But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 [emphases mine]

Another verse that verifies the distinction between angels and humans is this:

For verily he [Jesus] took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:16-17 [emphases mine]

FAT IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD

What does the Bible say about how much we should weigh?

Nowhere does the Bible say how much we should weigh. It is cultural. In some African countries, "fat" people are considered very beautiful. The charts we use to evaluate our weight are culturally derived, not based on sound scientific facts.

But the Bible does say we are not to be a glutton or a sluggard. And there are many admonitions to not forget God, the source of all our riches. When we are blessed with abundance, we run the risk of forgetting who is our provider. As long as times are lean--and so are we--we have a tendency to remember our God and seek Him often.

For when I shall have
brought them into the land
which I sware unto their fathers,
that floweth with milk and honey;
and they shall have eaten and filled
themselves, and waxen fat*; then
will they turn unto other gods,
and serve them, and provoke
me, and break my covenant.
Deuteronomy 31:20

But Jeshurun waxed fat,
and kicked: thou art waxen fat,
thou art grown thick, thou art covered
with fatness; then he forsook God which
made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock
of his salvation. Deuteronomy 32:15

[*waxen fat = become fat]

The danger is not in becoming "thick" or "fat." The danger is in forsaking God. As long as we focus on God, we will have limits to our fatness.

And Ehud put forth his left hand,
and took the dagger from his right thigh,
and thrust it into his belly:And the haft [handle]
also went in after the blade; and the fat closed
upon the blade, so that he could not draw the
dagger out of his belly.... Judges 3:21-22

Obviously, When the belly engulfs an object with folds of fat, that is extreme! If you can't change positions and straighten out a fat fold, you are probably too fat. But obsession with weight, in either direction, means our focus is off God and on ourselves. If anything is more important to us than God--even our appearance--it is an idol.

Some of my favorite verses are:

The meek shall eat and be satisfied:
they shall praise the LORD that seek him:
your heart shall live for ever.
Psalm 22:26

All they that be fat upon earth
shall eat and worship:
Psalm 22:29

Beware of diets that conflict with the word of God. They are "doctrines of devils."

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;... ...commanding to
abstain from meats, which God hath created
to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.
For every creature of God is good,
and nothing to be refused, if it be
received with thanksgiving: For it
is sanctified by the word of God
and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5

Don't miss the big IF in verse 4: Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, IF it be received with thanksgiving.

Most current diets stress limiting the amount of cholesterol in our food, especially "bad cholesterol." Excuse me--Didn't God create all cholesterol? How is it "bad"? Lamb has more cholesterol than most meats, but God made it one of the staples of the Israelite diet. It is not the cholesterol in our food, but the condition of our hearts [spiritually speaking], that makes the difference in our health.

SCATTER - GATHER

THE CHURCH'S MISSIONS:
S.C.A.T.T.E.R. to Preach,
GATHER to Teach

       Serving

                Christ

                   All

                         The

                     Time,

                             Ever

                    Ready

                            to Preach....

 [In the first century,] "there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad...except the apostles....They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts 8:1, 4--emphasis mine)

Those we think of as the "preachers" (apostles) were still in Jerusalem. The other believers went everywhere preaching the word. Preaching does not require a seminary degree or formal training. It requires a personal relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ. Preaching is simply TELLING THE GOOD NEWS (gospel) THAT JESUS CHRIST CAME AND DIED FOR OUR SINS, THEN AROSE FROM THE DEAD, PROVING HE HAS ALL POWER OVER DEATH AND HELL. Once we believe in Jesus, and confess Him as our Savior, Jesus puts His Holy Spirit within us as His guarantee that He will return to take us to be with Him forever. The Holy Spirit in us enables us to live for Jesus. We cannot do it without Him.

What did Jesus tell His disciples?
GO into all the world;
PREACH the gospel to every creature;
MAKE DISCIPLES of those who believe;
BAPTIZE believers in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit;
TEACH believers to observe [do] all things He had commanded them.

 [Jesus said,] "Go ye into all the world, and PREACH the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) And... all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. GO ye therefore, and TEACH all nations,
BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20) [emphases mine]

What did Jesus NOT tell them to do?
He did NOT tell them (or us) to bring the lost world into the church.

Many local churches focus on bringing unbelievers (the "lost") to church, rather than teaching Christ-followers (the "saved") to go win the lost. If that is the best method, would God not have told us to do that?
 
If I wanted to distribute CDs, would I better accomplish that by having friends take the CDs and give them out? or by inviting everyone in town to come get one? It would be easier to take them and give them out than get people to come pick them up. That also applies to the gospel.

SALVATION is an act of God, not of our own will. It is a new birth, a transformation of the old person into a new person, accomplished by the Holy Spirit living inside those who believe in Jesus as Savior. There are many impostors in local churches! (Some of the devil's best workers are in the local "church"--but none in the true Church.)

When we try to bring the lost into the local church, we dilute the church's effectiveness:

a) Nonbelievers act like believers at church, but act naturally elsewhere, giving the wrong impression that there is no difference between the world and the Church. "They profess that they know God;    but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16)

b) The Church is influenced by worldly thinking of those who seem to be saved but are not.

c) Valuable time is spent trying to win the lost at church, instead of teaching the saved to more effectively go win them.

 The night Jesus was born, the angel told the shepherds, "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-12) If everyone is invited to be saved, we need to let them know! The effective way--and the obedient way--to do that is to SCATTER and tell them. Until they are saved, they have no interest in coming to church, because they are not part of the Church. Once they are saved, wewon't have to beg them to come! They will know they belong!

As we go to the lost, we can meet their needs. In serving others, we serve Jesus. [GOOD DEEDS MEET REAL NEEDS.] Then, when the time is right, we can tell them about Jesus who came to save them.

If we are not to bring the lost to church, why have "church"? The Church [all believers in Jesus, worldwide] is the Family of God.

 As God's Church, we GATHER to:

a) Love our Father (praise God) jointly; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Matthew 22:37)

b) Love one another; "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Matthew 22:39)

c) Teach and learn from one another; "...when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying." (1 Cor.14:26)

d) Watch out for each other; "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."  (Acts 20:28)

e) Encourage one another; "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22)

f) Comfort one another; "...that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." (2 Cor. 1:4)

g) Serve one another; "...by love serve one another." (Gal. 5:13)

h) Rebuke one another, but not our elders; "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; ...Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear."  (1 Tim. 5:1, 20)

So, let's SCATTER to preach, and GATHER to teach.