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TGP Volume 18
(2018)

The Grace Perspective is sent to family and friends of GracePoint and also to past and present participants in our support programs as a follow-up supplement to the information provided on our website and is sometimes densely worded and intense.

Week 52

GracePoinToday

We will do more the good we should do when we are supported for doing it, especially by Christ living his Life in and through us, than when we are condemned for not doing it.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L27

Did You Know:

God’s Leadership to us is the model for GracePoint’s 7 E’s of Grace Leadership:

  • Education
    • Provides information, especially for learning how to experience Christ living his Life in and through us.
  • Explanation
    • Explanation of Truth is the reason God gave us the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27).
    • Information without explanation may not be helpful.
  • Example
    • Provides a visual for wise choices and good outcomes.
  • Encouragement
    • This is not the same as saying “You can do it!”
    • Rather, it is saying “Making wise choices to include God’s Provisions into your life will always result in good outcomes!”
  • Evaluation
    • Provides regular monitoring and review of choices and outcomes.
  • Extension
    • Provides age-specific extension of time and opportunity for response.
  • Enforcement
    • Grace enforcement is not punishment.
    • Rather, it is discipline – that is, it allows for failure (the cause and effect “sowing and reaping” outcome of wrong choices) with
      • the goal of promoting growth and, of course, with
      • protection from destruction.
 DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L26

SlimSUPPORT:

We will not likely begin making choices for our health tomorrow that we are not willing to begin making right now.

Said positively: We will more likely follow through with our plan to begin a health regimen tomorrow that we are willing to begin today - right now.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L25

Christmas 2018

To our GracePoint family and friends and also past and present participants in our support programs, it is our hope that your celebration of the Birth of Christ today will be meaningful and filled with happiness.

Don and Carole Whisnant/GracePoint Counseling, AGRC 18L25

Week 51

GracePoinToday

God’s love (“agape”) for us (and through us for others) is expressed by giving. His love in us for him is expressed by receiving (his Provisions of Grace). This means, we don’t give to God - except to give ourselves (open our hearts) to him in order to receive from him.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L20

Did You Know:

1. The Bible word faith (Gr. “pistis”) means
  • conviction,
  • complete confidence, and
  • full persuasion,
especially concerning God’s
  • faithfulness, righteousness, and justice,
  • unconditional Love for us,
  • interest in every detail of our lives,
  • commitment to provide support for our health and happiness.
2. The word faith is a noun, not a verb – that is, we don’t “do” faith; rather, we “have” faith.

3. Faith is produced in us by the Holy Spirit – that is, it is a grace (a provision from God) that supports us to “do” – for example, to
  • trust,
  • receive,
  • hope,
  • follow,
  • respond to,
  • comply with God’s instruction (obedience), and to
  • continue (stay the course).
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L19

SlimSUPPORT:

Absolutely, good health is a blessing from God, and it is because of our obedience - but it is not obedience to “go and give” or to perform religious works; rather, it is the obedience of “coming and receiving” God’s Provisions which result in health.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L18

 Week 50

GracePoinToday

Whatever the weaknesses of our human nature, no brokenness can prevail against the power of the Resurrected Life of Christ “living within us” (Romans 8:11) to “lift us up out of the pit and establish our lives / health on a solid foundation” (Psalm 40:2).

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L15

Did You Know:

With regard to our
  1. inborn need for people to support us with respect to information, affection, and structure (schedule and decision-making) and
  2. inborn energy for serving as a resource to help meet those needs in others –
the Melancholy temperament is
  1. low need (0-3)
  2. low energy (0-3)
the Supine temperament is
  1. high need (6-9)
  2. low energy (0-3)
the Phlegmatic temperament is
  1. medium need (4-5)
  2. medium energy (4-5)
the Choleric temperament is
  1. low need (0-3)
  2. high energy (6-9)
the Sanguine temperament is
  1. high need (6-9)
  2. high energy (6-9)
Whatever our temperament type, the Holy Spirit lifts us up out of the weaknesses of our inborn traits to support us for manifesting the Likeness of Christ, expressed in and through us by the 9 Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), as we take time each day for quiet-time worship in order to be renewed to fuller measure with his Likeness.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L14

SlimSUPPORT:

Even if there were no God or afterlife, we have opportunity in this life, because of the Law of Cause and Effect, to make wise choices for diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation (DELS) that result in health so that we aren't left to chase after ways to have fun in order to kill the pain of our brokenness.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L13

Week 49

GracePoinToday

We risk loss of relationship with our families, friends, and neighbors in at least 3 ways: When we
  • fail to care about their concerns,
  • do not respond to meet their codependency (superficial pain relief) needs, or
  • offer support for learning how to experience Christ.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L06

Did You Know:

1.    God’s Mercy and his Grace are not the same.

2.  The Mercy of God is the attribute of God from which his Provisions of Grace flow into our lives – including through Creation (life-supporting elements in the soil and atmosphere), Community (the home and the Church [parents, husbands, pastors, and deacons] and government for law and order), and especially Christ (his Blood/death and Resurrected Life), also the Holy Spirit and the Scripture - so that, if God ceased to be merciful, his Provisions of Grace would cease to flow.

3.   God’s Mercy is expressed unconditionally to everyone (that is, his Provisions of Grace flow to us without respect of persons – James 1:5), but we are not saved (born again and healed from brokenness) by God’s Mercy alone (just because he is merciful to provide), but because we receive his Provisions of Grace.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L05

SlimSUPPORT:

We are supported for making wise choices for health by

  • Inborn Predispositions / Personality (temperament) type,
  • People (leadership support in the home, Church, and community for meeting our information, affection, and structure needs),
  • Plans (Schedule), and
  • Programs (Church, civic, and community),
but mostly by our experience of Christ living his Life in and through us (John 15:5; Colossians 1:27; 2 Peter 1:3) - which he promises to do when we take time each day during our quiet time worship to receive him per Revelation 3:20.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18L04

Week 48

GracePoinToday

Taking time to meet the redemptive (health and happiness) needs of our children (for information, affection, and structure) will win their respect for us and our values; but giving them everything they want is expensive and will result in resentment (because of the boredom / tolerance factor).

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K29

Did You Know:

Scripturally, to praise God NEVER means to tell him how great he is (as to a dictator) in order to
  • win his favor,
  • stay out of trouble with him,
  • make him feel better about himself, or
  • meet an unmet need he has for power, control, or significance.

Rather, it means either to

  • rejoice in his goodness to us,
  • confess our appreciation for him, or
  • commend (speak well of) him to others.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K28

SlimSUPPORT:

Recovery time from the losses of neglect to make wise choices for health gets longer as we get older. That’s why we may need two days to regain our losses for each day we neglect exercising.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K27

Week 47

GracePoinToday

God has provided for every need we have - biologically, psychologically, and spiritually. We say “Thank You” to him by connecting to his resources in Creation, Community, and, especially, Christ in order to receive the support which flow through them (per his promise in John 15:4-5).  

