Here is an example of the e-mail that I got today in response to my lesson that I did today. Even the automatic responses are very encouraging and helpful.
Every day, I read the Word and fill out the answers and my mentor goes through it and responds to me personally by e-mail. She also prays for me.
This is the automated response though. I get one of these, too, every time I fill out a lesson. The lesson asks if you read the Word, if you exercised and for how long, and asks if you were disciplined with your eating.
It's helped me so much that I want to post a little here to encourage anyone else who might benefit from this.
As I said, I love to exercise. It's been overeating that's been my problem for the most part. No matter how many miles I run or walk on the treadmill, if I eat half a cake and gorge down a bag of licorice--I won't lose weight.
Here's today's automated response to my lesson:
Greetings!
Interacting with the Scriptures and praying how best to apply them to our
situation is always beneficial, and we hope that today's lesson challenged,
encouraged, and blessed you. We pray that the more you study the Word of God,
the more you'll grow to love it. Within the covers of this precious book, The
Holy Bible, we can find what we need for every situation we'll ever encounter in
our lives.
Unfortunately, many know the Word and know it well, but don't apply God's
directives. How often we treat the Bible casually, as if it's a novel written
for our entertainment, when in fact, we are reading words directly from the
mouth of God. Think about that for a moment. The Bible is God speaking to us!
It's God's written Word, to teach us how to live and to reveal to us His nature.
James 1:22 tells us to be "doers of the Word, not hearers only," and 2 Timothy
2:15 says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who
does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth."
If we are not obeying His Word, we aren't accurately handling His word of truth.
We have to obey, and as we submit ourselves to the Lord and His word, we'll lose
weight because we'll desire to know and love Him more than we will desire to
indulge ourselves with food.
The natural result of hungering more for God is hungering less for the things of
this world, and that includes food. Job 23:12 says, "I have treasured the words
of His mouth more than my necessary food."
We pray this is so with you. Tomorrow's lesson is on how to "live for pleasure,"
i.e. the greatest pleasure there is.