Christian Body Builders

[whatevergirl]

Something I was thinking about today - I notice sometimes that when some people get physically fit, they change, inside. Some people stay humble, and don't let their fitness journey lead them to becoming arrogant. But, for some, even Christians, they lose their humility once they start getting attention because of their looks. Because of their accomplishments. It's great to receive compliments, and to feel good about ourselves. But, don't let the fitness journey cause you to lose your humility, or hurt your faith.

[HomeGymChains]

I just found my old copy of a book I own but hadn’t read yet... Fit for Eternal Life: A Christian Approach to Working Out, Eating Right, and Building the Virtues of Fitness in Your Soul by Kevin Vost (Sophia Institute Press, 2007). I plan to first read Part IV Temperance: Dietary Self-Mastery and then start from the beginning. If I run across anything interesting, I’ll let you know.

[whatevergirl]

Thanks HGC, I’ll check it out. I think that there’s many ways to look at it, but if taking care of our bodies causes us to change in a negative way, then it’s time to reassess why that is.

[2nd_chance]

There are a lot of Christian movies out right now... Samson, I Can Only Imagine, Paul - Apostle of Christ, God's Not Dead 3, and some others. I haven't seen any of them but would like to. Has anyone checked them out?

[whatevergirl]

There are a lot of Christian movies out right now... Samson, I Can Only Imagine, Paul - Apostle of Christ, God's Not Dead 3, and some others. I haven't seen any of them but would like to. Has anyone checked them out?

God’s Not Dead looks really good and so does I Can Only Imagine. I love Mercy Me so it would be cool to hear his story.

[2nd_chance]

God’s Not Dead looks really good and so does I Can Only Imagine. I love Mercy Me so it would be cool to hear his story.

It does. I haven't even seen the 2nd one yet! The first one was really good though. I saw the trailer for Paul - Apostle of Christ and it looked good.

[whatevergirl]

It does. I haven't even seen the 2nd one yet! The first one was really good though. I saw the trailer for Paul - Apostle of Christ and it looked good.

This might sound bad, but Paul is my least fave in the Bible. lol Not sure I'll see that one.

[thedigblackbick]

This might sound bad, but Paul is my least fave in the Bible. lol Not sure I'll see that one.

What about him do you dislike?

[whatevergirl]

What about him do you dislike?

He seems to be self-focused, and male-focused – which isn’t really what Jesus was about. So, I’m confused sometimes why he was ‘’chosen’’ as a main conversion story in the Bible.

[DaveKohl61]

Hi, just joined. Happily married UK guy, seeking friendly fellow (preferably male) Christians to interact with here for mutual encouragement and support - hit me up if you’re interested - genuine suggestions for connecting with same here welcome.

Thanks, guys

Dave

[BelieveBrah1]

He seems to be self-focused, and male-focused – which isn’t really what Jesus was about. So, I’m confused sometimes why he was ‘’chosen’’ as a main conversion story in the Bible.

I think Job was pretty alpha.

[BelieveBrah1]

There are a lot of Christian movies out right now... Samson, I Can Only Imagine, Paul - Apostle of Christ, God's Not Dead 3, and some others. I haven't seen any of them but would like to. Has anyone checked them out?

Check out "Miracles from heaven" based on a true story. Good good movie.

[RELFATH]

Is this thread still active?

[HomeGymChains]

I’m still subscribed.

[JAKoehne]

I think of it this way. God cares about our total being, that means He cares about how we treat the Temples He gave us that are out bodies.
St. Paul wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Since our bodies are God's Temples, and He cares about ALL of us, I think we do give Him Glory, in Christ, by taking care of "His House", so to speak. We can also be Lights for Christ in the gym, or wherever we workout, by reflecting His Glory and Strength in what we do, and how we treat others. The Gospel message is meant for bodybuilders and fitness junkies too.

[mebolhi]

nice good

[whatevergirl]

He seems to be self-focused, and male-focused – which isn’t really what Jesus was about. So, I’m confused sometimes why he was ‘’chosen’’ as a main conversion story in the Bible.

I've been reading the Bible again, and have changed my stance on this. Maybe Paul was trying to make up for lost time, being Saul and all. lol But, his passion for the faith is inspiring, I've come to see.

I think Job was pretty alpha.

He was, different than Paul, or some others though. I think ''alpha'' meant something different during Biblical times, than it means today?

Is this thread still active?

Trying to revive it.

I think of it this way. God cares about our total being, that means He cares about how we treat the Temples He gave us that are out bodies.
St. Paul wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Since our bodies are God's Temples, and He cares about ALL of us, I think we do give Him Glory, in Christ, by taking care of "His House", so to speak. We can also be Lights for Christ in the gym, or wherever we workout, by reflecting His Glory and Strength in what we do, and how we treat others. The Gospel message is meant for bodybuilders and fitness junkies too.

Great post. The Gospel message is for everyone, but not everyone will care to hear it. I was once like that. Grateful to have returned.

[whatevergirl]

Proverbs 3 9:10 Honor the Lord with your wealth, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine.

I think it's a common misconception that this means, when we give or tithe, that we will never have financial problems ever again. Unfortunately, the Americanized prosperity narratives that can be found in the mega churches, preach that, and so people assume that tithing leads to endless wealth. But, it really means that we should just trust God by tithing, taking away from our own spending, and watch how He blesses our lives. It's always about trusting God, when you boil down these Bible messages.

[whatevergirl]

bump


Psalm 118:24

[pastorpritch]

Nice thread

[2nd_chance]

Proverbs 3 9:10 Honor the Lord with your wealth, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine.

