We’re about half way through the Olympics and I don’t know about you but my competitive juices begin to stir up from my old distance running days. 
I just wish there were more live finals televised of more of the running events.
I’ve come across a few web sites that have listed Olympic athletes who are professing Christians and thought that you’d want to know about them as well. One site is at Christianity Today and another is at Sharing the Victory Magazine.
“…. since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-3
The US Olympic Trials are underway. As I watch some of the highlights on television, I’m reminded of my competitive running days. What a good time that was. No, I would not have been competitive with the athletes vying for spots on this year’s US team, I just loved the hard training runs and enjoyed the competition.
This week’s verse in Hebrews urges us to run our race of life with endurance. To strip off everything that might hold us up, slow us down or get in our way. The author is talking about whatever might be dragging us down or preventing us from living the full life that Jesus wants us to have…. that He died on the cross for. He is especially talking about the sin that entangles us. The less sin we have in our life the smoother our strides will be and God will be glorified more.
How do we best minimize the sin in our life? By keeping close to Jesus, and looking toward Him to help us. We do it by surrendering, day in and day out. Jesus is the champion. He’s the only man who ran the “race of life” on this earth without sin and He knows more than anyone else what it takes to live the abundant life He wants for us. He calls you to run the race with Him.
We can also all have a wonderful prize when we finish our race on this earth…. we can be rewarded with eternal life…. if we acknowledge that Jesus died for our sins and rose from His grave. He did this to give us not only an abundant and rich life on earth, but an eternal one in heaven.
Believe in Him. Keep your eyes on Him. And remember, others are watching how you live out your faith. Be a good example for them. Run with Jesus during your race He’s set before you. He’ll be waiting at the finish line to throw His arms around you!
Have a terrific day!
1 Colossians 16 & 17 says, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
This past weekend the pastor at church mentioned the protein laminin in his sermon. He urged us to go home and read about it. I’ve taken a little time to do that. Here’s what I learned.
Laminin is a cell adhesion molecule. It’s the stuff that holds the membranes of our bodies together. Read about it on Wikipedia. A diagram of its’ structure is to the right. Isn’t it something that the shape of the “glue” that holds us together is in the form of a cross? Yes, as Psalm 139:14 says, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And we do have such an awesome God that is in ALL the details of our life. Such details as shaping the glue that holds us together in the form of a cross.
Jesus died a horrible death on a cross to set us free from sin and to give us an eternal life. He also died to give us an abundant life here on this earth. As we know him more and more deep in our hearts he can set us free from addictions, pain and all the stuff that keeps us in chains. And He wants to be the ‘glue’ that keeps us together on the inside and makes us a whole person.
Follow this link to a moving video by Louie Giglio about God’s love, Jesus and laminin.
Jesus wants to hold us all together like glue. I hope you know Him and have experienced His love. If you have questions about the Christian faith or want to know more about Jesus and His love, I hope you’ll contact me.
“… let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.” This is from the Message translation of this week’s scripture. 
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God’s spirit, in the form of the Holy Spirit lives inside you. Paul is urging us to live in a way that is honoring to God. We are called to be Holy as God is Holy. The way we live our life is a form of worship to God. As we attend to the health and well being of our body, this is a form of worship.
Anything that takes us aware from our relationship from God is a distraction or a defilement. Not only in our external behavior but in our thought life and “internal” life. What we read, watch on television and listen to on our Ipods and the radio has a potential impact on our relationship with God. It’s either a positive influence or a negative influence. It’s either building up your faith muscles or tearing them down. That’s why Paul urges us to ‘make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us.’ God wants us to be as fit as possible -physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Knowing that God lives in you can be a great motivator to live in a way that is holy and honoring to Him. How about it? Might you benefit from making a break from something that is a distraction in your relationship with God or that defiles His temple?
Want to learn more on Spiritual Exercises for a healthier life? Click here.
Hope you have an awesome day!
The real power in one’s faith rests upon their beliefs. God designed us to believe in Him, the one true God, and in His son Jesus as our Savior. 
