It happens every year around this time. As we approach the holiday season, a great many of us recognize that we are barreling headlong into the battle of the bulge.
As such, we declare afresh and anew that we are going to have strong wills and foreswear all of the treats, sweets, and deserts that will invariably be laid before us.
As I myself have struggled with this, I have been reminded of a story that came my way here while back from a faithful church member. It is titled: “What A Pastor Overheard at Weight Watchers He'll NEVER Forget.”
A Pastor described a lesson he learned at a Weight Watchers meeting that inspired him to apply the same to life in general…
“Years ago I attended Weight Watchers for a few months in my hometown of Manassas, VA. Every Saturday I would show up at 10:00 a.m. for my weekly weigh-in and then listen to someone talk for twenty to thirty minutes about living a healthy lifestyle.
On one occasion, as I was listening to the motivational speaker, I was distracted by a woman (a customer) raising her voice to the manger in the back of the room where I was sitting.
The woman was very upset to say the least. She told the manager, ‘I have been attending Weight Watchers for two months, and I have gained eight pounds! I want my money back!’ The manager said something I have never forgotten.
She said, ‘It is not what you do when you are here that causes you to lose weight; it’s what you do when you are NOT here that causes you to lose weight.’
The customer did not know what to say next. She just left.
I have been a pastor for more than thirteen years. Every now and then someone says to me, ‘I have been attending church on Sundays, and I don’t feel like I am growing in my relationship with God.’ When I hear that, I paraphrase what I heard from the manager of the Weight Watchers.
I say, ‘It is not what you do when you are at church that matters most; it is what you do when you are not at church.’
Knowing Jesus Christ and living for Him happens best outside the walls of the church building. It happens in everyday life. It happens in our own Bible study time, our prayer time, in our homes, neighborhoods, offices, soccer fields, etc.”
Well said and worth remembering. Christianity is a relationship that manifests itself in a continual lifestyle. As such, it is a seven-day-a-week affair; not a one-day-a-week ritual. And this involves not just seven-days-a-week; but also a 24-hours-a-day!
So, how are you doing living out your faith outside the walls of your church building? After all, daily discipline is required, not only for our bodies, but also for our souls!
SOURCE: http://www.godvine.com/read/pastor-overheard-at-weight-watcher
s-meeting-changed-his-church-fb-gv--841.html.
As such, we declare afresh and anew that we are going to have strong wills and foreswear all of the treats, sweets, and deserts that will invariably be laid before us.
As I myself have struggled with this, I have been reminded of a story that came my way here while back from a faithful church member. It is titled: “What A Pastor Overheard at Weight Watchers He'll NEVER Forget.”
A Pastor described a lesson he learned at a Weight Watchers meeting that inspired him to apply the same to life in general…
“Years ago I attended Weight Watchers for a few months in my hometown of Manassas, VA. Every Saturday I would show up at 10:00 a.m. for my weekly weigh-in and then listen to someone talk for twenty to thirty minutes about living a healthy lifestyle.
On one occasion, as I was listening to the motivational speaker, I was distracted by a woman (a customer) raising her voice to the manger in the back of the room where I was sitting.
The woman was very upset to say the least. She told the manager, ‘I have been attending Weight Watchers for two months, and I have gained eight pounds! I want my money back!’ The manager said something I have never forgotten.
She said, ‘It is not what you do when you are here that causes you to lose weight; it’s what you do when you are NOT here that causes you to lose weight.’
The customer did not know what to say next. She just left.
I have been a pastor for more than thirteen years. Every now and then someone says to me, ‘I have been attending church on Sundays, and I don’t feel like I am growing in my relationship with God.’ When I hear that, I paraphrase what I heard from the manager of the Weight Watchers.
I say, ‘It is not what you do when you are at church that matters most; it is what you do when you are not at church.’
Knowing Jesus Christ and living for Him happens best outside the walls of the church building. It happens in everyday life. It happens in our own Bible study time, our prayer time, in our homes, neighborhoods, offices, soccer fields, etc.”
Well said and worth remembering. Christianity is a relationship that manifests itself in a continual lifestyle. As such, it is a seven-day-a-week affair; not a one-day-a-week ritual. And this involves not just seven-days-a-week; but also a 24-hours-a-day!
So, how are you doing living out your faith outside the walls of your church building? After all, daily discipline is required, not only for our bodies, but also for our souls!
SOURCE: http://www.godvine.com/read/pastor-overheard-at-weight-watcher
s-meeting-changed-his-church-fb-gv--841.html.