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K23

Did You Know:

  • In the Bible, giving thanks to God for his Provisions means more than a polite, response to acknowledge a gift or favor provided.
  • Rather, it means to give ourselves (open our hearts) to God in the sense of receiving his Provisions (including them) into our lives.
  • This, the same as we give thanks for food by eating it, or for water by drinking it.
  • This means, it cannot be said, in the Scriptural sense, that we are thankful for Jesus (“Thank You, Jesus”) until we take time daily to receive him into our hearts during quiet time worship.
  • The one leper who gave thanks to Jesus for his healing (Luke 17:11-19) did not return just to express a polite “Thank you, Jesus” but in recognition of his need to remain connected to him per John 15:1-8.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K22

SlimSUPPORT:

A 15 minute walk immediately after Thanksgiving Dinner, instead of napping, will help offset weight gain.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K21

 Week 46

GracePoinToday

Whatever our response is to God’s leadership (support resources) for our lives, whether to receive or to reject it, will be the response we can expect to have to our leadership from those we serve.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K15

Did You Know:

  • Every person is born trichotomous (body, soul, and spirit).
    • Our body is our capacity to experience Creation (elements in the soil and atmosphere) to meet our biological needs.
    • Our soul (heart: mind, emotions, and will) is our capacity to experience Community (leadership in the home and Church) to support our psychological needs for information, affection, and structure (re: decision-making).
    • Our spirit is our capacity to experience God (the Life of Christ).
  • God has provided every need we have, brought them to the door of our hearts, and calls us to receive them.
  • Health and happiness (to support our freedom from tension and brokenness) is the promised, certain outcome of our taking time each day to include God’s Provisions into our lives.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K14

SlimSUPPORT:

Infection (caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) is no longer the leading cause of diseases in America, but inflammation
  • caused by free radicals (the toxic by-product of metabolism - for illustration, exhaust from a muffler or ashes from a fireplace) and
  • which inflames the cells of the body.
Foods rich in antioxidants (raw fruits and vegetables) neutralize free radicals.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K13

Week 45

GracePoinToday

Our children are best supported for health and happiness when Christ parents them through us.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K08

Did You Know:

  • We do not work for God; rather he works in and through us (Philippians 2:13).
  • We are not God’s workmen; rather, we are his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
  • We do not serve (support) God; rather he serves (supports) us and others through us (John 15:1-8; 2 Corinthians 3:6).
  • We do not accomplish God’s Will for our lives; rather, he accomplishes his Will in, for, and through us by the Holy Spirit.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K07

SlimSUPPORT:

The bio-rhythmic principle of movement (movement, maintenance, and momentum) explains why 
  • our disinclination to make wise choices diminishes the more we make them, also why 
  • we more easily continue the good we do than restart the good we stop.
DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K06

Week 44

GracePoinToday

Our best hope to understand The Scripture, so that we are not left in darkness with only religious notions to support us, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, its Author and Teacher.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18K01

 Did You Know:

Justification, reconciliation, spiritual baptism, regeneration, and adoption
  • are the works of God in our behalf -
  • because of our trust to receive God’s Provision of the Blood/death of Christ as the only Payment he will accept to satisfy his judgment against us (because of Adam’s disobedience) -
  • that make possible our
    • deliverance from eternal separation from him,
    • baptism by the Holy Spirit into spiritual union with Christ,
    • spiritual new birth as children of God,
    • adoption as God’s sons,
    • inheritance of all God has as co-heirs with Christ,
    • membership in the Body of Christ, the Church (the Bride of Christ), and
    • eternal life (so that we can go to Heaven).
Sanctification
  • is the work of God in our behalf –
  • because of our trust during our quiet-time worship to receive God’s Provision of the Resurrected Life of Christ to live within our hearts –
  • that makes possible our
    • holiness (Christlikeness) for Christian living and
    • competence in ministry as vessels for God’s use in Redemptive service to others.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J31

       SlimSUPPORT:

      Exercise to offset eating too much of the wrong foods at the wrong time will sabotage our health.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E30

      Week 43

      GracePoinToday

      Broken people attempting to provide leadership to broken people eventually increases brokenness, but our experience of Christ, living his Life in and through us, supports us for providing ministry that heals.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J23

      Did You Know:

      The moment we trust God’s Provision of Christ’s Blood/death as the only payment he will accept to satisfy his Judgment against us (separation from him) because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden (Romans 5:12-19), the Holy Spirit places (immerses / baptizes) us (like a sponge into water) into spiritual union with Christ per Romans 6:3-4 and Ephesians 1:13  - so that,
      1. we are IN CHRIST (Romans 8:1) and, by merit of which,
      2. Christ is IN US (Romans 8:10) - that is, in our spirit (with the result our spirit is regenerated / born again).
      But there is a third relationship we have with Christ: It is
      1. Christ LIVING IN US – that is, in our soul (heart: mind, emotions, and will) (Romans 8:11) – which he promises to do when we take time each day for quiet-time worship in order to receive him per Revelation 3:20 and John 15:4-5 with the result we are sanctified / made useful as vessels for God’s Redemptive Work in the world).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J24

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Managing weight is not always supported by counting calories – because all calories are not the same. For example, calories from low-fiber, high-glycemic simple carbohydrates (processed sugars, pastas, white rice, etc.)
      • trigger hunger and
      • produce the hormone insulin - which supports the body for storing calories as fat,
      while calories from essential fats and protein
      • satisfy hunger and
      • produce the hormone glucagon - which supports the body for burning calories.
      That’s why we can eat the same number of calories - in either
      • a carbohydrate-loaded meal and gain weight or
      • a fat / protein-rich meal and lose weight.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J23

      Week 42

      GracePoinToday

      We cannot change others but only give God opportunity to change us through our experience of Christ during our quiet-time worship in order to make us useful to him as beacon lights for his Work in the world per Philippians 1:20.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J18

      Did You Know:

      To worship God does not mean to
      • tell God how good or great he is, or to
      • applaud him, or to
      • serve him. 
      Rather it is our experience during our quiet time each day (for reading the Scripture) to open our hearts in order to receive the flow of his Life (the Resurrected Life of Christ) into our hearts per John 15:5, Revelation 3:20, Ephesians 4:13, and Ephesians 5:13, and is illustrated by a wife in relationship to her husband during their quiet time for intimacy.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J17

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Fitness is not only

      • physical - expressed as strength, endurance, and flexibility (the result of wise choices for diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation), but also​
      • psychological – through sanctification of the heart (soul: mind, emotions, and will) during quiet-time worship and
      • spiritual - through regeneration of the spirit when we trust the Blood/death of Christ as the only Payment God will accept to satisfy his judgment against us because of Adam's disobedience (Romans 5:12-19). 
      For walkers and runners, physical fitness is expressed as
      • speed (strength),
      • distance (endurance), and
      • range of movement (flexibility). 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J16

       Week 41

      GracePoinToday

      Grace leadership in the home and Church does not impose its will on those it serves (called determinism), but, instead, supports them for learning how to experience Christ so that God can live out (accomplish) his Will through them.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J11

      Did You Know:

      • Man was created in the Image of God (in order to manifest God’s Likeness).
      • But he LOST God’s Likeness when Adam disobeyed.
      • (So, the popular notion that every person is born bearing the Image of God is not true.)
      • However, God’s Likeness is RESTORED to man beginning with the
        • Regeneration of his spirit (the New Birth) when he trusts in the Blood/death of Christ as the only payment God will accept to satisfy his Judgment against mankind (because of Adam’s disobedience) and through the
        • Sanctification of his mind, emotions, and will when he receives the Resurrected Life of Christ into his heart (soul) each day during quiet-time worship per Revelation 3:20.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J10

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Motivations for taking time each day to make wise choices for health (diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation) are
      • superficial (to look good),
      • secondary (to be healthy), and
      • sanctified (to be a fit vessel for God’s use in redemptive service to others).
      The sanctified motivation is continually opposed by our sinful nature and must be renewed in us each day by the heart of Christ during our quiet time worship, or else it diminishes.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J09

      Week 40

      GracePoinToday

      The relationship of husbands and wives in Heaven will be elevated, transcending physical romance to be based upon their mutual experience of Christ – which is also the basis for their marriage in this life to be “Heaven on Earth” – for “God’s Will (to) be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J04

      Did You Know:

      • The Bible word “salvation” (gr. noun soter) essentially means “rescued from brokenness to health” (or “made well”).
      • The salvation
        • of our spirit for going to Heaven is spiritual healing (regeneration / new birth),
        • of our hearts (soul: mind, emotions, and will) is psychological healing, and
        • of our bodies is physical healing.
      • The health God provides for us is multi-dimensional - body, soul, and spirit.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J03

