Ally's World

In my personal health class, I have a test tomorrow over alcohol’s effects on our bodies. (So instead of studying I’m blogging!) I would like to share these with you today in order to inform you, if you did not already know, how dangerous alcohol can be and correlate this to how we are called to be drunk in the Spirit of Christ. This post will require your creative thinking, because we do not often relate being drunk to Jesus! However, I hope you see this topic in a new way today, one that will deeply enhance your relationship with Jesus Christ.

To begin, several factors contribute to alcohol’s effect on our bodies: strength of the beverage, number of drinks consumed, the speed of consumption, carbonation, gender, weight, and the presence of food. Having one drink will cause relaxation and euphoria. Having two drinks might evoke emotional instability and impairment of fine motor skills. Having three or four drinks will cause unsteadiness in standing or walking. Any more than this will create slurred speech and eventually unconsciousness. Obviously, driving is unsafe after even one drink! Drinking often will increase alcohol tolerance, meaning that you will need more of it to achieve the desired effect. Eventually, you will become dependent on alcohol, which means that if it is removed suddenly from your grasp, your body will cease to function. If you have any stories or any more effects, please comment!

Obviously, all these effects of alcohol are dangerous and eventually life-threatening. These are just a few of the many results of alcohol consumption. I will not bore you with alcohol’s effects because we know what they are. We see them constantly, hear about them, experience them, and are changed by them. In light of these things, exhibit caution when you drink! Nothing in the Bible forbids alcohol consumption, if it is legal. We are called to refrain from drunkenness and not cause any of our brothers or sisters in Christ to stumble.

Because a hole exists in our hearts, we choose to fill it with something at all times to avoid the nagging emptiness we experience otherwise. Often, alcohol is used to fill this hole in our hearts. Therefore, I challenge you, just as Ephesians 5:18 says, do not get drunk on wine because that leads to debauchery. But instead be filled with the spirit. This is the direct correlation I see between alcohol and spirituality. Alcohol temporarily fills the spot in our hearts where Jesus Christ should alone abide.

So, instead of getting drunk from alcohol, let’s be INTOXICATED with the Spirit. Let’s think about it for a second. If someone is drunk from alcohol, everyone can tell. That person’s actions are significantly altered. Their mind functions differently as the alcohol takes its effect. One becomes out of control of his or her actions. In the same sense, let’s be drunk from the Spirit. I want to be so filled with Jesus by drinking Him and absorbing Him in massive quantities. I want everyone to know that I am filled with the Spirit. What if each of us committed to filling ourselves completely with Jesus, in lieu of alcohol, selfishness, jealously, greed, stress, etc? How would this be possible? Comment away, tell me what you think! Only by collaborating as the body of Christ will we ever reach those who are not saved.

Earlier in Ephesians 3:18, Paul encourages us to be filled with all the fullness of Christ. In Romans 15:13, Paul persuades us to be overflowed with the hope of the Holy Spirit. Being intoxicated begins with spending intentional, personal time with Jesus Christ. Just as individuals don’t get drunk off of nothing, Christians cannot be intoxicated off Jesus with no effort. I want to encourage you, and myself, to be FILLED with ALL the fullness of Christ. Spend more time with Jesus this week, today, right now.

I will leave you with this verse: “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Ps. 80:3. By spending time with the Lord, we will be restored and His face will shine upon us. Let’s be a shining reflection of Christ for all those around us to see.

I know that alcohol is a touchy subject, and I am still developing a godly woman’s perspective on it. In light of everything else said, please take drinking seriously. Not only can it harm you physically, it truly says so much about who you are and about what you stand for. I hope that you consider what these words say and what the Word of God says on this subject!

