"The Body Achieves what the Mind Believes" - Napoleon Hill

Our young neighbour loves jumping on their trampoline - they have one sitting on their front lawn, and most days, there he is, barefoot and busy jumping around like crazy.

He takes his soccer ball in as well, and while he is jumping, he is also kicking the ball - and lately he has been taking his young sisters' little plastic 3-wheeler in as well and standing on it and throwing it in the air - He is quite the boy.

He is a very busy young man who is really quite good because not only does the trampoline serve as a fun outdoor thing to do, but it's a great way to improve your health.

Trampolines must be good for your heart as well, so lots of exercise is good - I am impressed by our young neighbour.

Exercise is great! It keeps us on top of physical and mental health. It improves your mood and also helps you relax, which is really good!

In the Bible in 1 Timothy chapter 4, it says, "for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." So the very word of God acknowledges the value of exercise. 

So, physical exercise is good for everyone, and it definitely has a lot of value.

While exercise is great and truly amazing in so many ways, God's word emphasizes just how important our spiritual growth is. Physical training and exercise have extraordinary benefits, BUT Godliness has huge benefits.

When we were created, God designed us to be extra supple - we have two legs and two arms, muscles and sinews all connected and all geared up for us to walk, run. Climb, skate, and so it goes on. We were so different from all the other creatures in creation. 

We can think and move in directions that other creatures can't, and we can accomplish tasks and hold down employment.

After a lot of exercise, our bodies seem perfect, but we are all sinners, and unfortunately, sin stays with us and can affect us in all sorts of situations. So nobody is perfect no not one!

So really, no matter how fit we may seem to ourselves and to others, if we haven't acknowledged Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, then we aren't as fit as we think we are.

So many times I have jogged around our neighbourhood  - round and round - up the hill near our place and around the neighboring hospital time and time again, and YES! It does make you fitter than ever, and it is really good for your well-being. BUT when you think about it, the most important aspect of our lives is our relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior

Why do we call Him Saviour? Because He came to earth here to SAVE us - He gave His life to pay the penalty for our sins, and all we have to do is to accept Him as our Leader, our Lord, and our Boss. 

In Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." This is an interesting verse in the Bible because Paul wrote it to men and women in those days who were slaves - poor things - and he advises them that actually Jesus Himself is their master, not their bully-boy earthly master, so work super-duperly as unto God, not the surly slave guy.

Jesus Himself did as He was told by His Father - sometimes it is hard for us to obey others and do as we are told, BUT if we do it for Jesus as He did it for us, then the cacophony changes. When we become a Christian, we change on the inside, and we find ourselves not doing it for us only, but doing it for Jesus.

The great news is that Jesus can and does change us for the better if we ask Him to. Sometimes our hearts and lives can send us on a spiral downwards, especially if we are absolutely consumed by our own desires and our need to be first in line, no matter what.

When we give our lives and hearts over to Jesus, then He can change us. It all begins with our hearts - in other words, we have to change from the inside out. In Jeremiah 17:9, it says, "The heart is deceitful above all other things," so in other words, we are all riddled in sin going way back to Adam and Eve's days.

So...the only way we can possibly get rid of sin in our lives is to come to Jesus, ask Him to change us, and ask His Spirit to take up residence in our lives. We cannot possibly change ourselves. 

We are always being tempted to put all our energy into our behaviour, so constantly coming to Christ and asking Him to make our relationship with Him stronger and stronger, and the more we continue to trust Him, the more He will turn us completely around.

You know we are all on a different journey, and the amazing part of it all is that God can and will change us. It might take us our entire life to change, but it is a real learning curve when coming to Jesus - we really need to have Him close to us daily, actually hour by hour. He knows our hurts and our troubles, and he really does want to take control of our lives.

So may God bless you this week. See you
next time.