You're the reason that I live ... Jesus

So God has been teaching me some crazy awesome stuff lately and I thought I'd update this because I never do.
First let's check out 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
"Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Lately God has been teaching me a lot about Loving others with His love. I am SO filled with His love at this point that it's impossible not just completely love everyone. And I am being serious -- yes I get frustrated with things at times but God is keeping me so in check with that stuff it's crazy awesome! I truly am giving my all to Jesus first and letting everything else happen after this and God is using me for GREAT things! I especially like verse 13 up there which is the one regarding viewing people through Christ's eyes not in the world's! Seeing people as souls that Jesus died for, not for their outward appearance. And alongside that I love how in the first part, verses 11 and 12 it is talking about how we are called to be more like Jesus and accept that we are only humans with a higher calling! Also that we fear the Lord so much and obey Him SO MUCH that we can have those answers for those who take pride in what is seen as opposed to where our heart is! It's so great to have a wise book of Truth that sets this stuff straight for us! That we are to love people with His heart and look so far past the outward appearance that we compel those who look at the outward as opposed to the inward seek out what we have found in Christ!

Jesus has also been teaching me so much about self-control in regards to my nutritional intake.
Let's check out 2 Peter 3-9:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."

First of all I just want to say how much I love verse 3a, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life!"Amen! How great is that?
But I have to say that God has been showing me a lot about the "divine nature" and truly living for his desires and not the evil worldly desires that controlled my life for SO LONG and still are trying to keep a strong-hold on me. But we all know God is bigger than the boogie-man, amen!? But God has been adding these things onto my life in the order pretty much, started with goodness, just the idea of that and seeking that out, then I have been seeking his knowledge and knowing for a long time. Self-control has been HUGE lately with the way I have been changing my diet in order to fit a more Godly way of eating. I have cut out meat (I will eat organic meat but the mass production of meat nowadays and the chemicals animals are injected with, the way they have no free-range and the dangerousness that is the job many humans have at the mass market meat factories violates a lot of human rights issues that make me more than uncomfortable with eating it), on top of meat I have cut out cheese and anything that contains milk/dairy products e.g., sour cream, cream cheese etc however I do eat organic eggs and also drink organic milk on occasion however I think I may cut out milk completely very soon, I also have cut out white-flour completely. Many people think I am crazy, and they also think I am doing this for religious reasons, well that is partially true however I don't think God doesn't want us to eat meat, like I said I would eat organic meat however ... you already heard what I said about the human rights issues alongside mass market production of ... well pretty much anything. As for white flour, I think we all know that God didn't intend on us bleaching something with so much nutrition and thus removing all the nutrition from it. If it doesn't do ANYTHING good for your body than what is the point of eating it? Verdad?
God calls us to treat our bodies as temples (1 Corinthians 6:19), because this body is not ours! It does not belong to us! It is a means for our spirit, and for the Holy spirit. Also I know that health is very important, I also know at this point in my life I am not in great health and that I could do SO MUCH more for God's kingdom if I had better health -- so I better start listening to Him and doing what He has called me to do in order to better do what He is calling me to do for my future. Amen?
Back to verses 6 and 7 -- Perseverance is def. coming in handy right now, I have always had great perseverance when it comes to everything and God is def. filling in my weaknesses but in all honesty I can use a lot of prayer because cutting out all this stuff in my diet is kinda hard and pretty crazy but I know God is bettering me and showing me SO MUCH through this. I am so thankful for my mom also who is enlightening about these health issues that she has spent so much time studying. I get a lot of knowledge from God and a ton from my mom also. She def. has had a huge impact on my diet and on what is healthy and what is not.
A lot of times my issue is that I know what I need to do but I do not do it -- thankfully God again is coming in w/ the perseverance so that I can truly put this knowledge and respect for my body into reality.
Saying that, I should go for more walks. Slash work-out more often.
I think a lot of times I have tried to diet for outwardly reasons and have failed, I think doing this for inward reasons which immediately affect my outward reasons is a great thing that God is doing for me. This wisdom is from Him alone.
Verse 8 which reads, "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Having this knowledge of Jesus is awesome but by not using it for what He is asking SURELY makes you unproductive and ineffective, by knowing God but not bettering yourself for Him -- well then you don't TRULY know God. Bold statement but that's how I roll. I have also been making a lot more bold statements that are glorifying to God as opposed to bold statements that hurt others. Killin' myself with kindness over here.

Anyway- in a semi crazy way that is what God is teaching me. Sorry if it seems jumbled or doesn't make sense but if anyone actually reads this, and wants to know more or whatever. Comment, call, e-mail.

Love, peace, recycle, vote
-Brooke