The Naive Optimism

We will never, never, ever, ever be satisfied with anything other than God. How's that for an opening line? Did anyone do their homework? If you did, then you know the gross, impossible task of trying to lay the wisdom of Solomon upon our health with a few devotions, and from a ham-n-egg writer to boot. But...we push on.

When I got out of grad school with thesis in hand, I was ready to conquer the world. (I studied the effects of endurance training on muscle size and strength in competitive weightlifters.) That thesis eventually landed me writing gigs with magazines until ultimately, I was the worldwide fitness editor for the most popular muscle magazine in history. And most of you know the story. I wrote a few books, made a name for myself, and the emptiness and hollowness followed. 

And it's that emptiness and hollowness that comes to mind as we travel along the oft jagged and piercing edges of these verses in Ecclesiastes. 

“Oh, I did great things: built houses...amassed silver and gold...became greater by far than anyone...I refused my heart no pleasure...Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke (everything was meaningless); nothing was gained under the sun. 
(Ecc 2: 4-11 msg)

— The Teacher

Personally speaking, it was at the peak of my fitness lifestyle and resume that I began to realize the dilemma in my heart and mind; that in my work, there would be no real fulfillment because of the longing placed there by God.  It's a longing placed within every human that ever lived. Indeed, you and I have a burden placed upon us by God that can only be satisfied when HE is pleased and when we are content in pleasing Him.

That's why, like we touched upon yesterday, there's no surprise that we keep such eating, resting and training routines; justifiable as we attempt to make them. We're breaking down. As you read this sentence your body is betraying the efforts you placed upon it 5 minutes, or 5 hours, or 5 days, or even 5 years ago. In its natural delivery of your health, it's saying to you that no matter what you do, load it with protein, fill it with carbs, lift a million pounds of mindless metal for the rest of your life, you will not be able to prevent its demise.

To some of us - and I know it could have been said of me at one point - it's borderline insulting to read this series. It's offensive when someone diminishes the importance of something so important to us. We almost find ourselves coming to the defense of fitness, of striving, of effort and byproduct. We are called to honor God with our bodies, and we easily find refuge in that as justification for week, after week, after week of "time well spent."

Eugene Peterson once wrote, "We read Ecclesiastes to get scrubbed clean from illusion. It challenges the naive optimism that sets a goal that appeals to it and then goes after it with gusto, expecting the result to be a good life."

If I can pass the baton to the final leg of our brief run through a few thoughts from this wise book, it would be with this: Until we allow God's word to expose our complete and total incapacity to realize meaning in our lives apart from God, we will continue to mine bottomless pits. Have you ever needed to be scrubbed from illusion? Ever needed to be pulled from the wreckage - out from under the delusion that you can live your life on your own terms?

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Tough stuff, right? Maybe it's just me, but if everything is meaningless according to the wisest person in the Bible aside from Christ, how does this trilogy end? I'd love to use something you say in tomorrow's entry, so please share. 

Chasing The Wind

As promised in yesterday's devotion, "The Fleeting" , we're going to spend a few days considering - for our health - the wisdom of a few passages of Ecclesiastes. Now, having spent the last few weeks studying it intently on a daily basis with Loretta (led by the wonderful teaching of Alistair Begg), I am more certain than ever that I am the least qualified to lead us through it. But with that said, if there's a life-topic capable of delivering the point of this book or a genre able to display itself as a prime example of the message of Ecclesiastes, it's "fitness."

And so, over the next few days, we'll peel back just a few layers to try and reveal some of the Teacher's intent and then we'll try our best to apply it to our daily lives. And because the book of Ecclesiastes is written by "the Teacher, son of David," let's pretend we're in school together as the lesson begins. So pull up a chair, or a bench. Put down the weight, rack the bar, turn off the music. Let the gym of your heart quiet and the yearning end, even if just for a minute.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. (v. 1:2)

— The Teacher

 For many of us, Sunday night is meal prep. We measure, weigh, package and display (often with a polaroid for social media) our next 5 days of culinary mastery, not for its appearance so much, but merely to boast and alert anyone that we eat with a purpose. But this isn't a jab at our reluctance and outright obliviousness to those that are hungry, but rather it's to help us realize just how hungry we are. Hungry for, well, let's follow the pattern of the chase; best if you read the next sentence with increasing speed of cadence. 

