"There's An Army Rising Up," or is there?

It's no secret I love worship music.  I really love Jesus Culture.  Several of their songs are my favorite, but one on the top of the list is "Break Every Chain."  Part of it says "there's an army rising up."  So, let's talk about this army, shall we?  Let's cover the basics of who, what, when, where and why.

Who is the army - the church
What is the army - God's people rising up into the spiritual battle we are in, day in and day out
When is the army - daily
Where is the army - all over
Why the army - because we are in a spiritual battle {Ephesians 6:12}

So, shall we have a state of the union regarding the army?  I am concerned about the army. Why?   It seems that we don't know how to take care of ourselves.  We don't know how to eat well, we don't know how to treat food as fuel for our bodies.  When we host events/potlucks/meals/etc., there aren't a lot of good healthy options there - they are lacking in fresh fruit or veggies, yet there are lots of heavy carbs, processed foods and desserts....oh, the desserts we have.  If you look around the church, does it appear that people are taking care of themselves?  Let's look at Daniel ~ this is where the Daniel Fast comes from.  Daniel 1 specifically talks about how Daniel and his men took 10 days to eat only vegetables and drink water.  What happened at the end of those 10 days?  "At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead."  {Daniel 1:15-16}  BOOM!  So, does today's army look like it's ready for battle?  Are we ready for battle?  We are in a battle.  I don't know if you're aware but we are.  The battle comes to us in many forms ~ the media, what we eat, what we hear, who we hang around, etc.  Again, Ephesians 6:12 tells us we are.

If we aren't taking care of our bodies, what are we doing to our minds?  Did you know that what we eat and put into our bodies affects our minds?  I'm living proof of that.  A few weeks ago, I had some wheat and dairy the night before, as well as some high fructose corn syrup, lots of other ingredients I don't know what they are, where they come from or how to pronounce them, but I ate them anyway.  It tasted good, right?  It wasn't good for me but that was ignored at the time.  The following day, I ate some pretzels.  You may think they are healthy because they are low in fat and calories, right?  WRONG.  They are processed, contain a ton of salt, they have wheat {which is a no no for me} and they are carbs.  I made poor choices for my food intake, which then in turn, affected my body and my mind.  My family would say I wasn't a pleasant person to be around.  Looking back, they were right.

Did you know that in a 2007 study by James Cook University, researchers discovered cocaine-addicted mice actually preferred sugar-water as a reward over cocaine? This intense euphoria from sugar consumption can be a powerful driving factor in us reaching for it often and obsessively.  Not good!  Who does this sound like?  Let's see ~ it's sneaky, sublte and steals, kills and destroys.  You got it......{John 10:10}

Church, it's time to step up and become aware of what we are putting into our bodies.  What are we accepting as "normal" for our health and our childrens health?  Why are we doing this to ourselves?  When we aren't taking care or our bodies and our minds, we are NOT effective.  We are also not ready or prepared.  How can we fight a battle and win if we are not effective, not ready and not prepared?  We can't ~ we will lose every time.  And, that my friends, is what the devil wants from us.

It is time for the Bride to rise up and start taking care of Herself.  We are children of the Most High God, we are Royalty, so why are we continuing to treat ourselves like crap?  Is that right?  No.  Your body is a temple, so are you treating it that way, or are you treating it like a trash can?  Wake up church and start taking care of yourself so you are effective!  We already know who won, but we still have to fight!  There is a battle to fight and it's time to RISE UP!