Intentionally Focused, Day 39

The lovely graphic is from Little Birdie Blessings.

As promised, this is the last post I'll do concerning my "Intentionally Focused" Bible study which I finished back in mid-March.  I may, next week, do a post or two concerning my Easter study, but this is the last of the Intentionally Focused posts.  This one was from Week 8, when the focus of the study was our health.  Here goes:

S [Scripture]= "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband, and he did eat."  (Genesis 3:6)

O [Observation]=  This verse records what Eve did with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
1) She saw that the tree was good for food;
2) She saw that the tree was pleasant to the eyes;
3) She saw that it was a tree to be desired to make one wise.
When she saw all this, then:
1) Eve took of the fruit of this tree;
2) Eve ate the fruit of this tree;
3) Eve gave the fruit of this tree to her husband, and
4) He also ate of the fruit of this tree.

The only problem was that God had told them not to do this.  In verses 16-17 of chapter 2, "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

A [Application]=  Although God has not given me dietary guidelines as such, He has told me that my body is the temple of His Holy Spirit.  He wants me to take proper care of His temple, which certainly includes things like a healthy diet, plenty of water, adequate exercise and sleep, and so on.  I obviously shouldn't fill God's temple full of junk food.

I think the verse for today speaks to me most in that I need to remember what God has said about my stewardship of my body.  I need to keep it as healthy as possible so I'll have the energy I need to serve Him and others.

So I can't be like Eve and go by how things look:
"That looks delicious!"
"That looks so good!"
"That looks as if it would lift my spirits/comfort me/make me feel better, etc. etc."

Instead, I need to simply remember what God has said.  It's required of stewards that they be found faithful -- and that applies to stewardship of my body as it does to anything else He has blessed me with.

P [Prayer]=  "Lord, I thank You for this verse today.  I have looked at Genesis 3:6 a little bit differently today than ever before.  Help me each day as I plan meals and make choices about what to eat.  May I make the best choices, the ones that will give me optimum health, energy, and stamina for praising and serving You.  Help me to remember and pay attention to what You've said about by body: it's the temple of Your Holy Spirit.  Help me to care for it accordingly and to be a wise and faithful steward.  I thank You for all You will do.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

So that was my study for March 13.  I found it a blessing and hope that others will, too.