We meal prep, we seek sleep, we wake early, we eat, to train, to work, to eat, to sleep, to wake, to eat, to train, to work, to eat, to sleep, to wake, to eat, to train, to work, to eat, to sleep, to wake, to eat, to train to work, to eat, to sleep to wake. Week after week, after week, after week, the chase continues. 

Eugene Peterson once wrote, "Everything we try is so promising at first! But nothing ever seems to amount to very much. We intensify our efforts, but the harder we work at it, the less we get out of it. Ecclesiastes is a famous - perhaps the most famous - witness to this experience of futility. It's a John-the-Baptist kind of book. It functions not as a meal, but as a bath. It's not nourishment, but a cleansing."

Speaking of an experience of futility, as soon as we end our training session, the molecular bodies within us begin repairing the damage we've done, right? No big surprise. Many of us - whether consciously or subconsciously - erroneously base our joy on the limits we find for ourselves and the measurements we can calculate and compare over time. But there's close to a justifiable reason for it. Our bodies - along with our very souls - know they we were once formed perfectly. And I'm not talking about before our birth, but before Adam.

Since the fall, we deal with a broken world and breaking bodies, but that longing you and I have for pristine health isn't a mistake, it's in our divine DNA. Our bodies know what they were intended for and capable of within their God-given makeup. We strive for perfection because that was the original intent. Our cells yearn and our fibers long for their original design and ideal conditions. 

But the second the striving ceases, the body begins the rebuilding process of progress, which ironically is the first phase of its retreat, of its weakening, of its slowing.

And so here we are. A group of sinners saved by grace; a group with a passion for health and a fire in the belly to pick heavy things up and set them down with rhythmic regularity; a group sitting in gym class with our hearts at a rare steady rate, listening to the Teacher bring home the message for us loud and clear: We're chasing the wind. 

-Jimmy Peña

HOMEWORK: Read Ecclesiastes. (And if you have access to it, try reading the message translation for this short series of ours. ) Any thoughts at this point? Talk to me.

The Fleeting

“The pleasures of life mock us because they are fleeting.”

— Alistair Begg

Taking the wonderful Alistair Begg's quote and applying it to our vein would mean simply and profoundly that every physical accomplishment that you and I can make in this life, whether in the gym, on the road or in sports - everything we do mocks us because it's all so temporary. So fleeting. 

My wife and I have been studying the book of Ecclesiastes over the last few weeks, and I'm not so sure that any book has had a more tangible, practical impact on my life than this one in recent memory. I'm collecting my thoughts and heart around a few of its passages, and I hope to write about them week, but if I were to be so bold as to try and summarize the book of Ecclesiastes for us as fitness experts and health-minded believers, it would be this: Fear God. Fitness is meaningless. 

Now, I would pull that punch or at least provide some sort of qualifier for the other foot to drop provided my short summary, but here's the thing, it's true. Mind you, the writer of Ecclesiastes is incredibly wise (probably - with the exception of Jesus - the wisest that ever lived), so I urge you to read it this week. And for the purpose of the common denominator of physical stewardship that we share, try and strain your health through each chapter. And as we'll see together, once you and I begin to fear God, the less we fear losing muscle. And at the risk of sounding crazy to some of you (or to my younger self), equally true is this: The more we fear God, the less anxious we are about the gain of muscle.

Truth is, and from experience, the mirror can mock us in its praise as much as it can mock us in its critique. But that mocking - whether by flattering us or offending us -  will only take effect, it will only land and take root, it will only disturb us if we have yet to settle our hearts on that which isn't so fleeting. 

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Are you being mocked by the pleasure of health or the pain of its loss? I hope you plan on joining me next week as we go through our last full series of the year before we dive into the Christmas season. And please be praying for me and Team PrayFit as we head into next week. Speaking of, let's go to the Lord together. It's been a while since we've had the chance to meet like this, so if you have a prayer request or a need that you'd like to share, please list it in the comment section. If you'd rather say "unspoken" please do so and we promise to pray for you by name.

Blessed with Nothing

Do me a favor and hold out your hands. Palms up, spread your fingers out. Everyone in position? That says, "I have everything, I possess nothing." Now close your hands. Make a fist. Squeeze. That says, "I have what I want. I possess. Mine."

