No Ifs, Ands or Buts

Mark 9:14-29 (The Message)
14-16When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, "What's going on? What's all the commotion?"
17-18A man out of the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn't."
19-20Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here." They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.
21-22He asked the boy's father, "How long has this been going on?"
"Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"
23Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."
24No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"
25-27Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: "Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!" Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, "He's dead." But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.
28After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, "Why couldn't we throw the demon out?"
29He answered, "There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer."

I want to share with you a modern day story of healing. You all have heard me talk about Justin, who had Stage IV lung cancer. Oncolink, THE WEB’S FIRST CANCER RESOURCE, says, “In stage IV lung cancer, which is the most advanced stage, the cancer has spread outside the chest. Once this has occurred, with rare exceptions, it cannot be cured with any form of treatment. For patients who are well enough to tolerate the side effects, chemotherapy may prolong survival by a few months, but it is not curative treatment.” So Justin was one of those rare exceptions. Why? Because this was an opportunity for God to show His power and might, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:3 NIV). Kristy and Justin found God through this journey. They learned to praise God through the storm. They learned to trust in Him and to leave no room for doubts or "ifs." They praised God with gratitude and thanksgiving. They thanked God for His perfect healing. They trusted in what God could see, what the doctors could not. PRAISE GOD!!

Caringbridge.org is a website designed to help those in need of healing. The first entry on Justin’s website reads,

•Today our fight begins -

I (Kristy, Justin's wife) am about to share with you an e-mail that I wrote to my immediate family in response to some inspirational words that were shared with us. Below is the e-mail and I hope it allows you all to understand how we're dealing and feeling about the diagnosis yesterday...

We're just KNOWING that Justin's going to be a walking talking miracle. From what I do know about lung cancer, there's only a 3% chance that he could have gotten it in the first place being 28 years old... the 5 year survival rate is only like 15% for lung cancer patients, and I understand that's normally for people who hasn't had it spread (Justin's has spread to the bones - that much we know, he's likely in a Stage IV). So, maybe every odd is stacked against us. I dunno.. I dunno much of anything other then the FACT that we're going to stay positive and we'll get through this. We have a long fight ahead of us, and it's not going to be easy. But now we know what we're dealing with... the "not knowing" over the past few days was the worst. It's time to be strong and time to push forward and face what has been dealt to us. We have Duke in our backyard and we're going to be seeing one of the best oncologists in the country for lung cancer treatment. Plus, I don't think it's a coincidence that Justin's cousin's wife is a nurse for Dr. Crawford and is going to do everything in her power to get Justin on the schedule ASAP... that is the powers at be... that is not just "lucky"... we're going to beat it! We've had our pity party.. we've cried, and cried, and cried some more. But, now that all changes... tears and feeling sorry for ourselves won't heal Justin. Faith, positive thinking, and just knowing and believing will get us through this.

We're strong and we're going to do EVERYTHING and ANYTHING to beat this... it's going to be ok. We both have jobs who are supporting us through it all... that's quite a blessing in itself.

Plus, with so many people caring and praying for us, and supporting us... there's no reason for us to be negative. Justin smoked for 14 years and on his 28th birthday in April he laid them down and hasn't looked back. Ironically, that's right around the same time that all this happened and he started seeing this doctor and that doctor about the pain. But, Justin's going to survive this and he's going to go on to educate others about the dangers of smoking so young - he will be an inspiration to others! We all think when we're in our teens and twenties that we're invincible to all this stuff and nothing bad can happen to us... Justin's going to go on to help alot of people... I know this... I believe this, I understand that this is why this is happening to us.

Our two-year old little boy, Jeffrey (more so then me) is going to be Justin's rock... Justin will see his boy grow up - know that!! Miracles happen everyday, now it's our turn for one.

I will also tell you that the day before the diagnosis Robin, a close friend of mine at work, came over to me and put her diamond cross necklace around my neck. This friend of mine was born with CF... last year she was on her last breaths and fighting with everything in her to survive. She got her miracle of new lungs and never lost hope... plus, she's doing awesome today. She put her cross around my neck and told me (in so many words), "I got my miracle last year, I swear that my lucky cross and faith brought me it... now it's your family's turn". I didn't know anything about her "lucky cross" but the day of the diagnosis I found out from her mom that Robin was given that cross by her father when she was so sick... she hasn't taken it off since. Now, that's selfless... and that's the kind of people we have by our side to help us get through this. Our amazing friends and wonderful family... they'll help us fight back! I don't know how to even describe it, but I've felt such peace since she placed it on my neck... I hold it and just pray that God will heal Justin.

In closing, we don't want anyone to feel sorry for us... this is the hand we've been dealt, so today our fight begins. We are putting this into God's hands as we know that He will lead the way to complete healing.

Send lots of healing prayers... KNOW and BELIEVE that he will be healed... we'll get through it.

With Kristy, there were no ifs. She knew and believed he would be healed. I love that I am able to put those verbs in the past tense. And here’s why.

•**REMISSION *** CLEAN SCANS**

These are the words we heard today!! Dr. Crawford said that he would consider Justin to be in remission!! His PET/CT scan showed that his liver was 100% clean (no evidence of disease at all) and even though there are still some “spots” on his lungs and spine they showed zero signs of active cancer . It is all gone! Dr. Crawford's exact words were, “These scans are about as good as they get”.

