We each have a role to play in God's kingdom here on earth.
Real health makes fulfilling that role much easier and in fact more likely, exuding the fruit of the Spirit. Weakened and compromised vitality will interfere with us fulfilling our purpose here on Earth. With compromised vitality, our thinking and memory become sluggish, our ambition hindered, our motivation, accomplishments and effectiveness greatly diminished. We can make fire without matches, but matches sure make it a lot easier.
If we want to make a difference in the world, vibrant health and vitality are sure advantageous. Think about it. Wouldn't you agree that we have more willpower when we're not worn out? It's much easier to say no to temptation or be more patient with our spouses or kids when we're not fatigued. In the last chapter, we talked about real health, including energy, mental clarity, and positive moods. Isn't it easier to be more joyful, loving, kind, understanding,
David (09:37.24)
generous and selfless when we're fresh and energized? In short, it's much easier to exude the fruit of the Spirit when we're enjoying real health. Who doesn't want more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in their lives? Galatians 5, 22, and 23. More spiritual fruit brings more health, and more health brings more spiritual fruit. Giving from abundance.
One of the most treasured Christian principles is to be selfless and share what we have with others. Acts 3-6. Jesus himself said, is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20-35. He even went further than this. We also find, for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. That's Matthew 16-25.
God doesn't offer us abundant life solely for our own personal enjoyment, although that's part of it. He blesses us primarily so that we can be a blessing to others. The trouble is, we can't give what we don't have. We can only give out of our abundance. If, because of poor health, we're lacking in the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, patience, kindness, et cetera, how can we expect to effectively fulfill one of the most important
important commands of Christ to give. The concept of giving is illustrated by a reservoir. As water flows in, the reservoir eventually fills up. Then, when the water level is high enough, the reservoir can give its water without being depleted itself. In a similar fashion, we can only give out of our abundance. If we've never received the abundant life, how can we effectively give our lives away?
If we're filled with the life Christ is offering in John 10, 10, the fruit of the Spirit will be flowing out of us, spilling over on the people we come in contact with. And this kind of spillage is a marvelous thing. Peace and joy. With sinking energy and foggy, faulty thinking, many people are just keeping their heads above water, trying to survive the week in order to chill out on the weekend. Why do so many people thank God it's Friday?
David (12:02.358)
we should look at every day as an opportunity and even a gift. Psalm 118, 24. With improved health of vitality, we'll find it easier to find joy in everyday life. In fact, I would suggest that the amount of joy we experience over the course of a week is an excellent measure of how healthy we are in body, mind and spirit. What would you do with more peaceful, clear thoughts, a consistently positive mood?
no aches and pains, and a bunch more stamina, energy, motivation, and drive. Would you spend more time with your kids or grandkids? Go back to college and get that degree you've always wanted? Volunteer more? Start a business or a nonprofit? Write a book? You fill in the blank. Once we recover our vitality, we'll see our zest for living, joy, satisfaction, productivity, and effectiveness all increase dramatically.
Besides, life becomes just more fun. Maximizing our health potential. With very few exceptions, poor health is not the inevitable outcome of a weak genetic programming. We'll have more on genetic potential in Section 3, Chapter 21. Being handicapped in our pursuit of real life because of poor health should be the rare exception of the rule, not the norm.
The vast majority of us are capable of vibrant health and vitality at any age. This book is about helping you find it. There's a lot we can do to maximize our health potential. If this sounds good, but you're having thoughts such as, I don't know if I'm willing to put in the effort this guy is going to recommend. Remember this, going through life with compromised health is far more difficult than embracing a holistic lifestyle.
The abundant life is not just going to show up on a silver platter. We're going to have to fight for it. We need to be deliberate and intentional along these lines, especially considering the warning Jesus gave us in the first half of John 10, 10. Chapter 2 summary. The abundant life is not Madison Avenue. It's fulfilling our purpose and reaching our full potential as human beings, body, mind, and spirit. God offers us much more than simple forgiveness.
David (14:26.53)
The offer is life, this side of heaven and beyond. We can only give out of our abundance. Spiritual maturity and physical well-being are connected. God wants us to partner with Him in life. God does His part. We must do ours. Vibrant health helps us exude more fruit of the Spirit. Poor health should be the rare exception of the rule, not the norm.
Okay, at the top of the show, I said I was going to read chapters two and three, but I actually think that's enough to chew on for a single episode right here. So I'm going to go ahead and hit the pause button right now. And we'll pick it up in chapter three, the abundant life part two in the next episode. The first half of John 10 10 says that thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. We can't really effectively talk about abundant living without addressing the spiritual warfare aspect to it.
If this message is resonating with you, I invite you to pick up a copy of my book, The Christian's Guide to Holistic Health. It's available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible. That's it for now. Thank you for listening. I'll talk with you next time. Be blessed.