Neat week. Thanks guys for walking with me through this precious work by Tozer. If you believe there is a "blessedness of possessing nothing" would you say amen in the comment section? But I admit, when Tozer prays, "Father I want to know you, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys," I am particularly convicted.

Like you, I can find myself worrying about my fleeting health, my dwindling bank account, my depreciating assets, my lack of influence, my staggering status, my place at the table. But if I've learned and am learning anything over the last few years, it's that I realize I really, really, really don't possess anything.

With my health in particular, even my finest and fittest days won't be a footnote in eternity. Bless God, as much as I miss the chalk flying and tightening my belt for battle, I'm finished and done with training to compete with my "yesterday" or working to determine my reflection of tomorrow. Sure, the science guy inside me will miss the principle and I will continue to care for these aging bones, but I'm focused on several lifetimes from now. I'm thinking long-term. When it comes to my outlook on training, I have 10,000-year goals.

Anything less than an eternal outlook of the body is a tragedy.

"Father, please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that You may enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for You will be the light of it."

It may not happen today, but I pray each of us can stamp our heel into whatever "thing" has had us bound. Could be body image, social media pressure, status, supreme fitness, debilitating illness, name it. In a world that demands that we possess everything - may we raise our weary hands, turn over our palms, open our little fingers and say, tis blessed to possess nothing. I have Jesus - my everything.

-Jimmy Peña

The Sweet Theology

When we concluded yesterday's entry, Tozer had just summarized Abraham's situation as God says in effect, "It's all right Abraham. I never intended  that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there."

Abraham has just made his heart right with God. He realizes his rank. He knows his place. And more importantly, he knows God's place. And God allows Abraham the gift of Isaac, and in effect all of the promises of God and the future generations.

Fast-forward to a weary, broken down fitness writer sharing his thoughts on the screen with some fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that he loves dearly. (That's you and me.) What does Abraham's story have to do with us all these years later? What does the temple of his heart have to do with the temple of ours? 

Tozer says, "Now he (Abraham) was a man wholly surrendered, a man utterly obedient, a man who possessed nothing. Everything he owned was still his to enjoy: sheep, camels, herds, good of every sort. He also had his wife and his friends, and best of all he had his son Isaac safe by his side. He had everything, but he possessed nothing. That is the sweet theology."

Guys, before we conclude our brief and humble trace of Tozer's chapter tomorrow, what does he mean when he said that Abraham had everything but possessed nothing?  And if we were to distill this story down into its most basic parts to try and relate it to our fragile health, what is the lesson? Help me write tomorrow's entry.
And get ready....

-Jimmy Peña

Temple of Your Heart

In preparing for the third installment of our small, inadequate attempt at reviewing Tozer, I remembered an old question that some of you have heard me ask. You'll forgive me if I repeat a portion of it: "Would you forfeit your health for the Lord? More specifically, would you give up your fitness lifestyle if God asked you to?"

Maybe you're a runner. An avid runner. Your calendar is marked -- not with holidays and birthdays -- but with 10Ks. Or perhaps you're a fitness junkie. You lift, you sprint, you jump rope, you sweat and you repeat it...six days a week. What if God asked you to give it all up? And no, He doesn't give you His reasoning because He doesn't need to explain Himself to you. All you know is that the one passion you have in life -- that ONE thing that fulfills you and makes you...you -- He wants you to relinquish. No more gym. No more road. How would you feel? Sad, confused, both? What would you do? Well, before you say, "Jimmy, I doubt God would ever ask me to give up something like that," with the help of Tozer, let's look at someone who would beg to differ...

Tozer writes, "The baby (Isaac) represented everything sacred to his father's heart: the promises of God, the covenants, the hopes of the years. As he watched Isaac grow, the heart of the old man was knit closer to the life of his son till at last the relationship bordered upon the perilous. God stepped in to save both father and son, "Take thine son and offer him..." The sacred writer spares us a close-up of the agony that night when the aged man had it out with his God, but possibly not again until One greater than Abraham wrestled in the garden of Gethsemane did such mortal pain visit a human soul. This was Abraham's trial by fire, and he did not fail in the crucible. God let the suffering old man go through with it up to the point where He knew there would be no retreat, and then forbade him to lay a hand upon the boy. And then says in effect, It's all right, Abraham. I never intended that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there."