Yesterday when I updated I forgot that we still had Avastin & Zometa treatment after the appointment (where I'm updating from now... the treatment room). I figured no need to wait to share the good news until after we got home and he could put on his Survivor shirt (check back later for a picture)! I told Dr. Crawford about the shirt and how it's been hanging in our bedroom for almost a year now... waiting to be worn... waiting until we heard that sweet word, “remission”... Dr. Crawford smiled, and patted Justin on his shoulder and said... “Go put on that Survivor shirt, buddy. You deserve it”.

The most incredible thing happened yesterday! I picked Jeffrey up from school and on the way home we were saying prayers and out of the blue Jeffrey said, “it's coming”. I asked “what's coming, baby?” and he replied... “God and Jesus and the miracle”. With a stunned face and goose bumps all over I said, “Baby, who told you that” and he replied “God and Jesus did, mama”. As soon as Justin arrived home I said, “Jeffrey, tell Daddy what you told Mama is coming”... and sure enough, the same words came out of Jeffrey's mouth. As Justin looked at us speechless, I hugged him and said, “God is speaking to us through Jeffrey... rest your mind... tomorrow is going to be perfect”.

So, obviously the goal is to keep Justin in remission. We're going to meet with a nutritionist to get Justin's diet in check and he stays on Avastin indefinitely. We are witnessing a true-life miracle here... and I can't even express to any of you how grateful we are to be on the receiving end. Today we both received our crown of life... THANK YOU GOD! “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12)

Continue to keep us in your heart and prayers... I know that a LONG lifetime of remission is in Justin's future!

JUSTIN IS HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!

So here’s what we need to do. We need to know and believe that God will bring us to good health. He will walk with us on journey and keep us strong. God can heal us, too. Yes, He even sees those of us who want to lose weight and tone up just as He saw those demon-possessed, blind and arthritic. He sees everyone. And we need to stop worrying about why and how we got this way. We need to praise God for this opportunity of growing closer to Him.


If You Think You're Beaten

If you think you're beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost for sure, you won't.

If you think you're losing, you've lost.
For out in the world we find -
Success begins with a person's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise.
You have to stay with it,
In order to win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go,
To the one with the better plan.
For more often than not, you will win,
If only you think you can.

Let us pray together our memory verse.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I would also like to thank you, God, for Justin's good health. You are an awesome God. Thank you for Justin's continuous good health and for keeping him in remission, Lord. Thank you for walking beside us on all of our journeys.

Amen

After God’s Own Heart

Acts 13:22 (NIV) After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

Wow! Can you imagine God saying that you are a man or woman after His own heart? David did not always do everything God wanted him to do but he worked through that. He threw off things that were hindering him and he “replaced” them with everything that God wanted him to do.

I thought of David this week because I just recently purchased a Max Lucado book, FACING YOUR GIANTS. I’ve just started reading it but it refreshed my memory of that standard childhood Bible story, David and Goliath. So let’s read it; 1 Samuel 17:1-51.

1 Samuel 17:1-51 (MSG) 1-3 The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. They deployed them at Socoh in Judah, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines. The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing hill, with the valley between them.
4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.
8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve us. I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!"
11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
12-15 Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul's army. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. David was the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul to tending his father's sheep in Bethlehem.
16 Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech.
17-19 One day, Jesse told David his son, "Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they're doing—Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley."
20-23 David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready. David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers. While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.
24-25 The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant— totally frightened. The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride."
26 David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked, "What's in it for the man who kills that Philistine and gets rid of this ugly blot on Israel's honor? Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?"
27 They told him what everyone was saying about what the king would do for the man who killed the Philistine.
28 Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"
29-30 "What is it with you?" replied David. "All I did was ask a question." Ignoring his brother, he turned to someone else, asked the same question, and got the same answer as before.
31 The things David was saying were picked up and reported to Saul. Saul sent for him.
32 "Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine."
33 Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."
34-37 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. GOD, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine."
Saul said, "Go. And GOD help you!"
38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.
David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off.
40 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.
41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.
43 The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods.
44 "Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice."
45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day GOD is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that GOD doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to GOD—he's handing you to us on a platter!"
48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.
50 That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!
51 Then David ran up to the Philistine and stood over him, pulled the giant's sword from its sheath, and finished the job by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives.

What a great story! We are like David on our journey to good health. The pounds we want to lose and the energy we want to gain may seem like an unbeatable giant named Goliath. But with God on our side, we can defeat any giant.

Notice how Goliath made the same speech for 40 days; morning and night. Our giants that stand in the way of good health don’t leave us. If yours are like mine, they often hit me up at breakfast, lunch and dinner. They make their speech when I don’t want to exercise and I don’t want to devote time to my Bible study. And often they win and I am made a slave to them due to this defeat. I’m tired of them winning. It’s my turn to take a stand like David for my “living God.”

And isn’t nice to know that we have such a loving God that we can still be “after His own heart” even as sinners? David was not perfect…think of Bathsheba and Uriah. But he asked God for His forgiveness. And God forgave him and God will forgive you too!

Lucado points out in FACING YOUR GIANTS that David does not even think about this “Goliath” as a threat. He actually only makes 2 comments about him that we read about it in 2 Samuel. One statement to Saul in v.36 by saying that Goliath defies the armies of the Living God and one in v.26 where he mocks him and calls him an “uncircumcised Philistine.” David’s true ammo comes out when he starts firing his God statements; vs.26 and 36, “the living God,” v.45 “the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel,” v.46 “The Lord will deliver you into my hand,” and “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel,” and v.47 “The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” And David won.