Our body, soul and spirit can only work together seamlessly when we believe this to be true in the core of our being. If we have any unbelief in this truth, then we are susceptible to emotions that will contribute to diseases in the long haul. Unbelief will open the door to doubt and anxiety. This is a form of fear… and fear is not of God. Fear is the opposite of peace. God wants us to experience peace and we can have this deep, genuine peace when we believe the truths of the Bible and when our behaviors are in alignment to the principles found there.
In this week’s verse, Paul instructs us “there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” This is at the core of the Christian faith. If we doubt this at all, we cannot enjoy the freedom that God wants for us to have… the type of freedom, and associated inner peace, that Jesus tells us about when He says in John 8:32, “the truth will set you free.”
If you have any doubt that Jesus died for your sins and that belief in Him is the only way to enter God’s kingdom eternally, then you will not experience the deep peace that He wants you to have. Your mind will entertain thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word. The anxiety that you experience will release unhealthy chemicals into your body. Over the long term, your emotional and physical health will likely be affected.
If you have any doubt about Jesus being the only way to the one God I urge you to seek the help of a pastor or to turn to God’s Word and to meditate on what you read. As deeply and humbly as possible, cry out to God to help you come to absolute belief in the fact that He alone sent His son Jesus to die for you. He does love you so much that He wants you to enjoy eternal life with Him and a full and healthy life while you are on this earth.
Many of us remember the US Hockey team’s victory over the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. Here is a 21 second video of how the game ended along with the voice of announcer Jim McKay as he screams the question “Do you believe in miracles?” Today I received an email with a story reported in the news in Palm Beach, Florida on February 1st about a team of physicians and nurses that witnessed a miracle. A man was raised from the dead in an emergency room by a doctor’s prayer of faith. Enjoy the video posted here to the right that describes this miracle!!
Is your faith so deep that you believe miracles happen today? Have you experienced one?
Our beliefs and attitudes are a key component in determining our health. In this regard, hope 
plays an important role. A person’s faith, grounded in principles they believe to be true according to scripture, can be a source of hope.
When we set out to make a change in our lifestyle it’s important to have a certain degree of belief that we can make the change. This is called self efficacy. Many ingredients contribute to us having a high degree of self efficacy. Let’s say a man wants to lose 30 pounds. To be successful, he would have to believe he could eat healthier. He would need to know he could prepare meals differently. He would also have to believe that he could increase his level of physical activity. It would be important that he believe that when obstacles were to get in his way that he could overcome these obstacles. The more he felt that he could be successful in engaging in these various behaviors, the more likely he would be successful in his attempts to lose weight.
One additional important component for success would be the level of inner strength that he has. When things get tough how “tough” would he be? This is where faith can play a significant role. Our faith can be a foundation upon which we stand in difficult times. It can be a huge resource for us.
In this week’s scripture Paul writes “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.” He points out that God should be the source of our hope and that a Christian receives power to have this hope by the Holy Spirit. We can chose to believe that God’s Holy Spirit will empower us to make the changes we are trying to make. This ought to gives us an additional degree of hope.
This hope can help us to be more optimistic that we will be able to do what we are trying to do. In the case of the man who is trying to lose the 30 pounds, this hope in God and in His Spirit to provide him with additional power should better enable him to make all the lifestyle changes he’s trying to make.
Sarah Young writes in her devotional booklet, Jesus Calling, “This hope keeps you spiritually alive during dark times of adversity; it brightens your path and heightens your awareness of My(Jesus) Presence.” In his book God, Faith and Health, Jeff Levin suggests “Those who take these messages (in holy scriptures) to heart may have an increased resistance to disease, decreased risk of depression and emotional distress, and hastened recovery from illness. This is because faith leads to hope, and hope has physiological consequences.”
I believe that hope does have a positive impact on our health. As a Christian knows God better and better, he can have a higher degree of hope and optimism in living life in a way that will help him to be healthier.
I would offer to the person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus that believing in Him and placing your trust in Him to guide you and to empower you in living life will impact you in many, many ways and among them would be your ability to make lifestyle changes that could improve your health.
In whom do you have hope?
Go have a great day!
Dale