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: The temple of your heart. Does God reign there unchallenged? Has the stitching between our heart for God and our passion for fitness grown indistinguishable? Too many days - let alone workouts - have I spent attempting to allow other things challenge God for His rightful place...

Surrender

When you're down on the mat, and the wrestler has his grip on you - the grip that has made you powerless - fighting isn't the way out of his grasp. Surrender is.

Yesterday we said that the only way to destroy the foe of self - even the self of fitness and health - is by the Cross.  Tomorrow we dive into Tozer's narrative of Abraham and Isaac, but before we do, I need to ask you a question: Are you wrestling with the foe of self? Of fitness? Of health? Of status? Of comparison? Followers? Significance? Perhaps significance as a brand? As a voice?

Tozer says. "The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty. The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the "poor in spirit." But the ancient curse will not go out painlessly. He will not lie down and die in obedience to our command. He must be torn out of our heart like a plant from the soil. He must be expelled from our soil by violence."

Plainly put, if our pursuit of fitness isn't leading us to a deeper knowledge of God, then that ache - the deepening root - that buries itself within our fibers and nourishes our desire for great health needs to be uprooted by force. And guys, it's not painless. It doesn't go away easily. It doesn't lie down in obedience. But it's when we stop fighting, stop comparing, stop striving, stop masking; that's when we overcome the enemy. It's when we tap out - even if it means being in worse physical shape - that we gain all things. It's when we surrender that-  "ours is the Kingdom of Heaven."

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: I may have mentioned that Tozer is like Nolan Ryan pitching to me as a 5-year old, well, any disagreements? From the last couple of days, what phrase of Tozer has stood out to you. One that we could spend a week on is "the lonely valleys of soul poverty." What does that mean to you and how can we relate soul poverty to our pursuit of physical stewardship? Is there any connection? I think there is...

Exploring Tozer

Imagine a little boy stepping into the batter's box to face Nolan Ryan in game 7 of the World Series. An oversized helmet hangs over his little eyes as he tries to hit a 100mph pitch with a baseball bat he can hardly lift off the ground. Got the visual? Good. That's how I feel as I sit down to wrap our week around A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. Although, it's actually not the entire work I'll be taking a swing at, it's just one chapter. Well, I say "chapter" but it's really just a few pages of the chapter. Ok, so let's call it a few lines from a couple of pages of one chapter. Batter up, kid.

Each Wednesday, I have the honor of gathering with a small group of brilliant men on the beautiful campus of Pepperdine in Malibu. From esteemed university deans to lowly fitness writers, this small group of men pray together, read together and break bread. It's the highlight of my week. And this year we're studying - you guessed it - Tozer.

Well, the chapter I've been hearing from the Lord to write about this week is called, The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing. And if you've read it, you realize the impossible task before me. Nonetheless, there is a blessedness of possessing nothing; even muscle, endurance, strength, breath, and life. I hope you don't miss a day.

-Jimmy Peña

PrayFit Book Club
Today's reading of Tozer

"Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply "things." They were made for man's uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come.

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and "things" were allowed to enter. Within the human heart "things" have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.

This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble. There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets "things" with a deep and fierce passion. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God's gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.

Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when He said to His disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Breaking this truth into fragments for our better understanding, it would seem that there is within each of us an enemy which we tolerate at our peril. Jesus called it "life" and "self," or as we would say, the selflife. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness: the words "gain" and "profit" suggest this. To allow this enemy to live is in the end to lose everything. To repudiate it and give up all for Christ's sake is to lose nothing at last, but to preserve everything unto life eternal. And possibly also a hint is given here as to the only effective way to destroy this foe: it is by the Cross. "Let him take up his cross and follow me." - A.W Tozer

For Discussion: Tozer wrote this in 1948. You'd think he was writing in 2015. Imagine what he would think about this "selfie" generation. But that aside, have the roots of our hearts toward the pursuit of health grown deeper than God intended? I highly encourage you to read this excerpt again. And this time, try and direct its meaning toward our common denominator here at PrayFit. Has our gift of health taken the place of God? Have the roots of our hearts grown so deep into the body, body parts, physique, performance and health that if we pull one little root out, we feel like we'll die?