And so can we! Any giants we face on this weight-loss journey ain’t got nothing on our God! And the quick-fixes out there, the “swords and spears” if you will are not how the Lord saves. Let’s fight those giants with Godliness!

“Focus on giants – you stumble.
Focus on God –your giants tumble.”

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I know that David is a part of that great cloud of witnesses. So let’s remember his story on our journey to good health and our journey to eternal joy. Throw off those giants and run with perseverance!!
So this week, I challenge you to take a walk outside, enjoy the BEAUTIFUL Fall colors and find 5 smooth stones (just like David) and keep them some place visible. When you see them, remember that you, like David, can conquer any giant you encounter. Hold them when you pray for help from God in defeat these giants.

Olympians...I think not!

Running the race…we’re back to this. Ok, let’s face it. None of us are Olympic athletes. So we don’t even know what goes into the training it takes to be one. But what we do have sense of is what it takes to be a Christian. And really, we don’t have time to train to be a Christian. We just need to be one.
Think about it. What if you took a time-out to train? You don’t read your Bible, you don’t pray, you don’t share God’s word with anyone. You just watch your Hooked-on-phonics, read your “How to Pray” manual and you practice speeches in front of your mirror. And after you do this training regimen for about a month, you’re ready to be a Christian!! There’s no time for this. 2 Peter 1:5-9 says, “So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.” So basically just BE A CHRISTIAN. I say that like it’s simple. We all know that’s not true.
That’s why it is important to read God’s word and spend time with Him. God is the best trainer in the Game of Life. He will speak to you if you will only just open your heart. I know He speaks to mine. I sat down today to work on my lesson. I did not do my Bible study daily this week. And I can honestly say that I suffered because of it. But our God is good and He spoke to me. Obviously not because of what I had done but because He is kind and never leaves me. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” It will not be what we have done that gets us into Heaven, it is by God’s grace that we will enter. But we must have FAITH!
I think having FAITH should be our new goal this week. Whenever we get down on ourselves and think negative thoughts about our eating habits, Bible study neglect, lack of exercise or whatever, allow FAITH to step in. God is good and He gave us Jesus to bring us home. Let’s put our FAITH in Him and overcome all those things that bring us down.
1 Peter 1:3-12 reads, “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

Let us pray.
Father, thank you for this place
Where we gather by Your grace;
Under flags of nations built
As Your holy purpose willed.

Thank you for the chance to show
Gratitude for skill bestowed
To these men and women here,
Bodies filled with holy fear.

Thank you for the joy of games;
May we play them in Your name.
Make us humble, win or lose;
Let our spirits not be bruised.

Thank you, Lord, for victory's gain;
Thank you, too, for losing's pain.
Give us hearts that capture grace
At the end of every race.

Thank you for the sweat and tears,
For the struggles through the years;
For the striving and the strain,
For the time to work and train.

Father, thank you for this day,
Hear us now, to You we pray;
May we glorify Your name
As we shout, "On with the Games!"

GREAT HUGS!

1 Timothy 6

1-2Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master so that outsiders don't blame God and our teaching for his behavior. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so—their masters are really their beloved brothers!

2-5These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there's an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.

6-8A devout life does bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough.

9-10But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

11-12But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

13-16I'm charging you before the life-giving God and before Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate and didn't give an inch: Keep this command to the letter, and don't slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way. He'll show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by the Blessed and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. He's the only one death can't touch, his light so bright no one can get close. He's never been seen by human eyes—human eyes can't take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule! Oh, yes.

I took 5 minutes and I thought on this scripture earlier today. I first thought of what it means to be a slave to God. The word “slave” can sound so negative but Paul tells us to make the best of it and give respect to our master. By doing this we are setting a good Christian example and no one can blame God on our behavior. I mean, what would people think of God if His people just walked around cursing and gossiping. If we cruised through life ignoring our Master’s commandments, would that help bring people to better know Jesus?
We are told to flee from envy and conceit, quarrels and controversies. By doing this, we will become very wealthy. Not money-wealthy but rather “the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.” Thinking on this brought some new thoughts to mind. Being myself before God…am I ready for that? Am a good enough person to truly be myself before God? Do I have a choice? The NIV helps me to better understand the words “rich simplicity.” Paul says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” So being a joyful Christian is the great payoff. I find much truth in that. After all, being a Christian is the only thing you get to take from this world. So I’d say that’s the only stock worth investing in!
And Paul tells us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. To me, Paul just described Jesus and Jesus is who we should be like. Let’s take a minute to define these words in reference to Christianity.
Righteousness: Morally upright; without guilt or sin
Godliness: Having great reverence for God; pious
Faith: The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will
Love: Charity
Endurance: The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress
Gentleness: Considerate or kindly in disposition
Let’s now think about a time when Jesus exhibited these qualities. Matthew chapter 4 tells us about a time when Jesus is tempted by the devil. Jesus resists each time…righteousness. Godliness…obvious answer is dying on the cross. Jesus did everything God asked Him to do and suffered great pain because of it. But He had faith and accepted God’s will. Jesus has such a love for God’s people. He forgave and forgave and forgave. He healed and He blessed. I’d say endurance has a lot to do with dying on the cross. That situation could probably considered a hardship and may have caused just a little bit of stress. And gentleness, well, He is Jesus. He washed peoples’ feet, He thanked them for small offerings, He healed their children. I bet He gives the best hugs!!
Jesus is on the way to take us home. Let’s run hard to reach Heaven’s door, burning calories the whole way, keeping in mind that our body is a temple and the whole time carrying a banner letting people know that we are CHRISTIANS and we give the best hugs!

