<\/p>\n
So we have successfully made it to Summer.\u00a0 Are you like me?\u00a0 In the summer I just don\u2019t want to heat up the kitchen cooking.\u00a0Its either fire up the barbeque or get take out.\u00a0 I come in from mowing the lawn, all hot and sweaty, and the last thing I want to do is cook.\u00a0 This can lead to many days, then weeks of choosing something fast over the right nutritious foods.\u00a0 And that is so easy, because I love summertime foods like potato salad, and macaroni salad!\u00a0 And of course its so easy to start the meal with a bag of chips or Doritos while the grill is heating up!\u00a0 Throw in some salty dill pickles and add to the fun!<\/p>\n
This got me to thinking how easy it is to have an unhealthy spiritual diet.\u00a0 In this world, we as Christians eat a whole lot of junk that the world says tastes really good. The world puts before us entertainment at the movie theater and on our televisions and says to us this is really good\u2026and we eat it up. The world puts before us an internet full of all types of temptations and says to us go ahead and enjoy them. The world says addictions are not a problem; drugs will help you relax and unwind, and yes, even Christian people sit at the table and enjoy them.<\/p>\n
It is a struggle not to eat all the tempting things the world puts before us and then tells us to come and eat. And just because it is a struggle, we should not just give up and let the wrong things overtake us; we should\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 challenge ourselves to eat the right spiritual things. And that is precisely what Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:6 when he says, \u201cBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.\u201d\u00a0 We need to learn to say no to temptation on a consistent basis.\u00a0 I guess my point is, enjoy all the Summertime junk food in moderation.\u00a0 Throw in some healthy salad and fruit.\u00a0 Eat those fresh garden vegetables.<\/p>\n
And additionally, feed yourself with some healthy Word of God.\u00a0\u00a0Exercise your spiritual muscles.\u00a0 The Bible tells us 1 Timothy 4:8 :<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the\u00a0\u00a0 future.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Enjoy your summer.\u00a0 Don\u2019t take summer off from getting your spiritual food.\u00a0 Stay in the Word, be an encouragement to others, and we will see you here on Sunday!<\/p>\n It\u2019s good to be your pastor!<\/p>\n In the Lord\u2019s service till the last fish is caught!<\/p>\n Pastor Chris<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So we have successfully made it to Summer.\u00a0 Are you like me?\u00a0 In the summer I just don\u2019t want to heat up the kitchen cooking.\u00a0Its either fire up the barbeque or get take out.\u00a0 I come in from mowing the lawn, all hot and sweaty, and the last thing I want to do is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connection-article"],"yoast_head":"\n