Hello and welcome to the What Does God Say to You Podcast, I’m Kathy Roberts, Thank you so much for listening.
Today’s topic is Part 1 of a series:
Body Soul and Spirit - Putting God first.
This month, it was my intention to put this podcast first. My goal was to get it done and posted within the first 2 weeks of the month. I fell quite short of that intention.
This podcast has been on my heart for a few years and I did get it going, in 2022, but then I abandoned it. But had never left my mind or heart, niggling at me all the time, and so Dec 2024, when a new year was approaching I committed to begin in January and do one a month.
It’s smart not to give yourself too much when you’re beginning something or beginning again with something. So I was ok with starting with 1 podcast a month. And the fact that I got the first one posted on the last day of the month, in the last hour - made me proud, I wasn’t upset with myself. I was happy I did it because I had been pushing it off one month at a time for years, I’m ashamed to admit.
But when I did the same thing in February, it felt wrong.
Even a good friend, who I respect immensely in the spirit told me after listening to the February Broadcast that I needed to make it a priority and not to leave it till last anymore. She believed that the things I was struggling with in my life that we talked about, would stop after I got that in order.
I knew she was right. I felt like I had been running away from God regarding this for a long time. I said to both my 2 friends that I speak with about these kinds of things that I felt like Jonah in the belly of the whale.
I knew it was wrong for me to put it off till the last minute. But then at the same time, I fell into the trap of thinking that I was way too full of myself,
“belly of the whale? comparing myself to Johna? Who did I think I was?! I wasn’t actually comparing myself to him, but not doing what I sincerely believe God told me to do was seriously doing a number on me. And then there was the negative self-talk I was under attack and I was the attacker.
There is more than this podcast too. God has prompted me to work on these children’s books I had written and a particular message since 1999
This was when a publisher was needed or there was no book, and getting a 4 color children’s picture book printed was thousands just to set up..
In 2011 when I began on the journey to starting a business, “What Does God Say to You” was one of the two business ideas I had.
I chose the other passion I had, helping people who struggled with living in a mess, to not live in a mess anymore, clutter-free and organized. But my little picture book “What Does God Say to You” never left my mind…
Well, back to the podcast. Here it is March 31 and I’m working on the podcast. The first 2 came easy and quick. The only edits I had to do was to shorten a long pause and correct a word misstated. This one feels like I’m giving labor. It is what it is though, and I’m going with it…
So… as for the podcast going out last minute… One thing I know is that things don’t happen by accident. If something is important to us we make it a priority and we make the time for it.
So, here is a fact: I must get it into my schedule, and at the same time it will help me conquer something that I believe has tripped me up for decades..
So what’s my problem?
In our Christian walk, the body is usually not taken into consideration when life’s struggles rear it’s ugly head. I’m not talking about health struggles, but all the others….
The body is hardwired to behave according to past experiences and learned behaviors. Habits reign in the body.
It’s how we are designed, it’s not wrong or bad. It’s that way for survival, but somehow we’ve allowed the body to get into the driver’s seat of our lives and we fall into place, living on default.
In January and February’s podcast, an example I gave was a man whose bike had been rigged to turn in the opposite direction, WHen he turned the handlebars right it went left and visa versa.
We saw that there was no getting around re-learning how.. He had to re-teach his body to ride the bike the new way. Nothing was going to get it to comply, no matter how hard he tried or what he knew cognitively. Only practice and repetition were going to allow him to ride that bike the new way.
The same thing applies in all areas of life. Even with things where we think that we will easily do something. We struggle.
As we have seen with weight loss for example there are many wonderful, giving, faithful children of God who struggle in this area and seem not able to put down the flesh to stay away from the foods that contribute to weight gain. They ignore their gym membership or the walks they’ve committed to. There is a body involved that needs to learn, and re-learn. We need to understand how it ticks. What is going on behind the scenes plays a big part in our spiritual success.
I’ve heard it taught that we are a 3 part beings here on this earth. We live in a Body, we have a Soul, and we are a Spirit.