Let us pray.

Matthew 13:3-23 (MSG)
1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
3-8"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
10The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"
11-15He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing.
The people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won't have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won't have to look,
so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.
16-17"But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
18-19"Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
20-21"The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
22"The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
23"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."

Luke 8:4-15 (MSG)
4-8As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn't have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop.
"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
9His disciples asked, "Why did you tell this story?"
10He said, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren't going to get it:

Their eyes are open but don't see a thing,
Their ears are open but don't hear a thing.
11-12"This story is about some of those people. The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won't believe and be saved.
13"The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone.
14"And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun.
15"But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there's a harvest.

“He who has ears; let him hear.” So basically this means, “Hey, you! Listen up!” This parable really opened my eyes to my faith. I think I have gone through all stages of the farmer. I have had God’s word gobbled up by Satan, I have met God’s word with great enthusiasm and then forgotten all about them when trouble comes up. God’s word has fallen amongst the weeds in my life and I go about worrying about tomorrow and money and go on having “fun.”

I’d like to say that God’s word has now fallen on the good earth in my heart but everyday that is a struggle. No one has ever said it is easy being a Christian. Jesus certainly didn’t have it easy…so why should we?

Let’s put the parable into words that will help us along our journey to good health. We can hear the words that tell us; to write our food intake down, to exercise 30 minutes a day, to do our Bible study, to spend quiet time with God in prayer and to memorize our Bible verse each week.

We can hear these words and do nothing with them. We say “no, thank you” and we can continue on the path we’ve been on. But I’m pretty sure that path will not lead us to our health goals.

When we hear these words, we could get super-excited and do these things, write our food down, exercise, do the Bible study, etc…and then as soon as the weekend gets here, we let all the words go. I can say this because I am guilty of this, as well.

We may be so worried about other things that we don’t even hear these words. Again, we have to let go and let God.

But if we actually do these things God lays on our hearts, we will produce a harvest beyond our wildest dreams. We WILL BE HEALTHY! Really there’s no pressure,
Hebrews 4:12-13 says,
12-13God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what.

I’m sure some of you share similar goals with me; more energy, weight loss, a closer relationship with God, self-confidence, joy…God can give us all these things. Remember nothing is impossible for God. Trust in Him. Use your faith to better yourself. God says in Joshua 1:9,
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
There is nothing like the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 reads,
14-17But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.Let God guide you through His word. He’s speaking to you. God is standing at your door and knocking. Are you going to answer? Are you going to dine with God?

I want to close with these words from James 4:7-8.
7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

Are you there, God? It’s me, Abraham.

Dear God,
I got your message today about you wanting me to go somewhere. I don’t know where it is I’m going or why I’m going. And you want me to leave my family and my house, all that I know…well, I’m not so sure about that. I’ll go but I’m going to take my wife, my father and my nephew and all of my employees and if you don’t mind, all of my possessions. I’ll obey you though, Lord…

Dear God,
Things are kind of hard right now. First my father passes away and then I used Sarai’s beauty to get in good with Pharaoh. He found out that Sarai was not my sister and he has sent us away. But I did get very rich, Lord, and I took my riches with me. Lot and I have parted ways. We weren’t able to share the land. Lot’s men are very wicked, they are sinners…There was a battle. Lot was captured but I saved him. Isn’t that great?!?
Sarai has not been able to conceive still, Lord. She gave me her maid, Hagar, to start a family with. Hagar had a son. His name is Ishmael. This did not make Sarai happy and she was abusive towards Hagar. Understandable, I guess but I thought you were going to give us an heir…

Dear God,
You gave me a son!!! You kept your word. You got me to this new place safe and sound and then you gave me a son! We named him Isaac. Sarah and I are so happy to be parents and we are glad to serve you…

Dear God,
Why are you testing me? Didn’t you see my faith when I went to Canaan by your commands? Sure, I took some of my family and my employees and yes, all of my possessions but I needed to. I surely can’t survive on nothing and I wouldn’t have had anyone to talk to had I not brought Sarah and Lot. I can’t believe you want me to sacrifice my beloved son, Isaac. It just doesn’t seem right, Lord.
But I will do it. If it pleases you, I will do it…
Dear God,
Thank you for stopping me from hurting my son. You are a faithful and honest god. You have kept your word from the beginning. You have blessed me in so many ways. I’m sorry for ever doubting you and for not fully following your commands…

The story of Abraham…I got a lot from this Bible study and not just because of Sarah.
It taught me to give 100% to God; mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I need to leave it all behind and journey on to my inheritance of good health. I can’t take my old habits and expect new changes. God shows us this with Abraham. He took his family and his possessions although God asked him not to. I’m sure life would have been a lot easier for him, had he just 100% trusted in God.
We need to allow God’s plans to work. We often hear, “On God’s time.” If Abraham had just been patient, Sarah would have become pregnant and Hagar would have never been involved. But due to disbelief and impatience, Abraham conceived a son with Hagar. This angered Sarah and caused her to be abusive to Hagar. All things that I’m sure did not please God. But still God kept His promise. Even though we may do things that go against God’s plan for good health, He still picks us up and keeps His promises.
And I often wonder why there are things around me that tempt me to make unhealthy choices? Just get rid of them, God, please!! They are there to test us, to show our strength and our trust in the Lord. Good health is important and not easy. It is a slow process and we have to trust that God will bring us there. Let’s prove to Him that we know He is there every step we take towards our inheritance of strong, healthy bodies and minds. Let us also remember that there is nothing to hard for the Lord.

