Kickin the craving

What are you craving? 

When I was growing up, I remember the popular advertisement for Pringles, "Once you pop, you just can't stop." Catchy phrase and yet so true! Once you start feeding that craving it just grows and grows and pretty soon, it's an addiction. 

But what about your spiritual craving? Or the perhaps the lack of spiritual craving. Are you feeding your fleshly desires, or are you feeding the fruits of the Spirit? Galatians chapter five verses twenty-two through twenty-three states, "The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance." The works of the flesh are in opposition to those from the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians also discusses the manifestations of the flesh in the same chapter verses nineteen through twenty-one stating, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, and revelings."    

If you are a child of God, you have been freed from the sin that binds us to damnation, and although our soul is saved, we still have the old nature inside of us warring with the new nature that is led by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians six presents the war that as Christians we face on a daily basis. This war is not with people but with the powers of the air wanting us to fail, to rely on our own strength, and to not submit to God. 

So how do you stop the cravings of the flesh? You have to starve them but that takes time, discipline, and replacement. For example, when a person cuts out sugar, it takes approximately two weeks to get over that craving. Two weeks is not a lot of time in the whole scheme of life, but it does require much discipline. It also requires a replacement of something healthy to ensure success. 

In the case of your spiritual walk with the Lord, replace those cravings for the flesh with time spent in His Word. I'm not talking about mass amounts of time, but perhaps five minutes. You could read a chapter or even just a verse. There are Bible apps for your smartphone, IPad, IPhone, or write down specific verses that help you overcome that temptation and carry it in your pocket and pull it out when you feel your flesh becoming stronger and stronger. 

The second step for overcoming flesh-driven cravings is prayer. 1 Thessalonians chapter five verse seventeen, states to pray without ceasing. That doesn't mean we are just kneeling all day talking to God; God doesn't expect that! It's a state of meditation and mulling over and over what the Lord has been teaching you and asking for His strength. Today, we are engulfed in our cell phones and technological gadgets. We are connected in every way possible. We have instant communication to God and can talk to Him whenever we want; that is what Paul is referring to in this text. 

The final step for overcoming those fleshly cravings is submission to God. This is the concept that hits me the hardest. Why? Because it all boils down to trust. Submission was presented to me in this aspect: If we can trust God with our soul and eternity, we have submitted that part of our life to Him. But now He wants our entire heart, even the little things, the wants, needs, desires, dreams, goals, hurts, sadness, disappointments, and the list can continue. Every aspect of our life must be submitted to God, not just our soul, but also our heart, mind, and body. He created you, and you are not your own. If you are a child of God, your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost because you were bought with the price of Jesus' shed blood on the cross. It's not a feeling of bondage but a feeling of freedom, peace, and contentment beyond belief! 

Submission isn't something that happens once and it's a done deal. Like I said earlier, we are two natures living in one body: the new and old, and they war against each other. Submission for some may only need to occur once a day by deciding to die to yourself and live through the power of God. Or you may be like me who struggles with submission constantly. I feel like I'm constantly asking God to give me strength to die to myself and live through Him. But you know, God doesn't mind, He desires to take our burdens and have us be dependent on Him. It's like a father who desires his baby girl to ask him to help her tie her shoe or put a band-aid over her cut. God is the same way, He sits and waits for us to call out to Him for aid. And He promises to deliver and give peace, comfort, and contentment. 

When this concept of submission was presented to me about six months ago, I was just saved and was struggling with submitting all the other areas to God. I was in such torment. Yes, God had my soul, finally, but now the Holy Spirit was convicting me of my choices, lifestyle, and behavior. Why was I clinging to things that were so bad for me? Because I was feeding the craving of the flesh. I will be the first to admit that I still struggle with kicking the cravings of the flesh, but I can look back in the past six months and see how I have been starving that craving and replacing it with spiritual fruits, and the craving for those spiritual fruits are becoming more and more while the cravings of the flesh are becoming less and less. God is always good because He can't be anything but good. He is in control and when we submit to Him, He will give us strength to kick those fleshly cravings. 

Benefits of Beans

Have you ever stopped and considered the nutritional value of something before you shoved it into your mouth? Have you thought about the digestive process that occurs the moment you start chewing? Many foods that we consume present issues with good nutritional value but also can be high in cholesterol, fats, and sugars. This can be a problem when someone is trying to cut back in a certain area. You may be struggling with finding foods that have both high nutritional value and low in cholesterol, fats, and sugars. The search is over because there is a food out there, and it is the magical, powerful little bean! Beans are a powerhouse of goodness that have several benefits.

The first major benefit of beans is that it is a good source of insoluble and soluble fiber. Why is this so important? Insoluble fiber acts as a broom that sweeps clean the intestines. Other examples of insoluble fiber include broccoli, celery, lima beans, and carrots. If the vegetable resembles a root or has a rough exterior, it is insoluble fiber because it cannot be dissolved in water. Soluble fiber acts as a sponge and absorbs items form the intestines. Other examples of soluble fiber include oatmeal, whole wheat, and barley. So why are beans a good source of both insoluble and soluble fiber? The skin or casing of the bean consists of insoluble fiber, which acts as a broom; the inside of the bean is soft and is easily absorbed in water which acts as sponge and is the source of soluble fiber. Fiber is extremely important for a well-balanced diet. Fiber is what pushes the excess digested matter out of the body. Whatever goes into the body must come out, and fiber is the source of that happening smoothly and most healthfully.