To live here on earth we need an earth suit, that’s the body. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions, and our spirit is the real us.
It is what keeps the body alive, when the body doesn't work anymore, our spirit departed.
When we don't do what we want to, it’s because our body operates based on habit and survival instincts, it can't help it.
Without realizing that, we've allowed the flesh to take the reigns in our lives, it's not supposed to. We haven't trained it to listen to the spirit man.
We are told to put off the old man and put on the new man. Ephesians 4:21 says, "If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
See? God addresses the flesh, he addresses the body, and the body is supposed to be in subjection to the spirit.
I Corinthians 9:27 Paul said, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection."
We are to train the body to be obedient to the spirit.
Here is my confession. This is why I didn't keep my commitment to myself to do the podcast during the first portion of the month and not just anytime before the month ended.
There are a few reasons. One is the most obvious: I kept thinking I'd get to it but I never scheduled it and somehow thought it would just happen.
I had fear going on about money. I feared that I couldn't do anything other than Tidy Tutor first. It was my business and I have people I take care of…
I thought I would find time for the podcast. But without a schedule, what was I thinking? Fear clouds everything.
And then the longer I put it off the more doubt crept in—Does this really matter? Who did I think I was?
But I knew with all of me, that I needed to put God first. Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you." He would take care of what I was afraid of.
So, putting the body into submission is a must.
Understanding how it works doesn't hurt. When it’s fretting for what it wants… we feel compelled to oblige. The flesh’s main goal is survival and it doesn't like change...
It is why God tells us to "put off the old man”
Ephesians 4:22-24 says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
How does the body comply?
Consider this. God's Word is FOOD. What we feed gets stronger.
The verse Psalm 34:8 says "Oh taste and see that God is good". Psalms 19:7-14 says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." What does all of that? Ingesting The word does.
Just like eating an orange gives us nutrients without us instructing it as to where to go and what to do, reading God's Word does the same thing.
We need to feed our spirit. What we nourish becomes strong! We don't have to feel like putting God's word in for it to work, we just have to do it.
Just like healthy eating and exercise benefit us even when we don't want to, feeding our spirit works the same way. We will get strong spiritually and it will become the dominant part of our being.
Next time I'll give a real-life example of what feeding solely on the word of God did for me when I was in a terrible car accident that nearly cost me my life. I broke bones beyond repair (so they said) and was in a coma for 3 days being unrecognizable to identify (my then husband had to look at my feet - I have weird-looking feet so he says)
I’m going to end today with this and hope it all makes sense:
Focusing on Momentum, Fresh Starts, and Perseverance.
Remembering that: Every day is a fresh start; God's mercies are new every morning, and dwelling on the failures of the past will not help us, we'll remain stuck until we decide to shake it off and accept God's grace.
Here is my takeaway & the Challenge I'm giving myself. You’re welcome to take it as well.
I will commit to creating a daily plan to read God's Word and spend time in prayer fellowshipping with him.
I have set up this plan. Every morning from 6:30-7:30. I choose to feed my spirit —I will get Facebook off my phone to alleviate the pull to check it and watch those short videos which I've become more and more drawn to.
I will listen to sermons from people who I admire and who have proven to feed my spirit and leave me feeling built up.
That will be my priority when I have downtime because I will remember that what I feel is what will be strongest. The word feeds my spirit, and mindless tv, and newsreels feed my flesh.
At the same time, I will avoid any negative shows. I will gauge it like this: Would I be proud or happy if Jesus stepped in the room right now? If not, I won't watch it. I will listen to uplifting music, and seek out fellowshipping with those who love God, and I will set up a tracking sheet (I can share it with you if you like) to track my progress to keep me accountable.
Next time, I'll dive deeper into the car accident story and the profound impact seeking God had on me spiritually and physically. Thank you for being part of my world.
I hope to hear from you. Until next time. This is Kathy Roberts and this was The What Does God Say to You podcast.