Let’s now read from Romans 4:13-25 (MSG).
13-15That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it.
16This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
17-18We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
19-25Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God. I think the scripture speaks for itself.

Let us pray.

Running with God

I press on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

So… I ran a 5k last Saturday. It was not easy. I kept thinking just make it to the finish line. It will feel great to finish. You can do it! I kept my eye on the prize, the prize of finishing the race. It didn’t matter that I was nowhere near first place. I just wanted to finish this race.

God wants us to finish His race and fortunately He equips us fully for His race. His race is no 5k. His race will take us a lifetime to finish. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us strength. He gave us His only son to wash away our sins thus giving us an automatic blue ribbon. But to win the grand prize, we must walk with Jesus and “press on toward the goal.” He is the only way to the finish line, AKA Heaven!

Let’s read from Philippians, Chapter 3, verses 12-21 using THE MESSAGE.

Focused on the Goal
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

What a cool scripture! Do any of us have it all together? But are we on our way to good health? Of course we are! We are on this journey with our Savior and Master and Friend. Jesus will “transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own.”

We have to “let go and let God.” We have to let Him and let the Holy Spirit live in a healthy temple. God wants that of us. So when you are thinking about staying put on the couch or eating that extra slice of cake, just remember this. “Keep focused on that goal. Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.”

Just think if we were to exercise 30 minutes a day, write down what we eat, have a quiet time with God and have a stockpile of scripture memorized, oh, how our health would improve!

Our physical health would benefit greatly from the exercise. Science Daily says “Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, weight and the ability to live an independent and fulfilling life.” The Mayo Clinic found that 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week can; lower your blood pressure, improve cholesterol, prevent or manage type 2 Diabetes, manage weight, prevent osteoporosis, prevent cancer, maintain mental well-being and increase energy and stamina. Sounds good, huh?

If we write down what we eat, we will have more success with weight loss than those that don’t. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research found that keeping a food diary is one of the most important things you can do to lose weight. Kaiser’s participants who wrote down what they ate lost two times as much weight as the participants who didn’t write their meals down. Hmmmm….speaks volumes.

And do we really need to talk about the benefits of a quiet time with God? Well, a friendly reminder never hurt anyone…We have to study God to know Him. If we are more mindful of God, He will become more visible to our blindfolded eyes. J. I. Packer writes, “The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God and you sentence yourself to stumble through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.” By reading and studying God’s word, I find comfort, joy and clarity. I also am drawn closer to this man who died for me! I can thank Him daily for what He did for me and for all of us.

And what about these Bible verses we are to remember? I must say it’s nice to have the thought, “I press on toward the goal which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus,” come to mind than a thought like, “I’ll never be able to do this.” It makes me remember the real purpose of this life and if by trying to lose weight is God’s way of keeping me close…then Lord, here I am. Let’s run this race together.

Let us pray.

Dear God,

You are so amazing. You sent your only son to die for us so that we may win the prize of living in Heaven with you and your son. Help us to be patient as we press on toward this goal.

Help us to be patient as we continue on our journey to good health. Keep us strong and give us comfort when we stumble. We come to you today with new health goals and we need your help.

Thank you, God, for giving us life and thank you for your Holy Spirit who is here to guide us along the way until we are one day united with you in Heaven.

Amen.

WE DID IT!!

I would just like to say a few things. First of all, thank you to all the members of Triple F. You all are wonderful and each of you have a special place in my heart. I have learned so much from all of you.

I would also like to thank God! His Holy Spirit certainly has worked through me and will continue to do so. I feel incredibly blessed to have been called to lead this group. I have gained so much spiritually. I actually understand the Bible when I read it now. And I always find the words to say to you on Tuesday nights. I know God will continue to bless us through this group.

So to allow for further blessings, I will be a bit stricter next session. So be prepared for accountability.

Our next book entitled, “Moving Forward Together,” is going to be awesome! I think a lot of us will have that fire relit and we will be raring to go! The class materials will cost a total of $20. That covers your books and bit extra for miscellaneous. I ask that you purchase your own handweights. They can weigh in the range of 2-10lbs. Or 100lbs for our own Goliath, Larry. (For any of you new to the group, please get with me tonight and I will go over any additional costs.)

Now I’d like to read from Thessalonians, Chapter 5. All Biblical readings tonight come from the Message Bible.

1-3I don't think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master's coming can't be posted on our calendars. He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other—"We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!"—suddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.

4-8But friends, you're not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You're sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

9-11God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

The Way He Wants You to Live

12-13And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

13-15Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

16-18Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

19-22Don't suppress the Spirit, and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

23-24May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!

25-27Friends, keep up your prayers for us. Greet all the followers of Jesus there with a holy embrace. And make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters. Don't leave anyone out.