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Cardio exercise to support heart health is not the day-long, stop-and-go movement to perform our routine duties (Famous last words: “I get my exercise at work!”), but is the continuous movement of our bodies in order to increase our heart rate to 60-80 percent of our maximum heart rate (220 minus our age) for at a sustained 20 minutes on most days each week.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18J02

      Week 39

      GracePoinToday

      We deny our failures because confessing brokenness is painful - except when we have found a Solution (the Life of Christ living his Life within us to transform our hearts through connection to him during our quiet time worship per John 15:4-5) so that, although we are broken, we are getting better, rather than insisting we are okay but getting worse.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I25

      Did You Know:

      • The instruction in Scripture to “confess our sins to each other” (James 5:16) is written
        • exclusively to the Church (the Body of Christ) and is
        • with the confidence its members
          • are “rooted and established in love” and
          • embrace (understand and appreciate) the doctrine of Grace (Romans 6:17; Ephesians 3:17-19) that God has imparted the Resurrected Life of Christ to live within us in order to transform our hearts so that 
            • “we may be healed” and so that 
            • our past failures do not define our future.
      • But we are not instructed to confess our brokenness and failures to
        • the unregenerate world who has no understanding of brokenness except that “once broken, always a broken” or to
        • religious, rule-driven, self-righteous church members who condemn the broken to Hell. 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I26

      SlimSUPPORT:

      The value of God's Provisions in Creation, Community, and Christ to support us can be illustrated this way: If a 100-mile deep hole represented our needs, 97 miles of that hole would represent our spiritual need for Christ (his Blood/death for us and his Resurrected Life living within us), 2 miles would represent our psychological need for leadership support in the home and Church (parents, husbands, and pastors) with regard to information, affection, and decision-making, and 1 mile would represent our physical need for food and water. So for optimal health and happiness, we take care to embrace God's order.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I27

       Week 38

      GracePoinToday

      Better present success rising from past failure than past success destroyed by present failure – that is, better to begin poorly but end well than to begin well but end poorly.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I20

      Did You Know:

      • Peace with God (Romans 5:1) and the Peace of God (Philippians 4:7) are not the same.
      • The Bible word “peace” means “oneness, nothing between, or harmony.”
      • We have peace with God (that is, we are no longer separated from him because of his judgment against Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden – Romans 5:12-19) when we trust in the Blood/death of Christ as the only Payment God will accept to forgive (remove) the judgment.
      • The Peace of God is Christ, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), sown and renewed in our hearts (souls) as we take time each day for Scripture reading and quiet-time worship.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I19

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Our age can be identified by
      • the number of our calendar years (chronological age), or
      • the state of our physical health – our energy level, how we feel (biological age), or even
      • how old we think we are (psychological age). 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I18

      Week 37

      GracePoinToday

      It is not the role of pastors to teach the meaning of the Scripture, but to
      • give testimony concerning their conviction (faith) and understanding of Truth given to them by the Holy Spirit during their quiet time to read the Scripture, and to
      • support those they serve for learning how to do the same.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I13

      Did You Know:

      • To glorify God does not mean to applaud, cheer, or congratulate him, but to manifest / reflect his Likeness into the world – the same as a mirror reflects the light of the sun.
      • By definition, the Glory of God (gr. doxa) is the character and ways of Christ
        • revealed by the 9-fold Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23),
        • imparted to us (into our spirits when we are born again and also into our hearts / souls during quiet-time worship) and
        • manifested through us into the world.
      • In the manner that Christ is the Glory (manifestation / reflection) of God (his love and care) and the Church is the Glory (manifestation / reflection) of Christ (his love and care) and children are the glory (manifestation / reflection) of their parents (their love and care), so also wives are the glory (manifestation / reflection) of their husbands (his love and care).
      • (John 1:1-3, 18; 15:8; 1 Corinthians 11:3,7; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:22-33; Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I12

      SlimSUPPORT

      We are supported for optimal physical health by our
      • diet (wise food choices to include appropriate amounts of meats, fish, fruits and leafy vegetables, eggs, grains and nuts, and water),
      • regular, moderate exercise,
      • low-risk, faith-based lifestyle, and
      • supplementation (especially rich in antioxidants) including:
        • grapeseed, selenium, lutein, lycopene,
        • vitamins B complex, C (1000 mg), D3, and E (d-alpha),
        • raw apple cider vinegar,
        • green tea,
        • MSM,
        • Omega 3’s (fish oil),
        • probiotics,
        • fiber,
        • calcium / magnesium,
        • mineral complex
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I11

      Week 36

      GracePoinToday

      God does not circumvent the outcome of our unwise choices but is faithful to bring Provisions of Grace for our healing to the door of our hearts for us to receive.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I06

      Did You Know:

      • God uses people to teach us how to read, write, and do math, and also basic information about how the world works, but the Holy Spirit teaches us the meaning of Scripture concerning God’s Redemptive Plan for our lives.
      • Without the Holy Spirit, we are left to the opinions of fallen man, the teachings of religions, and the deception of Satan, the Angel of Light (in the way Eve was deceived).
      • (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27; Romans 10:14). 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I05

      SlimSUPPORT

      Stimulants support our immediate need for energy by borrowing (depleting) strength from our health reserves. Wise food, exercise, and supplement choices increase our health reserves and support our energy needs long-term for the day.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18I04

      Week 35

      GracePoinToday

      Christ living in our hearts (through quiet time worship) makes possible God’s Will for our relationships to friends, neighbors, and family to be increasingly in this life what they will be in Heaven.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H30

      Did You Know:

      • The Kingdom of God and The Kingdom of Heaven are sometimes used interchangeably in Scripture but are not specifically the same.
      • The Kingdom of God is
        • “within us" (Luke 17:21 KJV),
        • spiritual, into which we are born again (John 3:3-7), and is
        • the Rule (Lordship) of Christ within our Hearts to which we surrender during our quiet time worship.
      • The Kingdom of Heaven is physical, the rule of Christ for a thousand years over all the Earth (the Millennial Reign of Christ) - which he will inaugurate at his Second Coming.
      • Christ works, by the Holy Spirit, to build The Kingdom of God during this Age of Grace (the Church Age) through members of the Church (the Body of Christ).
      • Christ will advance his Administration in The Kingdom of Heaven through resurrected saints.
      • We who have been faithful during this Age of Grace to build The Kingdom of God (ministry to win the lost, also to support believers for experiencing Christ) will be given appointments to ministry in the Administration of Christ in The Kingdom of Heaven – perhaps in a similar way that a U.S. President appoints Cabinet and Staff members to serve in his administration. (“You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” - Matthew 25:23)
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H29

      SlimSUPPORT

      Every biological function of our bodies (including for digestion and metabolism, also for cardiovascular and immune system health) is supported by water and is impaired when we wait to drink water only when we are thirsty. This means, we should schedule to drink water each day - in ounces equal to the number of half our weight in pounds. (That’s 75 ounces for a person weighing 150 pounds.) This helps us understand why Jesus said he was the Water of Life – because he is indispensable to our health and happiness – and why we schedule our quiet time.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H28

      Week 34

      GracePoinToday

      The Heart of Christ does not condemn when we fail but
      • grieves and
      • works within us to support our recovery.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H23

      Did You Know:

      The Scriptural meaning of
      • “praying and fasting” in Matthew 17:21 and
      • “remaining connected” to the Vine in John 15:4-5
      is essentially the same. The Power of God to empower our Christian lives (dynamis, root word for dynamite) is not a mystical energy coming down from somewhere above, but is the Life of Christ flowing up from within our born again spirit into our hearts as we remain connected to him through quiet-time worship. 