Hello and welcome to the What Does God Say to You Podcast, I’m Kathy Roberts, Thank you so much for listening.
Today’s topic is Part 1 of a series:
Body Soul and Spirit - Putting God first.
This month, it was my intention to put this podcast first. My goal was to get it done and posted within the first 2 weeks of the month. I fell quite short of that intention.
This podcast has been on my heart for a few years and I did get it going, in 2022, but then I abandoned it. But had never left my mind or heart, niggling at me all the time, and so Dec 2024, when a new year was approaching I committed to begin in January and do one a month.
It’s smart not to give yourself too much when you’re beginning something or beginning again with something. So I was ok with starting with 1 podcast a month. And the fact that I got the first one posted on the last day of the month, in the last hour - made me proud, I wasn’t upset with myself. I was happy I did it because I had been pushing it off one month at a time for years, I’m ashamed to admit.
But when I did the same thing in February, it felt wrong.
Even a good friend, who I respect immensely in the spirit told me after listening to the February Broadcast that I needed to make it a priority and not to leave it till last anymore. She believed that the things I was struggling with in my life that we talked about, would stop after I got that in order.
I knew she was right. I felt like I had been running away from God regarding this for a long time. I said to both my 2 friends that I speak with about these kinds of things that I felt like Jonah in the belly of the whale.
I knew it was wrong for me to put it off till the last minute. But then at the same time, I fell into the trap of thinking that I was way too full of myself,
“belly of the whale? comparing myself to Johna? Who did I think I was?! I wasn’t actually comparing myself to him, but not doing what I sincerely believe God told me to do was seriously doing a number on me. And then there was the negative self-talk I was under attack and I was the attacker.
There is more than this podcast too. God has prompted me to work on these children’s books I had written and a particular message since 1999
This was when a publisher was needed or there was no book, and getting a 4 color children’s picture book printed was thousands just to set up..
In 2011 when I began on the journey to starting a business, “What Does God Say to You” was one of the two business ideas I had.
I chose the other passion I had, helping people who struggled with living in a mess, to not live in a mess anymore, clutter-free and organized. But my little picture book “What Does God Say to You” never left my mind…
Well, back to the podcast. Here it is March 31 and I’m working on the podcast. The first 2 came easy and quick. The only edits I had to do were to shorten a long pause and correct a word misstated. This one feels like I’m giving labor. It is what it is though, and I’m going with it…
So… as for the podcast going out last minute… One thing I know is that things don’t happen by accident. If something is important to us we make it a priority and we make the time for it.
So, here is a fact: I must get it into my schedule, and at the same time it will help me conquer something that I believe has tripped me up for decades..
So what’s my problem?
In our Christian walk, the body is usually not taken into consideration when life’s struggles rear its ugly head. I’m not talking about health struggles, but all the others….
The body is hardwired to behave according to past experiences and learned behaviors. Habits reign in the body.
It’s how we are designed, it’s not wrong or bad. It’s that way for survival, but somehow we’ve allowed the body to get into the driver’s seat of our lives and we fall into place, living on default.
In January and February’s podcast, an example I gave was a man whose bike had been rigged to turn in the opposite direction, WHen he turned the handlebars right it went left and visa versa.
We saw that there was no getting around re-learning how.. He had to re-teach his body to ride the bike the new way. Nothing was going to get it to comply, no matter how hard he tried or what he knew cognitively. Only practice and repetition were going to allow him to ride that bike the new way.
The same thing applies in all areas of life. Even with things where we think that we will easily do something. We struggle.
As we have seen with weight loss for example there are many wonderful, giving, faithful children of God who struggle in this area and seem not able to put down the flesh to stay away from the foods that contribute to weight gain. They ignore their gym membership or the walks they’ve committed to. There is a body involved that needs to learn, re-learn. We need to understand how it ticks. What is going on behind the scenes plays a big part in our spiritual success.
I’ve heard it taught that we are a 3 part beings here on this earth. We live in a Body, we have a Soul, and we are a Spirit.
