Koutz Farm Bible Study: The Daniel Plan (Day 1)

BIBLE STUDY FORMAT:

To begin this Bible Study, simply read the sections below: “Who”, “What”, “When”, “Where”, "Why", “How”, and “The Study Notes”. Use your own Bible as a reference and make sure to keep a journal handy for taking notes as the Lord guides you through your spiritual studies. When you are done, read the Prayer section (and pray along with us). Make sure to review the Action section and use our action points or make up your own actions. Make sure to check out our Questions & Answers section and if you want to dive deeper into your study invest some time in our References section, as well. This is how our Bible Study Format will be in this and all future Bible Study Posts. Let's get started...  

Welcome to Day 1 of the Koutz Farm Bible Study for “The Daniel Plan“.  We are starting on August 1st, 2023 – but don’t let that stop you from joining in at any time.  All you need to do is order the Bible study materials to get started.  We have the materials linked above (note: these are affiliate links).  Once you get the materials, you can come back to our Bible study notes and videos to help support you along the way.  Catch-up with us and join us when we hosts live sessions to interact and support each other through this process.  Make sure to let us know you are joining us in the study by using our “Holler At Us” form – make sure to tell us you are doing “The Daniel Plan” with us. 

Side note: If you want to get the additional books/DVDs in the series for a more in-depth study on your own, we have provided links to those below.

Note Make sure to read the disclaimers provided in the study materials from the authors/publishers.  Also, make sure to read Koutz Farm’s disclaimers at the bottom of the page.  Koutz Farm does not specialize in nutrition or medical services and this Bible study is not meant to diagnose or treat medical conditions, nor is it meant to replace the advice/support of a medical professional.  Make sure to consult your doctor before participating in any health, nutrition, or fitness program including those discussed in “The Daniel Plan”.  Your participation is at your own discretion and at your own risks.

Quick Links To Study Materials On Amazon:

WHO

“The Daniel Plan” by Rick Warren and his team was created after the pastor noticed his congregation was mostly

overweight and realized he was overweight, too. In the book, Warren details the moment he came to this realization, during a baptism session, and how the idea for “The Daniel Plan” came about. The name for the series came from the story of Daniel, the author Rick Warren notes of the day he introduced the idea to his church’s congregation , “Since I was preaching about a man in the Bible named Daniel who refused to eat junk food and challenged the king to a health contest, I named the program The Daniel Plan”.

The focus of “The Daniel Plan” is around you, your health, your relationships, and God. All making up the “Who” of this study.  To start, the “WHO” is you – specifically your physical health.

WHAT

Author and pastor Rick Warren notes the “WHAT” of “The Daniel Plan”:

“It is a lifestyle program based on biblical principles and five essential components: Food, Fitness, Focus, Faith and Friends.”

WHEN

The original book was first published in 2013, but that isn’t the “WHEN” of this study. The “WHEN” is NOW. The “WHEN” is the moment you crack open the cover and start reading. The “WHEN” is when you take your first step, the next step, and the next. You control the “WHEN, it is in your hands.

WHERE

The “WHERE” of this study is wherever you are. If you are in your living room, your backyard, at work on a

lunch break, in a church study group, or even laying in your bed (as I am right now while writing this). The “WHERE” is not just where you are but also where the study is focused and that “WHERE” is inside of you. Inside of your body. Inside of your mind. Inside of your soul. The “WHERE” is both external in your physical space and internal in the essence of your being.

WHY

The "WHY" of this study - the reason I chose "The Daniel Plan' - is because I need to start incorporating God into my health and weight-loss goals. I have tried doing it the worldly way and my way, neither works very well. God has to be the front, back, top, bottom, and center of everything including in my struggles to heal, to feel better, to reduce pain, to lose weight, etc.

HOW

We are going to get into the “HOW” of this study as we go through the next 40+ days. The center of the “HOW” is focused around the unconditional love that God has for you. The “HOW” is based in learning that God loves you, learning how to love Him back, and learning how to love the body God has given you. 

In the introduction, Warren discusses and eludes to the thoughts that typical diet and exercise programs focus on guilting you into action, which is why they typically fail or don’t have lasting results, but “The Daniel Plan” focuses on God’s love and that is how (and why) this plan works and sticks with most people that go through it and commit to it.  Warren suggests that love is the success factor of the plan  – and thus love is our “HOW”.

STUDY NOTES

In reading the introduction of the main book “The Daniel Plan” and processing some of my thoughts as I read, here are my study notes:

1. Be a role model for those around you by being a good steward to yourself, to your body. You can’t expect others around you to take care of themselves if you, being a role-model, can’t take care of yourself. Make yourself someone to mimic in the good you do and this includes the good you do for yourself.