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H22

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Good outcomes in our lives (health and happiness) are not the result of
      • the alignment of the stars when we were born,
      • faithful church attendance, tithing, or other religious performances,
      • positive thinking,
      • working long, hard hours,
      • self-denial,
      • pronouncing God’s blessings upon ourselves (“word of faith”)
      • the touch of charismatic healers,
      • prophetic declarations,
      • predestination (“destiny theology”),
      • the thoughts and “prayers” of well-wishers,
      • fasting and praying to impress God with our sincerity,
      • crying with bitter tears because of our poor choices, or even
      • making promises to God to do better,
      but only of including God’s Provisions of Grace into our lives (Romans 5:17), especially to take time each day to be renewed by the Presence of Christ during our quiet-time worship (John 15:4-5).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H21

      Week 33

      GracePoinToday

      Short-term, men think they want to be supported by their wives and wives think they want to be needed by their husbands, but long-term, men are happiest when they are needed and wives when they are supported.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H16

      Did You Know:

      We are born again into the family of God (regeneration) so that we can go to Heaven, NOT by
      • acknowledging the existence of God, even the God of the Bible,
      • agreeing that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that he died on the cross for us,
      • repentance (in the sense of being sorry for our sins), or
      • even asking God to forgive us (in the sense of asking him to overlook our sins), 
      but by trusting the Blood/Death of Christ as the only payment God will accept to satisfy his judgment against us because of Adam’s disobedience. Our spiritual new birth is not progressive but a one-time event – the same as our first birth.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H15

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Whatever we do that supports our health (body, soul, and spirit), beginning with taking time to experience Christ during quiet-time worship, but including also food choices, exercise, and connecting to Support Resources in the home and Church, we must do it regularly, usually daily. It is not a one-time event, but progressive – the same as attending to a garden or landscape.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H14

      Week 32

      GracePoinToday

      A wife is not the Right Hand of God (a Resource) in her husband’s life to support him; rather, a husband is the Right Hand of God in his wife’s life to support her; and, by extension, a wife is her husband’s right hand into the lives of their children to support them.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H09

      Did You Know:

      We are not increased in our Likeness of Christ by information – whether about
      • Scripture (the study or memorization of it),
      • God (who he is, what he does, or how he relates to us),
      • end-time events (prophecy), or about anything else –
      but only by our experience of Christ in our hearts during our quiet-time worship (per John 15:5, Revelation 3:20, 2 Peter 1:3).

      This, the same as we are not increased in hydration by our understanding of water (its molecular properties), but only by our experience of it – that is, by drinking it.

      Or, the same as we are not increased in our understanding of the meaning of a word because we research to learn its etymology or phonology so that we can spell or pronounce it.

      Neither are we increased in our understanding of Truth by reading the Bible as we would a textbook in order to learn what it says, but only by reading it during our quiet time in order to hear the Holy Spirit reveal to us what it means. 

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H08

      SlimSUPPORT:

      All choices have consequences. It’s a law of physics (called cause and effect) which God ordained to govern outcomes in our lives. This means, good outcomes, including good health, happiness and contentment, and Christlikeness are the result of our including God’s Provisions of Grace into our lives,
      • beginning with Christ, but including also
      • the choices we make for diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation, and especially
      • connection to his leadership resources in the home and Church (parents, husbands, and pastors).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H07

      Week 31

      GracePoinToday

      Experiencing Christ is not mystical or imagined or the same as just knowing about him, but is as real and organic as our experience of water, food, or sunshine. (That’s why Christ is the Bread and Water of Life and Light of the World.) This means, our authority for talking about our experience of Christ is not from information we read or heard, but from taking time each day during our quiet time worship to receive him into our hearts. Also, our authority for talking about Heaven here in this life is our experience of it in our hearts each day.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H02

      Did You Know:

      The order of endtime events are:

      • The Rapture of the Church and Resurrection of “the dead in Christ” (born again Christians who have died), and,
      • End of the Church Age – foreshadowed by:
        • Decline in moral values,
        • Absence of faith (conviction and understanding of Truth),
        • Unnatural affection,
        • Diminished Love for God and others,
        • Perilous times (terrorism),
        • Israel becomes a nation (fulfilled in 1948),
        • Hostility against Israel,
        • Advancement toward one-world government and economy,
        • Increase in famines, pestilences (diseases), and earthquakes in unusual places,
        • Increase in information, and
        • Mockery of Christ’s promise to return and the Bible’s foretelling of end-time events.
      • The Judgment Seat of Christ and Marriage Supper of the Lamb (somewhere in the heavens).
      • Rise of the Antichrist and False Prophet.
      • the Seven-Year Tribulation (on Earth),
      • Armageddon (defeat of the “kings of the earth and their armies” who are aligned and assembled with the Antichrist to make war against Israel),
      • The Second Coming of Christ,
      • God’s Judgment against the Antichrist and False Prophet (cast into the Lake of Fire),
      • Satan and his angels bound in the “bottomless pit,”
      • The Thousand-Year (Millennial) Reign of Christ over the Earth,
      • Satan loosed from the “bottomless pit” and the Last Revolt,
      • Satan and his angels cast into the Lake of Fire,
      • The Great White Throne Judgment (for the sentencing of the unsaved to the Lake of Fire),
      • The new heavens and Earth (the old heavens and Earth purged and restored new),
      • End of Time, and
      • Heaven on Earth for Eternity.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18H01

      SlimSUPPORT:

      As important as what we eat can be when we eat.

      What we eat - because all calories are not the same. Some foods increase hunger and trigger the brain to produce hormones (insulin) that store fat; other foods satisfy hunger and tell the brain to produce hormones (glucagon) that burn fat. That’s why we can gain weight eating the same number of calories as we can eat to lose weight.

      When we eat - because eating after we work or exercise or before resting or going to bed promotes calories being stored rather than used.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G31

      Week 30

      GracePoinToday

      God gave Eve as a “helpmeet” to Adam, not meaning that she was his servant, but that she was a cherished vessel through whom he would fulfill God’s calling for his life (including to invest Life Seed in order to populate the Earth).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G26

      Did You Know:

      • At the end of the Seven-year Tribulation Period, Christ will return to the Earth to set up his Kingdom to rule in righteousness over the Earth for a thousand years (not the same as the Rapture of the Church - which is before the Tribulation Period).
      • Gentiles and Jews who become born again during the Tribulation will enter the Kingdom in their natural bodies.
      • Born again Gentiles and Jews who are killed during the Tribulation will be resurrected at Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation and will enter the Kingdom in their glorified bodies.
      • Satan will be bound during the Kingdom Age. This means, while those in their natural bodies will still be subject to their fallen human nature, they will not be under constant attack from Satan.
      • Also, they will not be opposed by the world as we are today - because, during the Kingdom Age, the rule of Christ will be righteous and just so that wickedness in the world will not be tolerated.
      • At the end of the 1000 year reign of Christ, and following the Great White Throne Judgment – where the unsaved from the beginning of time, living and dead (who are now in Hell [jail]) will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire (prison) for eternity - God will purge the Planet Earth so that it will be renewed to exist as it did in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, but still looking familiar to us in the beautiful ways it does now.
      • This means, Heaven will not be up in the sky where we will float around, but upon the new Earth.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G25

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Longevity and good health are not necessarily the same. But God has provided a way for us to have both by including his Provisions of Grace - in
      • Creation (diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation),
      • Community (connection to leadership in the home and Church), and especially
      • Christ (his Resurrected Life through quiet-time worship)-
      into our lives each day per Revelation 3:20, Romans 5:17, John 15:5.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G24

      Week 29

      GracePoinToday

      Wives do better to identify their inborn support (temperament) needs and the pain they have when those needs are not met than to attack the failure of their husbands to meet them.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G19

      Did You Know:

