July 3 , 2006

  Make a Commitment and Follow Through

 As a child I was always taught that if you say you are going to do something you better do it. There have been times in my life where I have strayed away from this mural and then wondered why things weren’t getting done and why I never felt I was accomplishing anything. The truth about the situation is that I wasn’t. I was starting a whole lot of things and never finishing them. I stopped because it wasn’t coming as easy to me as I wanted it to and I had to put a little more effort into it. In third grade I started piano lessons, karate and dance. Piano requires more practice at home, karate required me to run extra laps on the track and dance required me to pay attention to what I was doing. When I started giving up on those things at a young age and deciding I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to, this set me on a path of not finishing anything or following through to the end.

There are many things I regret giving up on. And one of those things is myself. Weight has been an issue for me as long as I can remember. I cannot even remember how many diets or exercise programs I have started and never finished. I am sure there are a few things you have not finished too, am I right? God is calling us to finish what we started. He always finishes what he starts in our lives. If God said He would do it, didn’t He do it? He wants us to make a commitment to — not only our physical bodies — but to our emotional, relational and spiritual fitness. We have a tendency to focus on one or the other but he wants us to grow in all aspects of our lives and be whole. It’s not easy and He never said it would be. Physically yes you should start off at a slow pace, but 6 months from now we should not be at the same level we started at. We should be able to do more and go longer. Emotionally, yes there may have been some hurt places but we have to walk and talk with God and he will bring us out of those places of hurt. Relationally, we may have never had a great relationship with our parents or children but we can still make an effort. Maybe your marriage did end in divorce. A family that prays together stays together. And the prayers of the righteous avail much.

All of these things can be done if you go to the Lord and read His word daily. Yes, it sounds easy, but I can tell you from experience that it will not be. I do not want to give you false hope. As you are growing spiritually, your faith is increasing. Yes, at first it may be easy but it will get a little harder and you will have to P.U.S.H (Pray until Something Happens) in all of these endeavors but through Christ all things are possible.

Make a commitment right now to follow through. If you want to lose the weight and you need some encouragement join us today for New Beginnings’ 90-Day Holistic Fitness Challenge. In our endeavor to lose the weight we will be focusing on laying aside every weight as identified in Hebrews 12:1, whether it be physical, spiritual, emotional or relational.

For more discussion go to the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html or send a message to Contactus@mynewtemple.org

To sign up for the challenge register on the New Beginnings Message Board and send a message to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org and we will include you for special encouragement and give you more information.

  Weekly Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours.”

Run Your Race To Win!!!!!