To live here on earth we need an earth suit, that’s the body. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions, and our spirit is the real us.
It is what keeps the body alive, when the body doesn't work anymore, our spirit departed.
When we don't do what we want to, it’s because our body operates based on habit and survival instincts, it can't help it.
Without realizing that, we've allowed the flesh to take the reigns in our lives, it's not supposed to. We haven't trained it to listen to the spirit man.
We are told to put off the old man and put on the new man. Ephesians 4:21 says, "If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
See? God addresses the flesh, he addresses the body, and the body is supposed to be in subjection to the spirit.
I Corinthians 9:27 Paul said, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection."
We are to train the body to be obedient to the spirit.
Here is my confession. This is why I didn't keep my commitment to myself to do the podcast during the first portion of the month and not just anytime before the month ended.
There are a few reasons. One is the most obvious: I kept thinking I'd get to it but I never scheduled it and somehow thought it would just happen.
I had fear going on about money. I feared that I couldn't do anything other than Tidy Tutor first. It was my business and I have people I take care of…
I thought I would find time for the podcast. But without a schedule, what was I thinking? Fear clouds everything.
And then the longer I put it off the more doubt crept in—Does this really matter? Who did I think I was?
But I knew with all of me, that I needed to put God first. Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you." He would take care of what I was afraid of.
So, putting the body into submission is a must.
Understanding how it works doesn't hurt. When it’s fretting for what it wants… we feel compelled to oblige. The flesh’s main goal is survival and it doesn't like change...
It is why God tells us to "put off the old man”
Ephesians 4:22-24 says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
How does the body comply?
Consider this. God's Word is FOOD. What we feed gets stronger.
The verse Psalm 34:8 says "Oh taste and see that God is good". Psalms 19:7-14 says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." What does all of that? Ingesting The word does.
Just like eating an orange gives us nutrients without us instructing it as to where to go and what to do, reading God's Word does the same thing.
We need to feed our spirit. What we nourish becomes strong! We don't have to feel like putting Gods word in for it to work, we just have to do it.
Just like healthy eating and exercise benefit us even when we don't want to, feeding our spirit works the same way. We will get strong spiritually and it will become the dominant part of our being.
Next time I'll give a real-life example of what feeding solely on the word of God did for me when I was in a terrible car accident that nearly cost me my life. I broke bones beyond repair (so they said) and was in a coma for 3 days being unrecognizable to identify (my then husband had to look at my feet - I have weird-looking feet so he says)
I’m going to end today with this and hope it all makes sense:
Focusing on Momentum, Fresh Starts, and Perseverance.
Remembering that: Every day is a fresh start; God's mercies are new every morning, and dwelling on the failures of the past will not help us, we'll remain stuck until we decide to shake it off and accept Gods grace.
Here is my takeaway & the Challenge I'm giving myself. You’re welcome to take it as well.
I will commit to creating a daily plan to read God's Word and spend time in prayer fellowshipping with him.
I have set up this plan. Every morning from 6:30-7:30. I choose to feed my spirit —I will get Facebook off my phone to alleviate the pull to check it and watch those short videos which I've become more and more drawn to.
I will listen to sermons from people who I admire and who have proven to feed my spirit and leave me feeling built up.
That will be my priority when I have downtime because I will remember that what I feel is what will be strongest. The word feeds my spirit, mindless tv and news reels feeds my flesh.
At the same time, I will avoid any negative shows. I will gauge it like this: Would I be proud or happy if Jesus stepped in the room right now? If not, I won't watch it. I will listen to uplifting music, and seek out fellowshipping with those who love God, and I will set up a tracking sheet (I can share it with you if you like) to track my progress to keep me accountable.
Next time, I'll dive deeper into the car accident story and the profound impact seeking God had on me spiritually and physically. Thank you for being part of my world.
I hope to hear from you. Until next time. This is Kathy Roberts and this was The What Does God Say to you podcast.