      It is not true that “God will not allow anything into our lives that we can’t bear.” God absolutely does allow into our lives circumstances that have potential to crush us. He does it in order to give us an opportunity to
      • acknowledge our weakness and brokenness and need for him,
      • receive his Provisions,
      • practice trusting him, and
      • experience his faithfulness to support us.
      “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what … he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” - from 1 Corinthians 10:13

      “We suffered hardship far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. But this happened so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril... On him we have cast our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” - The Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G18

      SlimSUPPORT:

      It is not hard work that kills or injures us but work for which we do not have strength - that is not supported by
      • taking time on most days of the week
      • to make a demand of our bodies (exercise)
      • for a sustained 20-30 minutes
      • that exceeds the demands of our work by 50 to 100 percent (for a simple example, if we lift one brick for 8 hours a day, to lift a weight during exercise equal to one and a half bricks or two bricks).
       DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G17

      Week 28

      GracePoinToday

      If all the brokenness of every person who ever lived was gathered in one place, it could not prevail against the Provisions of God’s Grace to remove it.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G12

      Did You Know:
      • Under the old covenants (Old Testament), God related to his people, the nation of Israel, as their King.
      • Also, during the future Thousand Year Reign of Christ on Earth, God will reign through Christ as King over the Earth.
      • But during this Age of Grace, under the New Covenant (New Testament), God through Christ relates to us, the Church, not as a king, but as our Vine and Shepherd and Husband to his Bride.
      • This means, so-called “praise” songs in the Church identifying Christ as our King is not supported by the Message of Grace.
      • (For a future posting: By God’s Grace we mean his Provisions to support us. God’s Grace is not the same as his Mercy - which is the attribute of God in his relationship to us through which his Grace Provisions flow into our lives.) 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G11

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Good health is not the result of God choosing to “bless” us as a reward for our religious behavior (rituals) to make him smile (by giving money to the church or to the poor, participating in church services and programs, praying [pleading with God], fasting, singing “praise” songs, etc.), but of including his Provisions of Grace into our lives each day (making wise choices for diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18G10

      Week 27

      GracePoinToday

      Our experience of Christ each day during our quiet-time worship transforms our hearts so that our relationships to family, friends, and neighbors can be increasingly redemptive (supportive for growing in grace), the same as they will be in Heaven.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F05

       Did You Know:

      Human love is inborn, cultivated by self-effort, and supports us for appropriate give and take relationships with
      • family (Storge love),
      • neighbors (Phileo love), and
      • spouses (Eros love).
      God’s Love (Agape) is possible only as Christ lives his Life in and through us and supports
      • leadership in the home and Church for giving (redemptive investing) and
      • its members for receiving.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F04

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Good health is not assured by excluding harmful choices from our lives, but by including God’s Provisions of Grace (in Creation, Community, and especially, Christ). That means, poor health is not mostly the result of what’s present in our lives that harms, but of what’s missing in our lives that helps.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F03

      Week 26

      GracePoinToday

      Sweetness and Kindness are not the same. The one can be performance to win favor; the other is an attribute of God manifesting in and through our lives (as we are renewed in his Likeness each day during our quiet-time worship) to support us for meeting the redemptive needs of others.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F28

      Did You Know:

      The Bible word “forgiveness” means “removal.”
      • In part, it is the withholding (or removal) of punishment against those who offend us. (Removal is not the same as approval.)
      • But more fully it means to minister to (for the purpose of healing/removing) the brokenness at the root of the offense against us.
      • Forgiveness is the response God calls us to when we are opposed by those who are hostile to our beliefs – so that, instead of reacting to punch back, we not only
        • withhold punishment, but also
        • kindly provide information which supports our beliefs.
      Human nature attacks and reacts. Christ (his Life living in and through us) enables us to respond to offenses as he does (Ephesians 4:32).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F27

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Genetics (we are told) are only a 30 percent factor at best to support good health and longevity. Also, good health and longevity are not the result of our religious performance to make God happy, but of our success to include his Provisions of Grace into our lives each day (received through Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Supplementation).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F28

      Week 25

      GracePoinToday

      Our experience of Christ each day during quiet-time worship increasingly sets us free from religious bondage to authoritarian leadership in the home and Church (the message of Romans 7:1-6).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F21

      Did You Know:

      • Water baptism is an ordinance given to the Church by Christ as a symbolic act to testify to the world that, when we trusted the Blood/death of Christ on the cross as the only payment God will accept to satisfy his Judgment against us (because of Adam’s disobedience – Romans 5:12-19), we were immersed by the Holy Spirit into spiritual union with Christ (Romans 6:3-4).
      • Water baptism is not a sacrament (essential to salvation). When water baptism is required for going to Heaven, the inevitable result is that it replaces trusting Christ as the definitive need – which explains the confusion why many believe they are saved because they were baptized in water, even though they have little or no understanding of the Scriptural mandates for salvation, which are:
        • conviction (faith), change of mind (repentance), and confession (agreement with God) – each concerning the death and resurrection of Christ and our need for him,
        • conversion (turning away from trusting in good behavior and religious “sacraments” [including water baptism] to
        • calling [trusting instead, wholly and alone, in the Blood/death and resurrection of Christ as our hope for going to Heaven]).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F20

      SlimSUPPORT:

      In time we learn that wealth, entertainment, recreation, and partying are disappointing substitutes for health and contentment.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F19

      Week 24

      GracePoinToday

      Our experience of Christ living his Life within our hearts
      1)   meets our inborn need to feel valued and significant and
      2)   heals our brokenness and insecurities
      so that we are increasingly willing to surrender to God
      1)   the control of our lives and also
      2)   the ownership (credit) for good outcomes –
      which is the beginning of good health and happiness.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F14

      Did You Know:

      God’s gave us Rules to live by for two main reasons:
      1. To teach us how we should live - the outcome of which is health and happiness (the Hebrew word for Law is Torah meaning “Teachings”); and
      2. To expose our utter brokenness and inability to comply with the Rules (Romans 5:20; 7:13).
      (It was not in order to provide a standard of behavior for us to attain so that we could earn our way to Heaven [Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16]).

      God provided Christ (his Blood/death on the cross for us and Resurrected Life in us) for two reasons:

      1. To satisfy his Judgment against mankind because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden (the only payment God would accept); and
      2. To support us for following the Rules (making wise choices) which result in health and happiness according to the scientific Cause and Effect Law of Sowing and Reaping.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F13

      SlimSUPPORT:

      More than what we eat, weight gain is the result of when we eat – especially,
      • when we are tired (after work or exercise) and
      • before sleep.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F12

      Week 23

      GracePoinToday

      A husband is best able to support his wife’s health and happiness needs and shut the door to tension in his marriage when he is renewed by the Heart of Christ each day during his quiet-time worship.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F07

      Did You Know:

      We do not really give when we kiss but receive. That’s why, when we ask a child to kiss us on the cheek, we don’t get it quite right when we say “Can I have some sugar?”  Instead, if we wanted to be exact, we would offer our cheek and say “Would you like to have some sugar?” But that sounds silly, doesn’t it? (We would say “Can I have some sugar?” only when we are asking to kiss the child’s cheek.)

      But no biggie, right? Except the Psalmist wrote, “Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish in your rebellion” (Psalm 2:12) – meaning that we escape the Judgment of God (on mankind because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden), not because we give to him, but because we receive (kiss) the Provision of his Son (Blood/death on the cross and Resurrected Life).