28The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you!

Let’s all be fit and ready in spirit, soul and body for the coming of Jesus. Let’s encourage one another and leave no one behind. Allow yourself to be made holy and whole. And thank God for all He does and does not. We know to BEGIN WITH CHRIST. Now it’s time to MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER!


I end with these words from 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17

15-17So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

“A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

I want to talk about loving each other. Let’s first talk about the meaning of this love. Merriam-Webster has this definition:

unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for others b : a person's adoration of God.

So we should have true concern for others. By doing this, we will demonstrate God’s love. People will wonder…why does this person care? We care because God first loved us. He gave us His only son. He showed His love for us through a great sacrifice.

This leads me to this scripture found in Matthew 22:36-40.
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'So first we must love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind—Put Christ First. Then we must love our neighbors as ourselves.

Ok? So what does this have to do with our journey to good health? Well, I believe if along the way, we have people who love us, we will have a greater chance to succeed. And we will definitely succeed if we love the Lord with all of ourselves on the journey.

We’ve all heard this poem but imagine your journey with God as we read “Footprints in the Sand.”

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."
Mary Stevenson

God will carry you in times of trouble. He will give you a way out of temptation. He will help you stand up under it. He will give you success in all that you do if you would only commit to Him. It’s easy…LOVE GOD!!

God demonstrated a different kind of love. He demonstrated what I believe to be the most extreme kind of love. He showed love through sacrifice. He gave His only son. John 4:9-10 reads:

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

God sent His son not because we first loved Him. He sent Him because He loves us. Through His son, we receive eternal life and we are washed free of our sins. Wow!!! This really shows the power of love. What can we sacrifice to demonstrate our love for God?

God also tells us not to love the world. I John 2:15-17 says;

15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

If we put aside the ways of the world, it will give our lives room for God. By craving what the world has, we are looking for satisfaction elsewhere. We should find our satisfaction in pleasing God. It pleases God when we take care of ourselves, when we place our lives in His hands and allow Him to guide us along all of our paths. We may think our journey to good health is vain and selfish. But our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. We are to honor God with our bodies.
What an example we can set by reaching our health goals! We can bring our “brothers” to great spiritual health by encouraging them through witness to join our Bible Study.

I first started this class because I wanted to help fellow church members to lose weight. I never thought it would lead me to a closer relationship with God. I love God and I love all that He has blessed me with through this class. I have met wonderful people who support me and encourage me to be a better Christian. I have become involved with my church and am serving others. I have a strong desire to read God’s word and to love all of His people. I think it is safe to say that, “I love the Lord with all of my heart, soul and mind.”



Let us pray.
God, our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things.
May we reach the joy which You have prepared for us in
Heaven.
Nothing is good that is against Your Will,
and all that is good comes from Your Hand.
Place in our hearts a desire to please You
and fill our minds with thoughts of Your Love,
so that we may grow in Your Wisdom and enjoy Your Peace.

New Commitments

Let’s start with defining the word, commitment.
1. dedication to a cause or principle
2. an obligation, responsibility, or promise that restricts freedom of action
3. the act of committing or state of being committed

So we have an obligation, responsibility and promise to God that restricts OUR freedom of action. REALLY…why??? It could be because He gave His only son for us. Jesus had such a commitment to His father, our God that His last words spoke on just that, His commitment.

Luke 23:32-46 (The Message)
32Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.
33When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
34-35Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, "He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!"
36-37The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: "So you're King of the Jews! Save yourself!"
38Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.
39One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!"
40-41But the other one made him shut up: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom." 43He said, "Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."
44-46By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.
What a way to die…He was mocked, beaten and crucified by the world He was sent to save. But still He has compassion for the prisoners who are going to be crucified beside Him. He ends His life with these words from the NIV, “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

To be more like Jesus, we need to breathe our last and place our lives in God’s hands and commit our spirits to Him. We need to choose which master to serve, the prince of the world or the king of the world. I choose the king.
These are a few ways I plan to serve Him.

Psalm 37:3-7 (The Message)
3-4 Get insurance with GOD and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with GOD,
get in on the best.

5-6 Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.

7 Quiet down before GOD,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.

But how does all this relate to our journey to good health? We have to make a commitment to God and to ourselves. We have to put God first in all our decisions. He wants us to be healthy.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you, whom was given to you by God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Isaiah 55:2
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

So let’s honor God with our bodies. Let’s find the energy to do charity runs, let’s have a quiet time with Him once a day, let’s exercise for at least 30 minutes daily, let’s eat what is good and satisfying.

I would like to tell you my commitment to this group.

1. I will put God first.
2. I will teach this class for at least one year.
3. I will have a daily quiet time with God which will include; Bible study, prayer and Bible verse memorization.
4. I will complete my live-it tracker weekly. I will check those of the group’s.
5. I will record weights of group members at the start of each class.
6. I will memorize my Bible verse and listen to the memorization of those in the class.
7. I will exercise 30 minutes daily.

And although, I am committing for one year, I am not concerned.

Matthew 6:34 (The Message)
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

In committing to these things, I look to our memory verse for strength.

Proverbs 13:6
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and all your plans will succeed.


John 16:16-33
16 “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”
17 Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
25 “I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26 Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.[a] 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”
29 Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”
31 Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

So even though it will be hard and we will have many trials and sorrow, we can commit to God and our plans will be successful…even our plans to lose weight and be healthy. So take the time now to write down your commitments to this class and sign it. Keep some place visible.

