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Day 23

6/3/2019

Genesis 1:29
God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.

Ezekiel 47:12
The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.

Commentary:
Are you eating your veggies? God created you and designed you to eat lots of plants.
Look up some new recipes for salads, soups, and roasted vegetables. Maybe it is time to explore some ways to make new, power packed meals that heal.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." -Michael Pollan

Prayer:
God, thank you for covering the earth with healthy food for me to eat. Give me strength to say no to processed food that doesn't heal me. I want to be healthy for the plans you have for me. - Amen.

Tip:
You Tube has become a great resource. There are so many great videos on how to cook healthy meals.
Here is an example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up68kT4qhBE

Day 22

6/2/2019

Psalm 103:1-5
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Commentary:
Thank God every day for who He is and what He has done.
Claim scripture for yourself and speak it over your life.
(Example) God thank you that you fill my life with good things, and renew me like the eagles!
You are going to tell yourself a lot of things each day. People will try to label you and discourage you. By speaking scriptures that are encouraging over your life, you will feed your Spirit and re-align yourself with who God says you are.

Prayer:
Lord I thank you for your Word. It is living and it is powerful. Your truth renews me each time I study it and speak it over my life.
All that I am will continue to praise you. I will never forget the good things you have done for me. - Amen.

Day 21

6/2/2019

Romans 12:1-2
I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Commentary:
Have you given your body to God? He gave it to you to manage. Make the healthy kind of sacrifices that will honor God.
Let's focus on sleep for today. You probably would do better in every area of your life if you got more sleep. The last study I ready in the book Peak Performance (great book) was that in order for the human body and mind to operate at its full potential, you need,,, ready for this - 9 hours of sleep a night!
My guess is that you don't get 9 hours a night.
Time to make some sacrifices. Don't copy the sleep patterns of this world. In other words - Don't stay up late watching stuff that is popular yet it's getting in the way of your worship of God and your health.
Let God transform you.

Prayer:
Father God, You gave me this body and I want to take good care of it. Transform the way I think. I want to know Your will which is pleasing and perfect. Thank you for all that you have done for me. I want to worship you every day of my life. - Amen.

Day 20

6/2/2019

1st Corinthians 9:25-27
All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Commentary:
Do you run with purpose in every step? Like an athlete takes a few moments to stretch before they compete. Take some time each day and stretch your mind. Think! Discipline yourself and do what you are supposed to do.

Prayer:
Jesus show me the way. Just like you coached the Apostle Paul, coach me. I want to live each day with purpose. If there are things that will only divert me from the plans you have for me, help me to avoid wasting time and energy. Instead, give me a vision for life. - Amen.

Day 19

6/2/2019

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.
Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[c] is the key to your life.

Commentary:
Each day we make choices. I read that we make over 200 choices a day that impact our health and weight. That seems high to me. Even if we made 25 choices a day that effect our health and weight that is 9,125 decisions a year.
You can see that we are given a lot of choices. Live, death. Blessings and curses. Make a decision to obey God and commit yourself to Him. It says that, "This is the key to your life."

Prayer:
Father God, I commit my life to you. Each day I will attain wisdom from your holy scriptures and use it to grow closer to you. Equip me to make healthy decisions each and every day. - Amen.

Day 18

5/30/2019

Proverbs 1:2-7
Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
    knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Commentary:
In the Old Testament you will find the book of proverbs and it is full of useful teaching on how we should live. Just look at the 3rd verse where it says that it will teach us to live disciplined and successful lives.
In verse 6 there is a key to all Bible study. It says “By Exploring the meaning…”
As you read scripture slow down and explore the meaning of what each verse or story is saying so that The Holy Spirit can show you what He wants you to get out of it.

Prayer: (Here is an example of praying with key pieces of scripture.)
Father God, give me insight, knowledge and discernment. Help me to become wiser and guide me. – Amen

Tip:
What are you going to do for yourself this weekend?
I would love to hear from you. Take a few minutes and email me back to let me know how you are doing.