      Also, kissing means “to taste (test) the flavor of.” When a boy and girl kiss they are testing the prospect of a future together. That’s why the Psalmist wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F06

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Sickness is not the result of God punishing us for offending him, but because we neglect to receive his Provisions of Grace which produce good health (Hebrews 2:3).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F05

      Week 22

      GracePoinToday

      God does not call us to chase after his approval but to receive his Provisions which flow into our lives through his Resources in Creation, Community, and especially Christ (Romans 5:17).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18F01

      Did You Know:

      We are not free from the demands of the Law because we declare ourselves free theologically; rather, Christ, living his Life in our hearts, increasingly sets us free from the power of our sinful nature (in the same way light diminishes darkness - John 1:4-5) so that the Law is no longer needed in the same way.

      “…our sinful nature is rendered powerless and we are also made useful for Redemptive service to others, not by the demands of the written code, but by Christ living his Life in and through us (from Romans 6:6; 7:6).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E31

      SlimSUPPORT:

      The simple sugars (sweets/desserts) we eat signal the brain to store our meal as fat. Sugar, not the saturated fats we eat, is the problem.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E30

      Week 21

      GracePoinToday

      A wife is blessed who can loudly announce / celebrate her love for her husband. But she is more blessed to have a quiet and enduring confidence that her husband loves her (faithfully invests in her health and happiness needs).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E24

      Did You Know:

      The Bible word repentance (“metanoia”) does not mean to be sorry for our attitudes and behavior and then promising to do better. Rather, it
      • means “a change of mind” which
      • is produced in our minds by the Holy Spirit as we read the Scripture – that is, it
      • is a gift from God (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:24-25) - the same as faith (“pistis”) is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 10:17; Galatians 5:23).
      Forgiveness (“aphesis”) means “removal.” Asking God for forgiveness does not mean to plead with him to give our offenses a pass (“Maybe just this one time, please!”).  Rather, it means to receive his Provisions of Grace for the removal / healing of the consequences of our wrong choices and also of the brokenness at their root.

      The word debt means “that which is missing” (as in an “oxygen debt”). The prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts,” is not a request for God to cancel the unpaid amount we owe. Rather, it means to receive his Provisions of Grace into our lives which have power to remove the brokenness caused by our unmet needs.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E23

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Exercise to offset poor food choices results in increased brokenness – as surely as a gambler compounds his brokenness who chases after his losses.  

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E22

      Week 20

      GracePoinToday

      God does his work in the world to support us through RESOURCES – in

      • Creation - elements in the soil and atmosphere for physical health, 
      • Community - leadership in the home and Church for psychological health, and
      • especially Christ - his 
        • Blood / death on the cross FOR us for going to Heaven and 
        • Resurrected Life IN us for Holiness (usefulness in redemptive service to others).
      That’s why he calls us to “abide in (remain connected to)” him (his Resources) - because without his Support we suffer brokenness and failure (John 15:4-6).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E17

      Did You Know:

      The “pressing on” God calls us to do (Philippians 3:12-14) is not to “go and give” but to “come and receive” (Matthew 11:28-30).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E16

      SlimSUPPORT:

      We do not have “stress” fractures but “strain” fractures. Stress is a weight, so is good. But strain is the result of attempting to bear up under more stress than we have strength for to support us.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E15

      Week 19

      GracePoinToday

      Those we provide leadership to feel safe to open wide their hearts to receive our influence when we are faithful to invest in their health and happiness needs.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D08

      Did You Know:

      We sing either to OTHERS or to GOD.
                          
      Songs sang to OTHERS are

      • Witnessing or Testimony Songs to communicate the Gospel Message; or
      • Praise Songs to commend (recommend) him (who he is / how great he is).
       Songs sang to GOD are

      • Prayer Songs to confess our
        • faith (conviction) concerning who he is,
        • need for him, and
        • love for him; or
      • Worship Songs to call (receive) Christ into our lives.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D09

      SlimSUPPORT:

      The Law (Power) of First Choices is the reason we schedule especially the first choices we make in the morning – because our first choices support us throughout the day for making the follow-up choices which increase us in health.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D10

      Week 18

      GracePoinToday

      Husbands, parents, and pastors are best supported for providing support to their wives, children, and members of the church by taking time each day to be renewed in their experience of Christ during quiet time worship. Substituting marriage enrichment books and seminars will disappoint.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E03

      Did You Know:

      It is absolutely God’s Will
      • for every person to be healthy and prosperous (including to go to Heaven) - also
      • that those outcomes are accessed through faith.
      But it is NOT according to the meaning of faith as erroneously defined by Word of Faith (Prosperity Gospel) theology (taught by Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Hagin, John Hagee, Jesse Duplantis, Pat Robertson, Joseph Prince, Rod Parsley, Fred Price, Benny Hinn, and other tv evangelists) – that it means “to affirm thoughts in your mind (positive thinking) and speak words with your mouth (name it – claim it) that boldly announce to God your expectation for him to give you the health and prosperity you desire.”

      Rather, faith is conviction (gr. “pistis”) which
      • the Holy Spirit produces within us when we open our hearts (minds) to receive (read) the Scripture, and which
      • supports us for trusting in and receiving (saying YES to) his Provisions of Grace (in Creation, Community, and especially Christ) which produce health and prosperity in our lives consistent with God’s scientific laws of sowing and reaping (cause and effect). 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E02

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Faithfully following through to comply each morning with our schedule, beginning with the first choices we make, will shut the door to mental and emotional tension (depression) and greatly enhance our health and happiness.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18E01

      Week 17

      GracePoinToday

      We are foolish, not because of how little we know, but when we are intolerant to being wrong. And we are wise, not because of how much we know, but because we are willing to learn.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D26

      Did You Know:

      We can be baptized (immersed)
      • into water
      • by a pastor
      • into the membership of a Baptist church,
      but we are baptized (immersed)
      • into spiritual union with Christ (the Living Water)
      • by the Holy Spirit
      • into the membership of the Universal Church (the Body and Bride of Christ and Family of God).
      Membership in a local church is not required for membership in the Body of Christ, but membership in the Body of Christ is required for membership in a local Baptist church.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D25

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Good health is lost by impulsiveness but established by patience.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D24

      Week 16

      GracePoinToday

      The grace leadership in our lives will be neither macho nor effeminate, but will manifest the Wisdom, Gentleness, and Strength of Christ. When Jesus was asked to give an explanation for his ministry, he said, “It is my Father living in (and through) me doing his Work” (John 14:10).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D19

      Did You Know:

      God attends to new or immature Christians in this life as a parent attends to small children.  However, as we grow to maturity (through quiet-time worship to include God’s Provisions of Grace into our lives), we become “those to whom much has been given and from whom more is required” (Luke 12:48). That is, we are given increased opportunity and responsibility as adult children to make wise choices that elevate our experience of health and happiness (beyond what small children have capacity to do or experience). Also, in Heaven, in our glorified bodies, Christ will no longer need to coddle us; rather, we will gravitate to him as we would to a meal - the same as he prepared for the Disciples and called them to receive (“come and dine” - John 21:12) after his resurrection just before he ascended back to Heaven.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D18

      SlimSUPPORT:

      We risk injury and will break out health if we attempt to offset a poor diet (food choices) with exercise.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D17

      Week 15

      GracePoinToday

      It is God’s Plan for the home for Truth and Values to be perpetuated to each generation through the leadership of
      • fathers to their sons,
      • husbands to their wives, and
      • mothers to their daughters.
      That’s the reason Scripture calls
      • sons to honor (give weight and attention to) the message and values of their fathers (Proverbs 1:8; 4:1; 6:20),
      • children to honor and obey their parents (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20), and
      • wives to respect / submit to (give opportunity for influence to) their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24; 33).
      It is the reason also why in marriage the new wife (and children) takes the family name of the husband rather than the family name of the wife - so that she becomes Mrs. Mister rather than he Mister Missus.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D12

      Did You Know:

      Salvation flows into our lives
      • from God’s Mercy (his Love – Ephesians 2:4),
      • by Grace (God’s Provisions of Christ - his Blood / death of Christ on the cross),
      • which we access (receive) through
        • Faith/Conviction and Repentance/Change of Mind (both produced in us by the Holy Spirit through hearing the Scripture – Romans 10:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25),
        • Confession concerning our need,
        • Conversion (turning from trusting in self and religious works to trusting instead in Christ), and
        • Calling (Receiving).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D11

      SlimSUPPORT:

      We do good to take time to care for our hygiene and appearance, but do best not to take less time to make wise choices for our health.


