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A couple of Sundays ago I announced that I could stand to lose some weight. It would be real healthy for me to lose 15-20 pounds. 

I have now been at it for 2 weeks now: I keep track of the calories I eat by using the Lose It! app, I am trying to eat less sweet things and more healthy things (fruits and veggies). At the same time I am trying to maintain some kind of regular exercise.

I realize that losing weight has something in common with the Christian life: both of them have a negative and positive life-style choices.

In the process of losing weight I am trying to do something both negative (don't eat sweet and high-calorie food) and positive (eat fruits and veggies, exercise).

When we live the Christian life we are, by God's Spirit, attempting to "No" to sin in our lives and "Yes" to a life of righteousness and justice.

In biblical language this is called "dying and rising." We "die' to sin and "rise" (or "put on") to new life in Jesus.

This is how the Bible says it:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:5-14).

A great connection between "healthy living" and "Christian living"!