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3 John 1:2 Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health physically just as you are spiritually.

If you’re one of the people who tries to watch the livestream of worship on Sunday mornings, you know that I’ve been having trouble with it again. I’ve also been working to resolve the issues and I have hopes that ultimately this will be successful. In the meantime, as I check on things along the way, I have to watch the recordings of the livestream. As grateful as I am for the technology that allows people to watch when they can’t join us in person, I really dislike watching the recordings – primarily because I really dislike the way I look.

However, I realize that the way I look is not the biggest issue. I really need to take better care of myself, whether or not I lose any weight in the process, for multiple reasons.  One of the big ones is that the pandemic has raised awareness of the importance of underlying good health which helps to reduce risks associated, not only with Covid-19, but with other health issues as well. For example, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis about 19 years ago and with diabetes about 18 years ago and taking good care of oneself is important with both of these – as well as with other conditions I have manifested in the ensuing years.

So, as my journey through this Season of Lent continues, I’m feeling quite convicted about doing what I know is right with regard to taking care of my body. The verse I quoted at the beginning is the Apostle John’s prayer that the person who would receive this letter, his “dear friend,” Gaius, would be in good physical health. The New Life Version translates it this way: 3 John 1:2b Dear friend, I pray that you are doing well in every way. I pray that your body is strong and well even as your soul is.

This is the conviction for me: I want to do my best to do whatever is in my power to have a body that is strong and well even as my soul is. That includes exercise which I need to ease into over the next few weeks. I’m also trying to make some better food choices, eating more salads and other vegetables, etc. I’m sharing this here, not only because I’ve been transparently sharing what ever the Lord impresses on me during this Lenten season, but also as a form of accountability. You are welcome to ask me how I’m doing with this. I don’t want to be convicted about it and then just forget about it.

Father God, just as King David wrote in Psalm 139:14, “I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” I also am amazed at how wonderfully You have made our bodies – my body – seeing the way it works and how it is designed to heal in many ways that we can see. Yet I know it comes with the responsibility to care for it well. So, I ask You to help me do that – that my heart will be focused on You, so that my mind will be engaged to make the right decisions, so that I can work with my body in the best and safest ways possible to make my body healthy – so my life will be the best it can be and most of all, so that I may honor You. Through Christ, I pray, Amen.

Romans 12:1 Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. 2 Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete. (The VOICE Translation)