Principles & Practice of Health Ministry
Chapter 3
Without Me You Can Do Nothing
Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
How slow we are to believe these words of Jesus, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” You want to be able to do something on your own. You wake up every morning. You shower, eat breakfast, and take up the duties of life. You bring home a paycheck and pay your bills. You probably live in a safe neighborhood. The children are yours. You go to church, and you keep your house and yard looking nice. You are a pretty good person and seriously wish the rest of the world would settle down.
The truth is that when you woke up this morning that was a gift from Jesus. The food you ate for breakfast was a gift from Jesus. Your job was a gift from Jesus. Your paycheck was a gift from Jesus. The peace in your neighborhood is a gift from Jesus. Your children are a gift from Jesus. Everything you have, everything you are, and everything you do is a gift from Jesus.
Until you recognize Jesus as the source of your life, all that you are, and all that you have, and your only hope in this life and the next, you will lose it all forever on the day you die.
One of our greatest errors is to subdivide the human experience into the physical life, the mental life, and the spiritual life. These are artificial distinctions that do not really exist. It is convenient to confine Jesus to the spiritual life -- that is why you go to church. That done, the rest of your life is yours.
The truth is your physical, mental, and spiritual life is all part of the same you. All the dimensions of life are integrated in you. You are a single, living being created by God with multiple combined aspects that cannot be separated.
Consider again Jesus' statement that “Without Me ye can do nothing.” This truth has profound implications for health ministry. Gospel workers are quick to point to Jesus as the source of salvation. In contrast, Health workers generally advocate improving yourself, by yourself, following established steps of lifestyle change recommended by secular authorities.
Unfortunately, the established steps of lifestyle change, though perhaps an accurate description of how change occurs, don’t work for most people. This truth is clearly demonstrated by the continuing obesity epidemic.
Every week there is a new book on dieting and weight loss. Each book has a unique diet. There are special foods, a special sequence in eating foods, super foods, juices, smoothies, and teas. There are dozens of commercial weight loss programs. Doctors prescribe pills and injections. Surgeons are willing to alter your anatomy to force you to eat less or to alter your digestive system in such a way that you do not absorb all the calories from the food you eat. Each book, each special food, each surgical approach has a success story attached to it. Someone did it and was successful. All these approaches to control weight work for a few people, but they do not work for very long for most people.
The world is getting fatter and fatter. There is not a single nation in the world where obesity is becoming less and less. There is no people group anywhere in the world that is successful in controlling the human appetite for food.
The basic truth is just what Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” This simple statement is the truth. We are a nation of obese people who are looking for that one book, diet, program, pill, injection, or surgery that will make us what we want to be.
Jesus is the champion of appetite control. With Jesus’ help, every obese person can be successful in losing and maintaining a healthy weight. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 Without Jesus you can do nothing. With Jesus you can do anything and everything necessary for this life and the next.
Health ministry volunteers are not doing Christ’s work in this world unless the programs they conduct start with the basic truth that without Jesus there is no long-term success. With Christ there can be permanent victory over any bad habit or addiction.
All things are possible through the power that Jesus provides. For this reason, the help of Jesus should be incorporated into the established steps of therapeutic lifestyle change. A health ministry volunteer who does not introduce Jesus as the most powerful and effective agent of permanent behavior change is just another secular health educator.
How slow we are to believe these words of Jesus, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” You want to be able to do something on your own. You wake up every morning. You shower, eat breakfast, and take up the duties of life. You bring home a paycheck and pay your bills. You probably live in a safe neighborhood. The children are yours. You go to church, and you keep your house and yard looking nice. You are a pretty good person and seriously wish the rest of the world would settle down.
The truth is that when you woke up this morning that was a gift from Jesus. The food you ate for breakfast was a gift from Jesus. Your job was a gift from Jesus. Your paycheck was a gift from Jesus. The peace in your neighborhood is a gift from Jesus. Your children are a gift from Jesus. Everything you have, everything you are, and everything you do is a gift from Jesus.
Until you recognize Jesus as the source of your life, all that you are, and all that you have, and your only hope in this life and the next, you will lose it all forever on the day you die.
One of our greatest errors is to subdivide the human experience into the physical life, the mental life, and the spiritual life. These are artificial distinctions that do not really exist. It is convenient to confine Jesus to the spiritual life -- that is why you go to church. That done, the rest of your life is yours.
The truth is your physical, mental, and spiritual life is all part of the same you. All the dimensions of life are integrated in you. You are a single, living being created by God with multiple combined aspects that cannot be separated.
Consider again Jesus' statement that “Without Me ye can do nothing.” This truth has profound implications for health ministry. Gospel workers are quick to point to Jesus as the source of salvation. In contrast, Health workers generally advocate improving yourself, by yourself, following established steps of lifestyle change recommended by secular authorities.
Unfortunately, the established steps of lifestyle change, though perhaps an accurate description of how change occurs, don’t work for most people. This truth is clearly demonstrated by the continuing obesity epidemic.
Every week there is a new book on dieting and weight loss. Each book has a unique diet. There are special foods, a special sequence in eating foods, super foods, juices, smoothies, and teas. There are dozens of commercial weight loss programs. Doctors prescribe pills and injections. Surgeons are willing to alter your anatomy to force you to eat less or to alter your digestive system in such a way that you do not absorb all the calories from the food you eat. Each book, each special food, each surgical approach has a success story attached to it. Someone did it and was successful. All these approaches to control weight work for a few people, but they do not work for very long for most people.
The world is getting fatter and fatter. There is not a single nation in the world where obesity is becoming less and less. There is no people group anywhere in the world that is successful in controlling the human appetite for food.
The basic truth is just what Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” This simple statement is the truth. We are a nation of obese people who are looking for that one book, diet, program, pill, injection, or surgery that will make us what we want to be.
Jesus is the champion of appetite control. With Jesus’ help, every obese person can be successful in losing and maintaining a healthy weight. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 Without Jesus you can do nothing. With Jesus you can do anything and everything necessary for this life and the next.
Health ministry volunteers are not doing Christ’s work in this world unless the programs they conduct start with the basic truth that without Jesus there is no long-term success. With Christ there can be permanent victory over any bad habit or addiction.
All things are possible through the power that Jesus provides. For this reason, the help of Jesus should be incorporated into the established steps of therapeutic lifestyle change. A health ministry volunteer who does not introduce Jesus as the most powerful and effective agent of permanent behavior change is just another secular health educator.