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.