Great Lengths

Today many of us will leave work early. Some of us will be making trips to the grocery store yet again.  Others will be boarding planes, departing trains and loading up automobiles. We'll battle the weather, the traffic and time zones. There's something special about Thanksgiving. You know, something tells me the Lord loves to see us listing blessings, enjoying food, family, sharing memories and making new ones. Guys, I sure to hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Among the blessings I will share with Loretta as we give thanks tomorrow will be you. I thank the good Lord for you and I pray that wherever you spend Thanksgiving, you'll be reminded of Jesus and the joy of salvation.

And yes, about the food. If it means listening to your family tell their stories (even if you know how they end); or if it means sharing Jesus with neighbors when you don't know your next opportunity; or if it means agreeing to split that extra helping with someone who has no place to call home; or if it means having one more bite out of respect for aging grandparents or for the spouse hosting the family as the first-time cook, or simply because it's your favorite meal of the year, don't hesitate. For some of us, one of the godliest things we can do on Thanksgiving is "sabotage" our diets.

Happy Thanksgiving. Much love from my home to yours.

- Jimmy

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP:
We're joining the fun of cyber weekend beginning Friday. We're offering a Lifetime Membership opportunity through Monday. No monthly dues for small group curriculum, exercise physiology, nutrition and culinary advice from Dana Angelo White of the Food Network and personalized time with...me! (Ok, that last point may not add much value, but I hope you join the iPrayFit Membership. All proceeds go to charity. If 100 people join, we will be able to help an entire community gain access to clean water...FOR LIFE.

The Weak of Thanksgiving

In all things, give thanks. (A show of hands of those who find that to be one of the most difficult, curious, or at times seemingly impossible messages we can find in God's word.) Yesterday we began listing our blessings and what we're thankful for, and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your comments. Truly, if the week of Thanksgiving reminds us of anything, it would be our ultimate and utter dependence on the Lord. When we imagine what all we have, we acknowledge that none of it is earned or deserved; from the air we breathe, to the cars we drive, to the family and friends joining us at the table. All blessings, all gifts, all God.

But then come the weaknesses of life. Those don't always make our list, right? In this selfie generation and especially in the fitness industry, we don't like to talk about our weaknesses. We'd rather boast, gloat, and promote ourselves. But friends, thankfulness and contentment aren't found in self-confidence, self-talk, self-esteem, self-sufficiency or self-assurance. If anything is self-evident, it's that we need a little 'self' control. The Biblical truth? God doesn't applaud our self-reliance.

So, pause on this: One of our greatest strengths is realizing just how weak we are. If that's tough for us to admit, chances are we'd feel really uncomfortable around Paul. After all, it was Paul who said, "I am going to boast only about how weak I am and how great God is to use such weakness for His glory." Friends, make no mistake, our weakness drives us (and those around us) to the Lord. And that's one of the ways we can give thanks in all things. Call it divine irony. The tough stuff of life brings us to our knees, which just so happens to be the only place of strength.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: How has God used your weakness for His glory? Can you look back at a time when illness or other weaknesses drew you nearer to Him? If you're a Christian in the fitness industry and you struggle with humility, constantly trying to impress others with perceived strengths, try and remember that our greatest impact on others won't come when we're pretentious, but rather when we have a good, tight grip on the obvious: our smallness.

Saved. Alone.

Over 100 years ago, a very successful lawyer and real estate mogul, Horatio Spafford, lost a lot in the great Chicago fire of 1870, but years later he lost much, much more. The fire left thousands homeless, and Horatio and his family spent years helping those less fortunate. Exhausted, Horatio and his wife, along with their four daughters planned a cruise to Europe. But just prior to pushing off, Horatio was called upon to stay for business. Still, he sent his family on their much-needed vacation.

The ship - the Ville du Havre - along with his kids, didn’t make it to England. Horatio learned of the tragedy through the now famous and urgent telegram from his wife. It read simply, "Saved. Alone."

I'm probably not the first person to do a poor job of summarizing the story of Horatio Spafford, but I was reminded of it yesterday as I turned a corner, talking to the Lord about my needs and concerns, I came across a homeless woman; mid-thirties, sunburned, sitting next to what looked like years of life in a shopping cart. I smiled. She didn't. As I continued to walk, I thought to myself, "I'm worried about web traffic. She lives in traffic."