      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D10

       Week 14

      GracePoinToday

      Criticism does not support long-term improvement; but neither does flattery. Christ supports our healing by expressing his Unconditional Love (Value) for us – through
      • the Scripture by the Holy Spirit during our quiet-time worship or through
      • the support of the Grace Leadership (parents, husbands, and pastors) in our lives.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D05

      Did You Know:

      God makes his Provisions abundantly available to us (John 1:12; Romans 5:17), but he does not impose them upon us; rather we must receive them, not just passively but in the sense of taking – the same as we take a cup of water by removing it from a provider’s hand or from a tray or table. (This in the same way that, when we pass an item to someone, we give them the responsibility to take it before we turn it loose - so that the item won’t be dropped or missed and also to ensure they want it.)

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D04

      SlimSUPPORT:

      The most essential elements for health are oxygen, light, and food, especially water. (That’s why Christ is the Breath of Life, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, and the Water of Life.) Water is indispensable to every biological system of the body – including for immunity, heart and brain function, and metabolism (for energy and weight management). Also, according to our most trusted resources,
      • the leading reason for insomnia (and its many related health issues) is dehydration and
      • we can use the number equal to half our weight (for example, 150 pounds) to determine how many ounces of water we should drink each day (for example, 75 ounces).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18D03

       Week 13

      GracePoinToday

      Parents, husbands, and pastors are not called by God to save strangers at the expense of their own health or the health of those they are called to serve (support). Rather, he calls and equips us for ministry, beginning to ourselves and then to those closest to us (family, friends, neighbors) (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 5:28-30).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C29

      Did You Know:

      Christ was resurrected from the grave in order to
      • prove he was God the Son,
      • validate his Blood (death on the cross) as the only Payment God will accept to satisfy his judgment against mankind (because of Adam’s transgression in the Garden of Eden), and
      • live in us (the Church / the Body and Bride of Christ) in order to
        • heal our brokenness and
        • manifest God’s Life / Light (his Glory / “Who he is”) through us into the world - to be his Presence on Earth.
      • (Romans 1:4; 5:12-19; 8:11; Ephesians 1:7; John 15:1-8; 2 Peter 1:3)
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C28

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Our immune systems respond to make us stronger when we become sick. (So it is in that Plan B sense that adversity sometimes makes us stronger.) But it is not God’s Plan A for us to be increased in health by exposing ourselves or our children to germs and viruses (and the elements in which they thrive - cold weather, for example). Rather, it is God’s Perfect Plan for us to include / receive his Provisions of Grace into our lives each day in order to help build up our immune systems so that we are less at risk to become sick in the first place.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C27

      Week 12

      GracePoinToday

      Some of the people we most admire and appreciate don’t even know we exist. Some may know us or even like us a bit - as a family member, friend, or neighbor. But not only does The True Vine (Grace Leadership) know who we are, he also loves (values) us unconditionally, is intensely interested in every detail of our lives, and is passionately committed to our health and happiness. And he welcomes us to abide in (connect to) him (John 15:1-8).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C22

      Did You Know:

      Believing in the existence of God is not the same as
      • believing that Christ is God’s Son and
      • trusting in his Blood (death on the cross) as the only Payment God will accept to satisfy his judgment against us (because of Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden – Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 1:7).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C21

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Brokenness in our lives does not make us stronger - no more than loss sleep, starvation, thirst, inactivity, and especially missed quiet time to experience Christ. God allows brokenness for the purpose of discipline – that is, to teach us (support us for learning) our need to make wise choices (to daily include his Provisions of Grace into our lives).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C20

      Week 11

      GracePoinToday

      Grace Leadership in the home and Church (also in the workplace) does not control, condemn, or coddle (to meet superficial pain relief needs), but is
      • committed to identifying our support needs for long-term health and happiness and
      • faithful to be a resource from God for meeting them.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C15

      Did You Know:

      The Holy Spirit
      • moves our wills to respond to Christ in this way: He first
      • sows Truth into our minds - concerning
        • God’s Love for us and
        • our need for him – which, in turn,
      • moves our emotions to
        • grieve because of our sin (behavior and condition) and to
        • desire the healing Christ gives.
      From Romans 10:14: “Faith is produced in us by the Holy Spirit when 
      • we receive (hear) the Seed of Truth which
      • he sows into (communicates to) our minds as
      • we patiently read or hear quoted the Scripture.”
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C14

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Lifeless (cooked-to-death, processed) foods can fill our stomachs to produce short-term energy, but lean meats and raw fruits and vegetables, properly grown and prepared, are best to satisfy our appetites and to support long-term health.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C13

      Week 10

      GracePoinToday

      Grace leadership resources in the home and Church best demonstrate God’s love for those they serve by taking care of their own health so that they are present and able to provide support in the way needed. Paul wrote, “He who loves his wife loves himself” (Ephesians 5:28); also John wrote, “We love (receive from) him because he first loved (invested in) us” (1 John 4:19).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C08

      Did You Know:

      God’s Provisions of Grace flow fully and freely to us (Ephesians 1:6-8 and Romans 5:17). We miss having our needs met, not because he fails to provide, but because we are not receiving (the meaning of the Bible word “praying”).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C07

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Five supports help us stay the course each day for making the choices that increase health:

      1. God’s Love renewed in us daily by the Life of Christ during quiet time worship (so that we value ourselves as he does),
      2. the Mind of Christ (his faith [conviction of Truth], humility, and resolve) renewed in us daily during our quiet time worship ,
      3. the Wisdom of Christ (God’s support for making wise choices) also renewed in us daily during quiet time worship ,
      4. Schedule, and
      5. Leadership Support (in the home and Church).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C06

      Week 9

      GracePoinToday

      We can know that leadership in the home and Church (also in the workplace) is from God in this way: It does not seek to control or use us in order to meet its self-serving needs and goals, but always 
      • invests in our redemptive needs (health and happiness), 
      • without expectation of self-serving return, and then 
      • sets us free to invest in the redemptive needs of others.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18C01

      Did You Know:

      God’s Life continually flows up like a fountain (John 4:14) from within the spirit of born again persons to the door of our hearts (soul: mind, emotions, and will) for us to receive (per Revelation 3:20) – with the result that we are healed from our brokenness (sanctification).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B28

      SlimSUPPORT (Safe, sensible, lifestyle support for weight loss initiation and management):

      RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance for nutrients set by the Food and Drug Administration) helps to protect healthy people from diseases and to assure minimal health.

      DELS: Diet (food choices), Exercise (to increase strength, endurance, and flexibility), Lifestyle (regular schedule for sleep, meals, and work / exercise), and Supplementation (including raw apple cider vinegar, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, protein, essential fats and oils, fiber, and probiotics) build and support optimal health.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B27

       Week 8

      GracePoinToday

      Fussing at children may motivate a fear-based change. Even so, we can expect the behavior, like a weed, eventually to return. That’s because fussing does not heal the brokenness at the root of the behavior – which only parenting support to meet the information, affection, and decision-making needs of the heart can do.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B22

      Did You Know:

      Christ, the Word of God (Logos), existed in eternity past (John 1:1-2). But the Scripture did not exist in eternity past. And neither did the incarnate body of Christ.

