Have you noticed the number of commercials and advertisements for weight-loss products, nicotine patches, fitness equipment, and gym memberships? The ad man is not dumb. This is the first full week of resolutions. It happens every year.
Just think about the grocery flyer you see each week. This month we see specials for diet foods. February it will be chocolate, strawberries, and roses, and in March it will be corned beef and cabbage. Candy, eggs, ham, and legs of lamb will top the list in April. May through August will feature ribs, ground beef, steaks of all sorts, hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans—typical summer cook-out fare. Then September will devote a whole page to notebooks, paper, and pencils. And you know what the fall brings—chili beans, apples, turkeys, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and standing rib roasts. And we all buy most of that “in season” don’t we? Then we load our carts with salads, yogurt, and Lean Cuisines on January 1, and begin the whole sequence all over.
They have us pegged. They pay attention to our habits. They even know when a trend is about to start so they can cash in from the beginning. Low fat gave way to low carb, and now the buzzword is “organic.” It seems to me that labeling food “organic” is a bit redundant, but that’s another topic.
If men can figure us out that easily, why don’t we understand that our adversary can too? He knows what will tempt us the most and when it will, and he is persistent. We can get rid of him for a time, resist the Devil and he will flee from you, James 4:7, but he will always come back and try again. Just like those ad men, he uses the things he knows will work, and is never afraid to branch out and try a new tack.
When you pick up that flyer in the Thursday paper, use it as a reminder to be careful. Our lives are an open book, in more ways than one.
For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. For whosoever is begotten of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith. And who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, 1 John 5:3-5.
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar.)
Just think about the grocery flyer you see each week. This month we see specials for diet foods. February it will be chocolate, strawberries, and roses, and in March it will be corned beef and cabbage. Candy, eggs, ham, and legs of lamb will top the list in April. May through August will feature ribs, ground beef, steaks of all sorts, hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans—typical summer cook-out fare. Then September will devote a whole page to notebooks, paper, and pencils. And you know what the fall brings—chili beans, apples, turkeys, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and standing rib roasts. And we all buy most of that “in season” don’t we? Then we load our carts with salads, yogurt, and Lean Cuisines on January 1, and begin the whole sequence all over.
They have us pegged. They pay attention to our habits. They even know when a trend is about to start so they can cash in from the beginning. Low fat gave way to low carb, and now the buzzword is “organic.” It seems to me that labeling food “organic” is a bit redundant, but that’s another topic.
If men can figure us out that easily, why don’t we understand that our adversary can too? He knows what will tempt us the most and when it will, and he is persistent. We can get rid of him for a time, resist the Devil and he will flee from you, James 4:7, but he will always come back and try again. Just like those ad men, he uses the things he knows will work, and is never afraid to branch out and try a new tack.
When you pick up that flyer in the Thursday paper, use it as a reminder to be careful. Our lives are an open book, in more ways than one.
For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. For whosoever is begotten of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith. And who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, 1 John 5:3-5.
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar.)
RSS Feed