How FAT Are You?
"The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be thrown down." Proverbs 10:8
When I was a senior in high school, I was lean and athletic, tipping the scales at 165 – 170 pounds. No doubt, my frame could carry more weight, and I needed to “fill out” a little more and lose that schoolboy physique. So when I got to college and began dining on the All-You-Can-Eat Dobie Cafeteria Meal Plan at UT, I began to fill out. My weight jumped to 175-180. After I got married and we started having kids, I filled out even more. Today, I am hovering around 200, with no more room to “fill out.” I’d like for the lean, fit, 185 pound Jeff Schreve to come back soon! That guy could eat like a horse and still stay at 10% body fat.
All of us know that getting physically fat is not wanted or healthy. In the spiritual realm, however, FAT is the way to be! The Lord wants His followers to be FAT. So, how FAT are you?
F is for Faithful. When you are faithful, you are trustworthy and dependable. You are a person others can count on. You are one who is true to his word and follows through on his commitments. Additionally, as the word clearly communicates, being faithful means you are full of faith (just as beautiful means full of beauty and wonderful means full of wonder). A faithful person believes God and steps out on His Word, walking “by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
A is for Available. When you are available, you are not filling your plate with your agenda, leaving little time for the things of God. An available person has one agenda, and that is God’s agenda. This person understands that he is a servant of the King. And the servant truly has one and only one job: to do the will of the master. Philip was one who was available to the Lord. He was leading a big revival in Samaria, but when an angel of the Lord told him to arise and go to a desert road leading to Gaza, he immediately arose and went (see Acts 8:25-40). Philip was a “Yes, Lord” person. Are you?
T is for Teachable. When you are teachable, you are very open to correction. You receive commands, corrections, and even rebukes with “an honest and good heart” (Lk. 8:15) that wants to learn, grow, and be healthy. You are not defensive and prideful, trying hard to justify your actions and win arguments. You are willing to have blind spots pointed out by trusted friends who love you and want God’s best for you. It takes humility to be teachable. And when you are humble, God pours out His grace.
As you look over this acrostic, step on the spiritual scales and see how FAT you are. Ask God to help you in the area(s) where you may be falling short. Pray the prayer of David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24).
The Lord works the greatest and the best in a heart that is faithful, available, and teachable.
|
Love, |
P.S. We'd love to pray with you. I invite you to leave prayer request on our PrayerWorks page and you'll also be alerted when someone has lifted you up before the Lord.
Jeff Schreve is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. He and his wife Debbie have been married for over 20 years and are blessed with three wonderful girls. Jeff began From His Heart Ministries, a radio and television ministry, in January of 2005. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no salary from this ministry. All gifts go to further the broadcast.
SPECIAL OFFER
Anger. Depression. Loneliness. Guilt. Inferiority, Frustration, Worry, Discontentment … These are the 8 most common negative emotions that powerfully affect our lives. We find them hopelessly undesirable – but God wants to use them for good. In his book Runaway Emotions: Why You Feel the Way You Do and What God Wants You to Do About It, Pastor Jeff writes about the power of negative human emotions and God’s desire to use those feelings for joyous, abundant living. He helps readers identify and understand the source of each. With Bible-based insight, readers learn how to trust God’s plan in using each emotion for spiritual growth.
BUT FOR A DONATION OF $50 OR MORE:
You will not only receive the BOOK “Runaway Emotions: Why You Feel the Way You Do and What God Wants You to Do About It,” But you’ll also receive Pastor Jeff’s newest 11 – message CD series “Footsteps: What It Really Means to Follow Jesus.”
