Part one on the 8 laws of health, you may want to define temperance and resolution, the main objective for this page is on how to establish temperance in your life…….
I am posting this as a way to encourage those that feel they are a solitaire in this world, it is by a man who struggles with division whether in marriage, beliefs, loneliness, age, children, and just plain relationships with the person sitting next to you. These are his convictions and hopefully they will help to make you a stronger person also. from my son Curt he writes……
in the most northern part of Canada, in Nunavut is a town named Resolute Bay. It is one of the coldest inhabited spots in the world at an average temperature of below minus 15 and in the minus 40s in the winter. It is always either dark for half the year or just sun the other half. After World War 2 families were forced to live there to be able to claim sovereignty of the land. This place is probably one of the the most inhospitable places to live, there is even archeological evidence that people have lived there 600 years ago, I suspect that you would need the character and strength and temperance in order to live, let alone decide to move there. It’s interesting to know that 86 percent of people living there are Christians, Maybe the Bible had something to do with teaching and building character, and maybe infirmities, reproaches and necessities could have brought the people to Christ.
I am going to attempt to trick you with a couple of questions… Do you need to be strong to have faith and to obey God, yes or no? The answer should be yes. You all have overcome sin, and obstacles, and have changed in some way, right?! So you have all demonstrated strength. The question now is how many of you are strong?? tricky?? The world answers this in the affirmative, because they want to own their best moments. Why is this important to understand? Well, the Bible states its directives in its absolute state as a list of do”s and don’ts, but if we keep looking there are places it gives directions on how we accomplish these tasks.
Ellen White talks about being temperate in all things, this addresses our habitual tendencies - appetites, passions and having abstinence. It infers that we need to make a stand on how we dictate our actions in every facet of our lives.
There is an ancient war cry in Hebrew the Israelites used in a time of war, it is 'rak kazak'. Spiritually it means possessing a resolute fervor, a resolve for the glory of God, tensing of the muscles, and also they used the word 'amats', which is the confidence in victory before the field is taken. This means that we stand in power, in order to stand against the wiles of the devil. But we ask then, why in the Bible does God choose the weak?
Paul states… If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 2nd Corinthians 11:30
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people Psalms 22:6
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24
I have deviated the context of this slightly in order to show that there is a contrast in how we define strength from the rest of the world and that our actions can be defined by our pride. Our strength is hidden in our meekness and is not owned by us.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Temperance is wisdom, and understanding, it is the fruit of the Spirit. And like the lessons of Joseph when he was tested with honour and power and lust in the higher echelons of Egypt, and Daniel with his 3 friends when they resolved to obey God with diet and commitment to God’s worship, despite their peril, and then there is Abraham who did not hold back anything in his life from God. The list goes on with bible characters that held their devotion and confidence in each of their testing, we need to be resolved to be subject to God’s will in every aspect and in every thought and know that the motivation for strength is in our weaknesses and that the Holy Spirit is our rak kazak, and we will know the fight is already won even when we are weak.
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