Let us pray.
Dear God,
We come to you today with new commitments to you, Lord, and to this class. We want to be healthy so that we can have more energy to spend serving you. We want to honor you with our bodies. Please allow us to feel your presence when we are tempted, Lord. Help us to remember our commitments. Give our plans success. We love you and we want to serve your son, the King of the World.
Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do. Thank you for the promise of your kingdom. Thank you for a way out when we are tempted. Thank you for Jesus’ commitment to you. Thank you for the joy that will make us forget our trials and sorrows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Amen


I leave you with these words from Romans 15:13 (New Living Translation);
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Imagine this…you are going to go on a journey to a place you’ve never been before. It’s a beautiful place and it’s filled with promises of wonderful things and eternal happiness. Your tour guide has given you all the advice and material you will need to complete the journey. He can’t go with you though. His father needs him. He leaves you with a compass, a map and a walkie-talkie. He wishes you well and sends you on your way. “Peace,” he says.

You are left alone. You read the map, check your compass and begin your journey. You walk for a while; hiking over mountains and wading through streams. It is a tough journey but you have not strayed from the tour guide’s map.

You come to a fork in the road. One direction is a cleared path lined with fruit trees; the other is rocky and dry. This is an easy decision. You are starving. You head on the clear path and eat fruit until you are full. Then you lay down to sleep.

You suddenly wake up. Bees are swarming around you. They must have smelled the fruit. You stand up quickly and begin to swat them away. Ouch! You are stung. Ouch! You are stung again and again…Finally the bees are gone. You begin to walk on the path. You trip over a root and fall flat on your face. You lay there a second. You feel yourself being lifted off the ground, back to your feet. You feel someone brush your clothes off.

Maybe you should have checked the map or asked the tour guide which way to go. You turn on your walkie-talkie and explain to the tour guide what you did. “It is okay. Let’s get you back on the right path,” the tour guide says. “I’m here for you.”

Isn’t it nice to know that even though your tour guide had to leave you, he equipped you for every part of your journey? And even though you didn’t listen to him, you were able to come to him when you needed him and through the walkie-talkie, he showed you the way.

This is what Jesus told His disciples before He was going to die on the cross for us!! He said that He was going to leave them but He would leave them with the Spirit of Truth.

15-17"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20"I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you.

21"The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that's who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him."

22Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?"

23-24"Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. It's the message of the Father who sent me.

25-27"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.

Let’s break this down.

Jesus first asks us to show our love but following His commandments, the example He set for us. His life’s purpose was to teach us God’s will. He then tells us that He will talk to His father and leave us with a friend so that we will never be alone. This friend can only be seen by those who love God. This friend is Jesus’ spirit and we already know Him. We will not be orphaned. And when we are spiritually alive, we will know without doubt that Jesus is the son of God and that Jesus lives within us.

Then Jesus tells us that when we follow His commandments, He will show Himself to us. We have to be tuned in to hear Him though. We have to love Him. And He leaves us with peace. That’s a new way of feeling when someone leaves you…peace instead of abandonment, sadness, anger.

So how do we love Jesus?? There are many ways but we could start by honoring Him with our bodies especially since our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. We may want to do this but we don’t know how. We don’t even know how to ask for Jesus’ help. Well, that’s what the Holy Spirit is for. He lives in us and He knows us so therefore He is able to speak on our behalf. He’ll talk to God for us. Just keep your temple open for Him and don’t overindulge. Think of overindulging as overcrowding your body. By doing this, you are not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to live in you.

Let’s end our lesson by talking about the “Kingdom of the Littles.” Does anyone want to share their two littles? I have been experiencing little accountability (I don’t do my live-it tracker). I have had little patience with my weight loss and muscle toning. By having little accountability and little patience, I have received little contentment and have displayed little faith.

Let’s pray through the Holy Spirit.
God, we come to you with little self-control, little discipline, little obedience, little sacrifice, little accountability, little responsibility and little patience. Please guide us and strengthen us in all these little areas of our lives. By walking closer with you, we will be blessed, free, contented, united, joyous, faithful and hopeful. We praise you for all you do. Our temples are open and we will keep them spacious for you. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. We love you, Lord!
Amen


Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The New Diet Plan

Forget all the faulty ideas you may have about diet and exercise. Follow the new diet and exercise plan. Here are the rules.

1. Pray whenever you feel weak.
2. Do a Bible Study atleast once daily. Open your heart and mind and allow
yourself to be transformed.
3. Walk with God. (You’ll burn the most calories when He’s holding your hand.)
4. “Live on every word from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
5. When you are tempted, ask God to show you the way out.
6. **Remember you can’t hide your guilt from God. Ask for His help.
7. Obey God’s commands.
8. Believe and your prayers will be answered.
9. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
10. Persevere!! Don’t give up.

RADICAL TRANSFORMATION

So does anyone want to try the Lemonade diet? I’ve got the recipe. It calls for fresh squeezed lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. MMMMM…right? You get to drink 160 ounces of this a day and you can do it for 2 weeks! Awesome! Then after you come off of the diet, you need to steer clear of fresh fruits and vegetables for a while. So just do this once a month for 2 weeks and you should have no problem staying thin. Anyone want to do it with me?

