YOUR PHYSICAL AND
SPIRITUAL FITNESS:
WHO'S IN CHARGE?
But see ye first kingdom of God, and his righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you.
-
Matthew 6:33
FOCUS FOR TODAY
God deserves first place in your life...
and you deserve the experience of putting Him there.
One of the surest ways to improve your health and your life - and the best way - is to do it with God as your partner. When you put God first in every aspect of your life, you'll be comforted by the knowledge that His wisdom is the ultimate wisdom and that His plans are the right plans for you.
When you put God first, your outlook will change, your behaviors will change, and your health will change. When you put Him first, you'll experience the genuine peace and lasting comfort that only He can give.
In the book of Exodus, God instructs us to place no gods before Him. (20:3) Does God rule your heart? Make certain that the honest answer to this question is a resounding yes. And then prepare yourself for the cascade of spiritual and emotional blessings that sure to follow.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
YOUR DIET REFLECTS YOUR VALUES
If you place high value on the body God has given you, then place high importance on the foods that you use to fuel it.
MORE FROM GOD'S WORD
Exodus 15:2
New International Version (NIV)
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Deuteronomy 6:12
New International Version (NIV)
12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets,[a] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day. 1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
Deuteronomy 6:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Luke 4:6-8
New International Version (NIV)
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’
MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT
PUTTING GOD FIRST
Make God's will the focus of your life day by day. If you seek to please Him and HIm alone, you'll find yourself satisfies with life. - Kay Arthur
Jesus Christ is the first and last, author and finisher, beginning and end, alpha and omega, and by Him all other things hold together. He must be first or nothing. God never comes next! - Vance Havner
Do not be afraid, then, that if you trust, or tell others to trust, the matter will end there. Trust is only the beginning and the continual foundation. When we trust Him, the Lord works, and His work is the important part of the whole matter. - Hannah Whitall Smith
Our body is a portable sanctuary through which we are daily experiencing the presence of God. - Richard Foster
PERFECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE
You don't have to be perfect to be wonderful. The difference between perfectionism and realistic expectations is the difference between a life of frustration and a life of contentment. Only one earthly being ever lived life to perfection, and He was the Son of God. The rest of us have fallen short of God's standard and need to be accepting to our limitations as well as the limitations of others.
If you find yourself frustrated by the unrealistic demands of others (or by unrealistic pressures of the self imposed variety) it's time to ask yourself who you're trying to impress and why. Your first responsibility is to the Heavenly Father who created you and to the Son who saved you. Then, you bear a powerful responsibility to be true to yourself. And of course you owe debts of gratitude to friends and family members.
But when it comes to meeting society's unrealistic expectations, forget it! Those expectations aren't just unrealistic; they're detrimental to your spiritual health.
So, if you're a woman who has become discouraged with your inability to perfectly fit, remember that when you accepted Christ as your Savior, God accepted you for all eternity. Now, it's your turn to accept yourself. When you do, you'll feel a tremendous weight being lifted from your shoulders. After all, pleasing God is simply a matter of obeying His commandments and accepting His Son. But as for pleasing everybody else? That's impossible...so why even try?
WORKING IT OUT
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET FIT AND STAY FIT
Would you like to continue your journey toward improved fitness? The start with the firm conviction that God wants the very same thing. And then have the faith that when you and God work together, anything is possible!
CELEBRATING LIFE
Today is a non-renewable resource - once it's gone, it's gone forever. Our responsibility, as thoughtful believers, is to use this day in the service of God's will and in the service of His people. When we do so, we enrich our own lives and the lives of those whom we love.
God has richly blessed us, and He wants you to rejoice in His gifts. That's why this day - and each day that follows - should be a time of prayer and celebration as we consider the Good News of God's free gift: salvation through Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers correctly observed, "Joy is the great note all throughout the Bible." E. Stanley Jones echoed that thought when he wrote "Christ and joy go together." But, even the most dedicated Christians can, on occasion, forget to celebrate each day for what it is: a priceless gift from God.
What do you expect from the day ahead? Are you expecting God to do wonderful things, or are you living beneath a cloud of apprehension and doubt? The familiar words of Psalm 118:24 remind us of a profound yet simple truth: "This is the day which the LORD hath made." Our duty, as believers, is to rejoice in God's marvelous creation.
Today, celebrate the life that God has given you. Today, put a smile on your face, kind words on your lips, and a song in your heart. Be generous with your praise and free with your encouragement. And then, when you have celebrated life to it's fullest, invite your friends to do likewise. After all, this is God's day, and He has given us clear instructions for it's use. We are commanded to rejoice and be glad. So, with no further ado, let the celebration begin!!
STRENGTHENING YOUR FAITH
HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE
You must guard your heart by putting God in His rightful place - first place.
MORE FROM GOD'S WORD
ABOUT JOY
Philippians 4:4
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 16:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
2 Samuel 6:5
New International Version (NIV)
Esther 9:22
New International Version (NIV)
22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres.
Nehemiah 12:27
New International Version (NIV)
NOTES TO YOURSELF
Are you putting God first in every aspect of your life? Describe how you believe God wants you to treat your body.
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