      The Scripture was miraculously birthed into existence by the Holy Spirit through 40 plus men chosen and prepared by God - the same as Christ, the Word of God, “was made flesh” (John 1:14) by the Holy Spirit through a virgin chosen and prepared by God.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B21

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Good health is not the absence of bad health, but the presence of strength for living without injury or pain. It is not the same as longevity, or the result of good luck or God’s favor (as religionists understand it), but of including into our lives each day God’s Provisions of Grace - in creation (for diet, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation), community (connection to leadership support in the home and Church), and especially Christ (to experience his Life). 

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B20

      Week 7

      GracePoinToday

      At the core of all brokenness (tension, sickness, and unhappiness) is our unmet need for leadership support with regard to
      • information (learning how the world works and about God and his unconditional love [value] for us),
      • affection (being needed and wanted), and
      • structure (schedule for making wise choices each day).
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B15

      Did You Know:

      Man is a trinity (body, soul, and spirit).
      • The body (of a born again person) is a temple for the Holy Spirit and is broken when we do not take care of it (included as a secondary meaning of 1 Corinthians 3:17). 
      • Our spirit is our inmost chamber which, when we are born, is lifeless and dark but is made alive (born again) by the Holy Spirit when we trust the Blood of Christ for our justification / reconciliation to God (Romans 5:9-10a; Ephesians 2:1-5).
      • Our soul is our heart (mind, emotions, and will), our psychological being, and the inner chamber of born again persons into which Christ seeks entrance per Revelation 3:20.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B14

      SlimSUPPORT:

      It is easier to exercise six times a week than once a week. That’s because, according to the bio rhythmic predisposition of our bodies, we tend to do for our health more what we do and less what we don’t. The more we make the hard choices which support health, the less disinclined we are to make them.

       DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B13

       Week 6

      GracePoinToday

      Performance Christianity supports us for learning how to perform “good works” in order to please God or win his favor (the Grind Perspective), but Grace Leadership supports us for learning how to read the Scripture in order to hear God in order to experience Christ during quiet time worship so that we will not suffer brokenness.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B08

      Did You Know:

      The Head
      • who God has appointed to be OVER us and
      • UNDER whom we have been placed (Ephesians 1:20-23)
      does not relate to us as a king to rule us but as a Shepherd to support us.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B07

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Training Effect means: If X (for example, walking forty 12-minute laps around the block) represents the level of strength, endurance, and flexibility our bodies demand to accomplish our daily responsibilities, we will need to make an additional demand on our bodies 4-5 days a week (to walk three 9-minutes laps around the block) in order to continue long term performing X without injury.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B06

      Week 5

      GracePoinToday

      God uses leadership resources in the home and Church (parents, husbands, and pastors) to support us for our growth in grace (mainly to experience Christ). Earlier resources may have been competent to support our Christian experience as spiritual children. But if through time we have increased in our experience of Christ so that we are no longer being supported by present resources, we may sense that we now have a need for advanced help to support our continued growth. This means, leadership resources in the home and Church must increasingly grow in their own experience of Christ. Otherwise, we can expect God to bring new leadership resources into our lives so that we are not hindered in our growth (per Ephesians 1:15-23 and 3:14-21).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18B01

      Did You Know:

      “Giving” to God does not mean giving offerings to the Church; rather, it means to surrender to him our finances (the same as we do our possessions, health, and relationships) for his care and protection and guidance for their use and disbursement.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A31

      SlimSUPPORT:

      The scheduled choices we make first thing in the mornings which help establish us in health supports (energizes) us for making additional wise choices, beginning with the next one, so that we are supported throughout the day for making wise choices that increase us to make those same wise choices with renewed energy and resolve again tomorrow.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A30

      Week 4

      GracePoinToday

      Your quiet time to “come and receive” may be less appreciated by religionists than their heroic performances to “go and give.” But the difference will be your good health and usefulness in redemptive service to others.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A25

      Did You Know:

      Eternal Life is not the same as Everlasting Life (which we will have when we get to Heaven), but is God’s Life (the Life of Christ) - which
      • is imparted to us the moment we trust God’s Provision of Christ’s Blood / death on the cross as the only payment he will accept to satisfy his judgment against us (separation from him) because of Adam’s disobedience,
      • makes possible (through quiet-time worship) our health and happiness in this life, and
      • guarantees our going to Heaven when we die.
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A24

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Lack of sleep, stimulants, drugs and alcohol, impulsive behavior, and poor diet (based more on taste than nutrition) sabotage good health. But good health is more the result of the good we include in our lives than the harmful we exclude. That’s good, because we don’t have enough power to control all the adversities directed at us, but we can open our hearts to receive the flow of his Life into our lives which supports us for making the wise choices against which broken health cannot prevail.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A23

      Week 3

      GracePoinToday

      Tension (in relationships and within ourselves) is always the result of unmet needs - either for information, affection, or structure – needs for which God has made Provisions through Creation (nutritional elements in the soil and atmosphere), Community (leadership resources in the home and Church [parents, husbands, and pastors]), and especially Christ (his Death for us and Life within us).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A18

      Did You Know:

      In the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, before Christ came to live in our hearts, God’s people were spiritual children under the rule of the Law and authoritarian leaders (kings, prophets, and schoolmasters - Galatians 3:24).

      In this Age of Grace (the Church Age), Christians can continue in relationship to God

      • as children – “infants, tossed by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men (performance preachers) in their deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:7-14),
      • “enslaved by the basic, elementary spiritual principles of the world” (Galatians 4:1-7).
      Or, we have the opportunity to enter (through daily quiet-time worship per John 15:4-5) into fellowship (intimacy) with Christ as our Shepherd, Great Physician, and Savior in order to mature into spiritual adulthood, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). 

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A17

      SlimSUPPORT:

      We will more likely begin doing tomorrow the good choices we are willing to do right now.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A16

      Week 2

      GracePoinToday

      Every broken behavior of our children can be traced to their unmet support needs: biologically (support for physical health), psychologically (support with regard to information, affection, and decision-making), and especially spiritually (support to experience relationship to God for going to Heaven and fellowship / intimacy with Christ for holiness, wisdom, and Christlikeness – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control).

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A11

      Did You Know:

      The Mercy of God and his Grace are not the same: God’s Mercy is that attribute of God from which his Grace flows into our lives so that if God stopped being merciful, the flow of his Grace Provisions would cease.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A10

      SlimSUPPORT:

      We can make good choices for health motivated by pride (to look good) or fear of sickness or because they are fun and convenient, but we will do it consistently and long-term because
      1. our experience of Christ’s Life within us (during quiet-time worship) transforms us to love (agape: value) our health as he does, and also because
      2. they are scheduled. 
      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A09

      Week 1

      GracePoinToday

      Truth, the same as every Provision that comes from God (and also the Resources through which they flow into our lives, including in the home and Church), will always set us free from the brokenness of tension and unhappiness. It is in this way we can know if the Resources to which we are connected (especially husbands and pastors) are from God.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A04

      Did You Know:

      Relationship to Christ (“YOU IN CHRIST”), the result of our trusting in the Blood of Christ and subsequent reconciliation to God, regeneration (new birth), and eternal life, is not the same as Fellowship with Christ (“CHRIST IN YOU [your heart: mind, emotions, and will]”), our experience of being renewed to a fuller measure of Christ each day during our quiet-time worship, resulting in our sanctification / holiness, health and happiness, and competence for redemptive service to others . 

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A03

      SlimSUPPORT:

      Health and happiness are not the result of telling God how great he is or performing religious duties to make him smile so that he “blesses” us, but the result of our taking time each day to include into our lives his Provisions of Grace - in Creation (nutritional elements in the soil and atmosphere), Community (leadership resources in the home and Church), and especially Christ (his Life during quiet time worship) - the same as we are hydrated, not mystically because we have a high opinion of water, but scientifically and organically because we drink it.

      DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 18A02

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