I think it's a common misconception that this means, when we give or tithe, that we will never have financial problems ever again. Unfortunately, the Americanized prosperity narratives that can be found in the mega churches, preach that, and so people assume that tithing leads to endless wealth. But, it really means that we should just trust God by tithing, taking away from our own spending, and watch how He blesses our lives. It's always about trusting God, when you boil down these Bible messages.

Amen! We can never outgive God!

[whatevergirl]

Nice thread

It is.

Amen! We can never outgive God!

Hey, glad to see you! And you're right.


Thought of the day - I was thinking about how sometimes our beliefs get lost in the world's narratives. The routines of today where we have too many choices before us (some that will lead us on a good path, others than won't), we might choose everything and let the things that matter drown in our flooded schedules.This is sometimes what can happen to many of us. We’ve let our faith become a Sunday thing, not a daily thing.

Faith should not only be something that we have, but also something we do. And it takes practice like everything else in life.

[pastorpritch]

Agreed on both (tithing and too much info.); in fact I'll be touching on that in tomorrow's sermon.

[whatevergirl]

Agreed on both (tithing and too much info.); in fact I'll be touching on that in tomorrow's sermon.

That's cool, maybe share some of it here?



My church's message today was a really moving one about how we have to wait on God, to bring about something better out of a bad situation. And the waiting is always the hard part. Whether we have suffered a loss of a person/relationship, job, or whatever it is, the struggle is in the waiting. If you look at the struggles in your life, it's common to worry about it and say ''why me, God?'' As though only endlessly positive things should be happening throughout our lives, to determine God's grace working. lol (That's a fallacy way of thinking, and bad theology, in my opinion)

The pastor today talked about how God will use the losses and tribulations in our lives, as catalysts for something better. Like, we become the catalyst to help someone else, who is going through something we have gone through. But, we don't see that when we're going through the tough times, we only see the hardships, and we sometimes make the mistake of viewing them as God has abandoned us. But, He hasn't, so don't despair but instead, persevere through prayer and know that God has plans for your life, that you simply can't see at that moment.

[pastorpritch]

That's a good message. A good song is "In the Waiting" that helped me re-orient to God's purposes over my own:




My message today was from Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Romans 10:9-13; Luke 4:1-13 (Lectionary Readings). I boiled it down to three points where we are tempted in the same ways as Jesus in the Gospel Reading, tying it in with the ideas from the other passages:

1. Appetites
2. Worldly Gain
3. Misunderstanding and misappropriating Scripture

Then I gave a spiritual practice and understanding to go with each

1. Practice: Fasting
Understanding: Our appetites orient us to ourselves : fasting reorients us to God

2. Practice: Tithe and generous hearts - which is worship
Understanding: We are all now “Levites” whose portion is God

3. Practice: Read Scripture
Understanding: Scripture is testimony and leads to life

I usually like to ask questions for self reflection too:
1. How are you understanding God’s presence? How are you understanding God’s presence in your life? How are you understanding God’s presence, potentially, within you? What might be a hindrance?

2. How have your responses of worship in the area of giving been lately? Are you beginning to understand the importance, and the difference, between giving things to God, and giving God yourself as an act of worship?
If God has done something significant in your life where you would consider, in your heart, that you are saved - how have you responded to that this week?

3. Are you feeling justified in Scripture for self-harm, or feeling like harming others is justified? How are you prepared to defend yourself when others use the Scriptures to justify their actions? Are they right? Are you? How do you know?


And then give take-aways
1. Fast, give, read
2. Be oriented to God, who is the believer's’ inheritance
3. Scripture is a witness to us, we are a witness to others

[whatevergirl]

What a great post, pritch! You've given me a lot to think over, and it's funny, a few years ago, I might have tuned out to most of that. Growing deeper in my faith, has helped me see things differently, and I agree with your thoughts. Regarding fasting, to me, it's not only about fasting from food, it's about fasting from those things that are distractions from God. Social media and not living in the present moment, stands out in my mind. We're all too distracted by our phones, and what we could be missing if we're not constantly scrolling through FB, IG, or our emails. Even work emails can become a problem, if you find yourself never shutting work off on the weekends. It distracts us from God, most of all - and His voice just starts to become a distant whisper when we're consumed with all the other stuff competing for our attention.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15

This comes across as harsh at first, but when you look at it further, it means that we're not to become enslaved to the world. To love it so much, that we ''idolize'' it. We start listening to the world's view of what we should be, instead of listening to God. It's definitely challenging, because we live in the world, which is why fasting from those things that have the potential to consume us, is important.

Misunderstanding/misapproriating Scripture, that's a good topic. Do you often run across others who misunderstand Scripture?

I do like that song, btw

[Nick4LifeChange]

I know that I give all my ability to lift to God first and foremost, and am just wondering who else out there are Christian's lifting for the glory of God?

Olde World Roman Catholic here.

Praise Jesus Christ, Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Peter!

[32] Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. [33] But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

[whatevergirl]

Hope ya'll had a good day.

[pastorpritch]

Misunderstanding/misapproriating Scripture, that's a good topic. Do you often run across others who misunderstand Scripture?

I do like that song, btw

Great thoughts. I have been more and more about simplicity lately, and fasting helps declutter. Really, fasting should be about the shedding of "self" and taking on more of what God requires. Hard to do when we are so distracted by stuff, including information. So yea, I think misunderstanding Scripture happens a lot, especially when people are used to little tidbits of information through social media the Bible becomes more of a book of sayings on the whole, rather than letters the convey a specific and purposed message

[superman704]

Jesus is Lord