In light of all the health care business occurring in Washington, I have been contemplating some rather amazing ideas that I want to share. With the passing of the health care bill, some things will probably change in the health realms. Certainly, this might affect my future career as a wellness coach. For those of you who are going into the medical field or really anyone who has to pay taxes, this bill will undoubtedly change our lives. Now, it’s not my desire or place to get into the politics of the new policies. And this post does not directly have to do with physical health, as some of my later posts will. However, I do want to take a moment to challenge your wellness of a believer by examining who God is in context of our current times in order to revive our souls spiritually and cast a vision for our future as Christian Americans.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” Daniel 2:20-21. Even though things might appear out of control in our country, our God is the One who sets up the rulers and does away with them when the time is right. HE is the One who changes times and seasons. We are simply His tools. His sovereignty is unwavering. Always. Therefore, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 brilliantly states Jesus’ command to us. We may rest in His peace and His power as He has overcome the world.

Not only should we rest in His peace and in His power, the Lord commands us to take action in order to bring about a spiritual awakening to our country. 2 Chronicles 7:14 implicitly spells out our instructions for us. “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

So step number one: Humble yourself. We must realize that we are NOT anything, only sinners saved by grace. James 4:10 commands us to “humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” If you have any stellar verses about humility, please post them! Because without accomplishing this step, the rest will not occur. So, let’s not get stuck on ourselves because our nation and our world is depending on us!

Step number two: Pray. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Be courageously persistent in your prayers, holding fast and not letting go while staying alert for specific needs. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 demands that we pray for those in authority over us. Friends, we must boldly prayer for the rulers of our country. Every day. I challenge you to pray for President Obama every day. Pray for those in authority over you at work, school, church, etc. What a huge difference it would make. I could obviously expand on prayer so much more, but please comment and contribute to these world-changing ideas!

Step number three: Seek His face. Time every day must be set aside to seek our holy God’s face. In order for Him to move in us and in our country, we must be receptive to His voice, which comes from spending quality time every day with Him. Today, set aside a few minutes, hours, however long, to devote yourself and surrender yourself to God. If you believe He is who He says He is, why would you not?

Step number four: Turn from your wicked ways. Our lives must individually change before a change will be sensed in America. It starts with YOU. It starts with ME! Our world will only improve if we get over ourselves enough to devote ourselves to Jesus Christ and get rid of the wickedness in our lives! If we believe that Jesus Christ has conquered sin and died on the cross for our sin and has taken away our sin natures, then WHY would we not turn from our evil ways?

It convicts me to even write this knowing that every word I write applies directly to me. But the seed I receive, I will sow. What God speaks to me, I want to speak to others so that the Body of Christ will be strengthened and the world changed as we LOVE Christ more and more! These concepts are ESSENTIAL for our spiritual wellness. So, I challenge you, just as the Lord has challenged me, to make all these verses in this post come to life in our lives in order to impact those around us! Comment as you please!

On a last note, PLEASE read Romans 13:1-7! God so clearly tells us who are the authorities and why we should submit to them! Kinda crazy, I wrote this post two days ago, but I just read Romans 13 and wanted to add it in!

Francis Chan defines stress as “the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.” (from Crazy Love on page 42.) Stress is a typical aspect of each of our lives. I have truly struggled with it over the years because of my type A nature and ambition to tackle hard tasks. Several methods exist to defeat stress, as I have been learning in my Personal Health class this semester. Aromatherapy and exercise often prove the most effective method of eliminating stress from your life. If you have more questions about these, please ask!

However, I am convinced that our behaviors define what we believe. James 2:26 states that “faith without works is dead.” In the same way, our talk without our actions matching it, is simply meaningless. Once God opened my eyes to this matter, stress no longer was an option for me. I believe that the God I serve is powerful, limitless, and sovereign. I believe that He deeply cares about me. Stress is a self-absorbed, faithLESS response to the challenges life brings, and I commit to living THROUGH Jesus Christ in order to defeat this dark and deceiving tool of the Enemy.

Without a doubt, this commitment proves challenging at times. For example, when I learned that I made an undesirable grade on a test that I studied over fifty hours for, stressing out seemed like the only option. But, making a subpar grade on a test does not change who God is in my life or what He has done for me in the past or what His purpose is for me in this moment. I’m convinced that LOVING Jesus Christ THROUGH every situation will be the answer to stress that we have been searching for our entire lives!

Join me in this challenge to love Christ wholeheartedly through the difficult and stressful situations in our lives in order to truly live for HIM without being dragged down by the struggles in our lives.