A second benefit of beans is that aids in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL). Cholesterol is a scary word these days and often is frowned upon when talked about. As you read, there are two types of cholesterol-good and bad. It is important to "feed" the good and "starve" the bad. Most medical establishments focus in cutting out foods that are high in cholesterol. The most common and well-known food is eggs. Doctors then prescribe medications to lower LDL levels. So, let me get this straight, people would rather pay for regular doctor appointments as well as a regimen of synthetic materials that supposedly lowers cholesterol but also damages the body's organs in the process. That seems rather ridiculous! Why don't you just cut out high fats and sugars and eat beans! Look at how easy that was! It will also save your budget.

So why are beans so important in lowering and preventing bad (LDL) cholesterol? First of all, we must understand how cholesterol is produced and how to avoid high levels of production.

Your adrenal glands are wonderful. The adrenal glands produce adrenaline that boosts your energy so you can climb out of bed in the morning, walk up the stairs, as well as a whole slew of activities. Adrenaline is also used in cases of emergency, when you feel a sense of danger and need to protect yourself or run away. This is where cholesterol comes into the scene. When you feel a sense of surge of energy, either through feeling in danger, becoming angry, or intense excitement, adrenaline is produced-a lot of adrenaline is produced because your body is gearing up to take action in some way. For example, let's look at this in two ways, the incorrect way and correct way. The incorrect way of producing excessive adrenaline is by becoming intensely angry. When a person becomes angry he either holds it in or blows his top. All that adrenaline quickly produced has to go somewhere because the body is expecting him to run or jump into action. However, he doesn't, he sits and fums and either becomes settled down or more angry. Because the body didn't use that extra adrenaline it turns into cholesterol and that gets stored in any area of the body it can find. Yikes! The correct way to utilize excessive adrenaline is by taking action. The action doesn't have to be extensive, just do something. Go for a walk, a run, vacuum the house, walk up and down the stairs. It doesn't matter what you do, just get rid of all that excess adrenaline so that it doesn't turn into bad cholesterol and get stored and compacted into your veins. 

When this was presented to me by my nutritionist, it was like a huge spotlight was turned on over my head. I never realized how something like adrenaline could be so helpful when used correctly but so harmful when not used correctly. Adrenaline is not just triggered by anger and fear but can also be triggered by stress, sugar, and caffeine. So the next time you grab that bottle of pop, ask yourself, "is this worth beating my adrenaline system up and producing cholesterol?" Instead of grabbing that pop or raiding the vending machine, grab a few spoonfuls of beans. It will give you that quick energy buzz you need but will also protect your adrenaline system, combat against cholesterol, and sustain your energy needs longer than a snickers bar and a coke.        

A third benefit is the protection from heart disease. As we look at this third benefit, we will focus more on the concept of weight gain and it's negative impact on heart disease. Weight gain is a growing pattern in America. Today, 35.7% of American adults are obese. This is following with a 17% of our adolescent children becoming obese. Studies show that children who are obese will struggle with obesity throughout adulthood and will be at high risk for major diseases, including but not limited to, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease. Other problems associated with obesity can include joint problems (arthritis), bone replacements, and sleep apnea. (There are several other diseases and complications associated with obesity. Please refer to www.cdc.gov/obesity for more information.)

So how does excessive weight gain and obesity lead to heart disease, and how do beans have anything to do with that? First of all, excessive weight on the body causes stress on the skeletal frame and internal productivity. Once a fat cell is produced it will never die. This is why individuals who have gained weight struggle with keeping it off once it is lost. It is easy to get those fat cells packed again. Fat cells have to go somewhere and so they congregate anywhere and everywhere, especially around organs. This includes the heart. A healthy adult heart beats an average of 60-80 beats per minute, while a heart of an obese individual beats approximately 100 plus beats per minute. This excessive amount causes intense stress on the heart. Because so much fat is weighing down on the organs, the heart has to pump harder to get the blood to all the places it needs to get to in order to provide adequate nutrients delivered throughout the body. (Although there are several other causes for heart disease, I will only discuss that of obesity for today.)

We talked about how beans clean out your body by latching to bile and removing it from your body. With that in mind, because beans pull that bile out of your system, your organs can run more effectively and efficiently. How does this contribute to weight loss? Beans clean you out. Plain and simple. It's not some complex equation or a series of steps to get the answer. All you have to do is eat those beans, regularly, and the body will take care of itself. Pretty cool, right? From my personal experience, I consumed a 1/2 cup of beans four times a day and lost approximately 30 pounds. Of course, I cut out those bad fats, sugars, and even dairy. Another example (for privacy of that individual, I will not share his name) an individual has shared with me that he has lost 15 pounds doing the same thing! It really works. If it didn't, I wouldn't be such a strong believer in the magical, powerful little bean.

Remember, the body is like a machine and if we put the correct foods inside of it, it will run efficiently and effectively. Take care of your body, you only get one.