Love, Max

Day 17

5/29/2019

You are free.

Ephesians 1:7-11 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.

Commentary:
Do you feel free? Sometimes we all need to get reminded of what the scriptures say about us. Here in Ephesians God's Word tells up we are free of penalties and punishments. Abundantly free!
Through Jesus, God had a long range plan and you are part of that plan. As we learn more and more about Jesus we discover more about who we are and what we should be living for.

Prayer:
Thank you God that I am saved, I am safe, and I am free. Help me to walk in this freedom. I want to know more and more about your plan for my life. - Amen.

Much Love, Max

Day 16

5/28/2019

John 14:25-27
The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace.

Commentary:
Jesus said He will give you The Holy Spirit and He will help you to understand everything Jesus taught. The key is to know what Jesus taught. When you read the 4 gospels over and over you will continue to gain wisdom that is essential to living your best life.
The evangelist Billy Graham read the entire Bible once a year. But He read the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) every week. He had the words and teachings of Jesus fresh in his mind. Think about how easy it would be for the Holy Spirit to make everything clear to him as he was trying to help the thousands of people he ministered to each year!

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, I want to have the same level of understanding of the Gospels as the great men and women of faith that I have heard about.
Teach me how to act. How to react. How to be a blessing to anyone that needs your help. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Amen.

Tip:
If you don't feel like you have the gift of the Holy Spirit than it is time to seek that gift.
Read Acts chapter 1 to see where Jesus talked about sending the Holy Spirit. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts1&version=NLT

Read Acts chapter 2 and you will learn about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=NLT

Acts 10:44-46 is where the Holy Spirit was is given to the gentiles. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+10&version=NLT
Such good stuff.

Much Love, Max

Day 15

5/27/2019

You are a conqueror! You may have had set backs but you are not going to be defeated!

Romans 8:31 (Msg) With God on our side like this, how can we lose?

He One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Commentary:

God is on your side. Nothing can separate you from Him.
During this 40 days of renewal our main goal is for God to Renew Your Strength.
You are re-connecting with Him through his Word and with Prayer each day. Everything else is a bonus. Eating healthy, exercising, getting good sleep and making time to enjoy the things that fill you up are great. But the main thing is the main thing. Your personal relationship with God.

Prayer:
Jesus, Thank you for giving your life for me. The past 15 days I have been re-connecting with you more and more. Help me to grow stronger in my understanding of our relationship over the next 25 days. Renew my strength. Spiritually, emotionally and physically. - Amen.

Tip:
Find a worship song or two that you really get inspired by. Play it over and over this week. Get the truth that is being sung into your spirit.
God can use things like this to help fuel you and elevate you into a higher walk with Him.
Here are some that I suggest.

It's A New Season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDUrIVGak-A

Saved (Bob Dylan wrote this) DD and I flew to Florida to the Brownsville Revival 20 years ago. Around 2.5 million people visited that church. It was incredible. They had service almost every night for 5 years!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcjuC016c68

Oceans: This is from the Hillsong N.Y.C. Conference. Some of us were there. So powerful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vKSR_4sucY

Spirit Move: Such a powerful song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-wvSGOJA_c

Chain Breaker: If this doesn't move you when you watch it then please book a counseling session with me. I will bring my stethoscope to make sure you have a heartbeat. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WtV1XtqsW0

I could keep going. There are so many powerful songs. But this should get you started.

Love, Max

Day 14

5/26/2019

Psalm 1:1-3

Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.

Commentary:
You can be strong and prosper each season of your life. To do this we draw strength and wisdom from God's Word each day, just like a tree feeds from the river.
Want to have more joy in your life? Make a decision today to start taking delight in your time each day in God's Word.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit teach me your ways. Give me fresh understanding and strength the next time and every time I open your Word.
-Amen

Tip:
We are about to start a new week. Time to re-focus on Rest, Exercise, Good Nutrition, Educating yourself by reading your Bible and enjoying the things that bless and refresh you. (Wellness.)