Alright, no takers? Ok, then let’s do the Grapefruit diet. We get to drink a lot of grapefruit juice and even have tomato juice for our one snack of the day. YUMMY! We do this for 12 days and then we take a break for two and then we get to start drinking that grapefruit juice again. This one will definitely work. You can never have too much grapefruit juice.

Really? You don’t want to try that one either? Ok, well, what about the Live-It? You put Christ first in everything you do. You lose weight, you have more energy, you are happier and you get to walk closer with God. All you have to do is open your heart to Holy Spirit and He will guide you all the way. Now this sounds like a diet I can live with.

Why doesn’t God give us instant gratification through weight loss? To answer this question, I thought back to our study on perseverance. I’d like to quote The Message, Romans 5:1-5;

1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
So God wants us to become better people and live out His will. But to do this we must first open our hearts to what God’s will really is.

This leads us to our memory verse for the week, Romans 12:2. Let’s look at five different versions of this verse.

NIV :
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Message:
Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

The New Testament in Modern English:
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould but let God remake you so that your whole attitude is changed. Thus you will prove in practice that the will of God is good, acceptable to Him and perfect.

NLT:
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

New International Reader’s Version:
Don't live any longer the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect.

Each one of these versions taught me something different. The NIV version tells me to test God’s will, try it out and see what I think. The Message tells me to think about what the world does to me. Be aware of the immaturity it brings. The New Testament in Modern English asks me not to fit into the world’s mould and the NLT says let God transform me into a new person. The New International Reader’s Version points out the fact that I will agree with God’s will. All these versions let us know that God’s will is what is good for us. God’s will is perfect!

Forget all the faulty ideas you may have about diet and exercise. Follow the new diet and exercise plan. Here are the rules.

1. Pray whenever you feel weak.
2. Do a Bible Study atleast once daily. Open your heart and mind and allow
yourself to be transformed.
3. Walk with God. (You’ll burn the most calories when He’s holding your hand.)
4. “Live on every word from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
5. When you are tempted, ask God to show you the way out.
6. **Remember you can’t hide your guilt from God. Ask for His help.
7. Obey God’s commands.
8. Believe and your prayers will be answered.
9. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
10. Persevere!! Don’t give up.

2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
James 1:2-4, The Message

Let us pray.

"Lord, I know You are with us today in all our adversities, our struggles and pain. You have said: "Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened unto you." Today, dear Lord, we ask, we seek and we knock. Help us now to be able to hand it all over to You and to accept the outcome. Not my will be done but Thine." Amen









I bought a refrigerator that made an "oink" sound everytime I opened it...made me hungry for pork chops. : (

Spiritual Food for Spiritual Life

This week’s lessons were focusing a lot of believing in Jesus. And you may have been wondering…what does this have to do with exercise and healthy eating? We have to remind ourselves that Jesus needs to be first in everything we do in order for us to succeed. He especially needs to be first in our lives so that we may enter the kingdom of God through Him.

Do we have to hand over our whole life? So…every part: bios, psuche and zoe? Yes, every part!!

BIOS-- Mark 4:19 says, “but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” So we again are told here to put aside our worries. We are also told the desires of other things come in and choke the word. It seems if we “hyper-focus” on things other than God, we fail. We fail at many things but mainly we fail at strengthening our relationship with God. So let’s put aside our desires for worldly things and grab hold of our hunger to walk with God!

PSUCHE—Luke 14:26 says, “"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” God wants us to hate our families and ourselves??? I was a bit confused after reading this verse. I needed to go back and read the verses leading up to it to truly understand what God was saying here. God was teaching a lesson on humility. Based on other verses where the word “hate” was used (Gen 29:30-31 and Luke 16:13), God was saying that we need to love God more than anything else…even our own lives. God might also have been saying hate anything that comes between you and Him. What do you think? Open your hearts to God and let Him answer this question for you.

ZOE—John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John is indeed talking about our spiritual life. He talks about how before we came to Him, we like sheep thieves who enter the wrong way. But those who enter by the gate are shepherds. This is a very strong verse. Before I knew Jesus, I was not living my life to the full. My spiritual life was lacking. I tried to fulfill it in other ways but these ways were unsuccessful and brought no joy. Live your spiritual life to the fullest! Come to God!

John 3:1-18

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Why do you think this story is so important to our journey to good health? I think that this story points out to us the need for spiritual health, the importance of believing in things that we cannot see. I think we need to be born of the Spirit to maintain balance in our lives. Balance is a key part in being successful on this journey. We need to have Spiritual health so that we are comfortable in coming to God with all of our problems. John 3:18 tells us God sent His Son not to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. Let's take comfort in these words daily and gain strength from them.

So Jesus is the word. This puts a whole new prospective on our bible verse for the week. "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4 We need to add a new food group to our pyramids. THE HOLY BIBLE! This book can feed us in all our "down" moments. When we are depressed, bored, sad, or anxious, we can come to the Bible and get little bite to satisfy our hunger. Remember to take care of your spiritual side and find that balance everyone needs in their lives.

We are halfway through our 1st First Place 4 Health session. Has anyone learned anything new? And how are you applying it to your life?
My journey has not been easy. The road has been bumpy and I have been on many twists and turns. But God has been their every step of the way; guiding me and comforting me. My relationship with Him has been strengthened by His word and through prayer. I'm excited to start on the next mile of this trip. Beep, beep!