Daily Word from Dr. Jack Graham

January 1, 2008

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

--1 Timothy 4:8

We all know that it's very important to eat right and exercise. According to the Scripture, our bodies are temples God have given us, and we need to take care of them. But being spiritually healthy is even more important.

And to be spiritually healthy, you need to exercise your faith. Just as you wouldn't expect to be able to run a marathon without any training, you can't expect to face the trials and tribulations of life without exercising your faith in God.

Exercising your faith requires discipline, dedication, and determination, which means being in God's Word, spending time in prayer, and obeying God's will for your life. Each of these disciplines will help you endure and enjoy the road ahead.

Life is often described in the Bible as a race. Some of us run the race well, some of us not so well, and others don't even finish the race at all! The goal as a believer in Jesus Christ is to run the race of life strong... and finish well. And you do this is by exercising your faith by spending time with God!

Now, there will be times in your life when you will be tempted not to spend that precious time with God. Things will come up, life will get in the way, and excuses will start to pile up. But if you make it a priority to exercise your faith and grow more intimately with God through reading His Word and spending time in prayer, you will be better equipped to face the problems of life. And when you have the appropriate eternal perspective that God wants you to have, your problems won't seem as big as they once were!

So do yourself a favor and begin working out your faith in the new year. If you do, you soon will become a spiritual athlete who runs the race of life strong... and you will finish well!

Exercising your faith requires discipline, dedication, and determination, which means being in God's Word, spending time in prayer, and obeying God's will for your life.

A day (or half) with Coconut

Today our friends Pete & family went to Great Ocean Road.

They bought a puppy couple of weeks ago. But they decided not to bring "Coconut" to the day trip, so we took care (or rather, my wife Wendy) of this little Coconut just for a day.

Look how cute she is! Her favorite toy is El Coyote (from Road Runner cartoon). She'd try to rip him off, but Coco (as we call her) is just a little puppy, her teeth are not strong yet, although I must say she tried biting me few times, and it's a bit painful.

Oh yes, she a cross breed of Labrador and Poodle, actually we're not sure, but we think so, they call it Labradoodle.

We're waiting for them to return, at this very moment they're having dinner at Geelong.

Coco is sleeping on Wendy's lap (sitting right next to me) watching me type this blog.

Alright, Coco kinda woke up and is trying to be naughty again.

End of blog

New Year, New Beginning

I just composed an email to my lifegroup:

Hi all,

Wish you a very Happy New Year this year. I don't know what's been happening in your life last year, no doubt some of us had a pretty good year, yet some would have had a pretty rough year. Whatever it was, it happened last year, nothing we can do about it anymore.

No doubt we would have made some mistakes and hopefully we would have learned some lessons along the way too.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

May I give 2 tips (of course there are other things we can do such as goal settings, spend less, save more, read Bible etc) to start this year expecting God to fulfill your dreams this year, no matter what it is, whether it's new job, opportunities, friends etc.

These are basic tips, but they work:
1. Pray
Not just pray once a day (or week), but pray continually, prayer is not only setting apart time in your bedroom (or whichever room) and spend the next 5 minutes praying. It's more than that. It's talking to God continually. Imagine if you have a close friend or a loved one who is living together with you, but you only talk to him/her for 5 minutes everyday. And most of the talking is to ask the other person that you want him/her to help solve your problems, what would the person feel? Yet so often we do that to God. Our prayers are filled with requests for Him to bless us, give us more money, give us new jobs, etc.

God wants us to have a constant communication with Him, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

2. Change your thinking
Our thoughts are very powerful. There is an old saying (I don't know who is the author): Sow a thought, reap a habit; sow a habit; reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.
It all starts in our minds, if you keep having negative attitude, don't expect something good will happen. Many of us know this verse from Romans 12:2: 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.

Some of us may have been brought up in a negative environment all our lives, and you may think there's no hope for you. Let me say this, there is hope in God. If you will change the way you think, God will start changing your lives too.

You may ask: And how do I change my thinking? Some things you can do:
- Read Bible regularly
- Read good Christian books such as: Battlefield of the Mind (Joyce Meyer)
- Start saying good things about yourself:
If you are used to saying negative things, it has become a habit that needs to be changed. If you like to say things like: Nobody likes me, I'm ugly, I can't get a job, I always fail, I'm a loser etc., it's definitely a time to stop saying those things and start declaring God's promises for your own life such as: I am more than a conqueror in Christ, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, God has good plans for my life and many other promises.

Let me end by saying this: God loves you, and He longs to see you live a fulfilling life. Jesus came into this world not only to die for your sins, but to give you a full life (John 10:10)

We will continually pray for God's breakthrough in all your lives in this new year. May God bless you beyond all you can even ask or dream.

Jackson

“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”- Isaiah 43:16, 18-19