2. Preventable diseases related to overeating, eating the wrong foods, and malnutrition are the leading cause of death across the world – more so than infectious diseases, old-age, or accidents.

3. People, especially Americans, love to eat. They eat for entertainment, comfort, celebration, stress-relief, etc. Everything except for the real reason and that is for nutrition, for feeding your body and soul with critical

   

   nutrients to keep you healthy and alive. Although I would argue that people think they are feeding bodies and souls with comfort food, celebratory food, quick meals at home and on-the-go – most people are really doing it badly and have been lied to, purposely confused about nutrition, negatively influenced by the marketing strategies of corporations and those that only want customers (dollars) and don’t care about lives.

4. Warren said his first step was in asking God for repentance for abusing the body God gave him.  In our prayer below, we will start here – repenting for the abuse we’ve done to ourselves.

5. Warren tells us to expect setbacks – and notes that setbacks are part of the process in long-term change. He states that if we get off track to ask God and your support system to help you get back on track. I personally can attest to the fact that setbacks are a part of any health journey, and these setbacks can easily make you want to give up if you don’t have support from others around you. This is why it is important to have a support system.

6. Some of the top advice we noticed in the introduction:

   • Dedicate your body to God.

   • Ask for God’s help.

   • Get involved in a group that supports you.

   • Make healthy choices.

   • Make exercise a part of your daily routine.

   • Eat whole foods.

   • Get more sleep.

   • Live an active lifestyle.

   • Cut down stress.

7. In this study, there is a mind-body connection that is important to understand. Warren notes that it is all connected – the health of your body affects the health of your mind, spirit, emotions, finances, relationships, etc.

8. Warren also notes that without energy, you can’t improve anything else – so this plan starts with the basic level of your life – your physical health. As a person with Fibro, I can tell you that the lack of energy is more devastating than daily chronic pain. The pain can be pushed through, but when you don’t have energy to push – it affects LITERALLY EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, 

I humbly reach out to you in prayer and ask for your forgiveness.  I repent for abusing my body and my mind.  I ask for deliverance from the addictions that bind me and from the spirit of confusion about proper nutrition and the substances I put into my body (namely sugar for me).  I ask for deliverance from the spirit of gluttony, anxiety, depression, and complacency that I often find plaguing my mind.  I ask, Lord, for your help as I take this journey with you to improve my health and to make better choices going forward.  I ask for wisdom and discernment about the constant barrage of information being thrown at me that can easily throw me back into a cycle of mistreating my body if I make the wrong choices about the products I consume or the people I listen to, get advice or help from.  I ask for your forgiveness, your grace, mercy, and love.  I ask for you to be with me, an ever-constant voice and guide in my life, as I work to improve myself and pay better respect to this body you have blessed me with – help me make it a dwelling place, the temple you designed it to be, so that you can dwell inside of me the way you so desire.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

ACTION

• Read: “The Daniel Plan” page 1-17

• Read: 3 John 2, 1 Corinthians 13:7, and Romans 12:1 – 2

• Order your Bible Study Materials for this study:  “The Daniel Plan“, “The Daniel Plan Journal“, or the 2-book set.

QUESTION & ANSWERS

QUESTION:

DO I NEED TO BUY EVERYTHING IN THE SERIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM?

ANSWER:

No (at least not for now). We are starting with the main book and the journal. As we go further along, we may introduce some of the other study materials, but we'll let you know if we do that. For now, we are focusing on the main book and the journal.

QUESTION:

IS THE STUDY REALLY GOING TO TAKE 40-DAYS?

ANSWER:

Honestly, it will probably take us more than 40-days to get through it. First, because we are breaking the chapters up into smaller sections. Second, because we work a full-time job, have a farm, and are also dealing with health issues, there may be days we can't do the study. We will be as consistent as we can be and apologize for any inconvenience this causes. You are welcome to jump ahead of us and check out our notes/videos at any time.

QUESTION:

WHY DID YOU PICK THIS AS THE NEXT BIBLE STUDY?

ANSWER:

The timing seemed to fit in with 2 other programs I am part of, that sync well with the concepts of "The Daniel Plan". In addition, it is my opinion that our store-bought food quality continues to decrease in nutrition and increase in toxins, especially the stuff the big corporations are selling to us. There has never been a better time to learn how to make better food choices in my opinion.

BIBLE STUDY TIPS

We suggest getting either the two-book set with the Journal and The Daniel Plan in a physical copy that you can use to take notes in etc. At minimum, you can do what we did at first and buy the Journal in physical form and The Daniel Plan book in the digital form (on platforms like Amazon's Kindle Unlimited or Audible).

REFERENCES

Our favorite Study Bibles:

DISCLAIMERS:

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