This week is a good reminder to hug those close to us, and to help those less fortunate. And 130 years later, Horatio can help us do just that. You may not recognize his name, but you know his famous hymn. As he boarded a ship to find his wife, he wrote these words:

"When peace like a river attendeth my way, 
When sorrows like sea billows roll; 
Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, 
It is well, it is well with my soul!”

Good words for us to remember and repeat as we give thanks, if for no other reason than being saved alone.

- Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Saved alone. Is grace sufficient? Truth is -if it were all we had - it would still be enough. On top of it, God allows a lifetime of blessings. Let's start to name them. For me, I'm thankful for my salvation, my wife, my healing, and all of you. What about you? Give me your top 4 in the comment section. Let's make a list!

My Little Corner of the World

My little corner of the world. Where I rehab, where I fight, where I "train." You'll notice my old belt on the wall. But mostly, this is where I come face-to-face with my smallness, frailty and dependence. And it's here guys, that beginning today, I will be dedicating my training to kids with special needs and digging wells for those that don't have access to clean water through the #iPrayFitProject. If you'd like to sponsor me or join me, there's room in my little corner.

But many of you remember me from my mainstream fitness days, some of you remember my first devotion in 2009; others remember the books and DVDs, and still some of you remember all the surgeries, the illnesses and loss of ability. But may we be known for what we did with it all, and that's what The iPrayFit Project is all about.

Because frankly, being remembered isn't my goal; at least not anymore. Truth is, I just want God to know me and for my circumstances to be used for His glory. I'm reminded of a portion of a poem called, "The Indispensable Man" by Saxon White Kessinger. I urge you to read it when you're feeling important. He writes, "

Sometime when you're feeling important;
Sometime when your ego 's in bloom;
Sometime when you take it for granted,
You're the best qualified in the room:
Sometime when you feel that your going,
Would leave an un-fillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how they humble your soul.  
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining,
Is a measure of how much you'll be missed.

Truthfully, being remembered isn't the goal - because I won't be, nor do I need to be - I just want my little corner of the world to be a place where God is glorified and where He uses me to serve others. If you forget everything I've ever written, let that be the last to go.

- Jimmy Peña

Honoring Our Veterans

Today, we pause to humbly offer our gratitude to those who have served or are currently in uniform for the cause of freedom at home and abroad. The dangers you face and the sacrifices you and your families make are gestures that are not lost on us.

If you know a veteran, reach out to say thanks. If you see one, take the time to offer a word of encouragement. If you are one, then we hope that you are blessed today. Join us in prayers of protection for those who so dutifully protect us or leave a few words of affirmation in the comments section below.

Veterans, today we honor you. Thank you for your service.

Our Hope Is In You

Heavenly Father, today we’ll elect a new president in the USA—a great honor and important matter. Grant us wisdom as we prepare to exercise this privilege; but that’s not all we need as we get ready for Election Day.

Father, settle our hearts by your Spirit, fix our gaze on Jesus, and fuel our trust in you. If you command us (and you do) not to be anxious about the core issues of life—eating, drinking, and clothing, certainly you expect us not to be anxious about who will warm the seat of the oval office. Keep us perpetually aware of the warm-seated throne of heaven.

Because you’re not nervous, we shouldn’t be fear-full. May we do less politicking for our candidate today, and more praising of our God. As our Father, you know what we need in America, just like you know what is needed in Uganda, the Sudan, Switzerland, Israel and China, for you will be exalted among the nations—all of them.

We don’t understand all your reasons for choosing to seat certain kings and remove others (Dan. 2:21). The secret things—the mysteries of providence belong to you (Deut. 29:29). But we do know that you’ve already installed Jesus, as the true and eternal King; and we know that peace and laughter, not unrest and consternation, fill the courts of heaven (Psalm 2:4-6).

So in all of our seeking, we intend to seek first your kingdom and the righteousness of your kingdom—in the polling booth tomorrow, by loving our friends who vote differently than us, and by trusting you for the outcome. Our hope is in you, Father, not in chariots, horses or men. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ triumphant and loving name.

- Scotty Smith

The Common Touch

If you've spent any time here on PrayFit, you've realized by now that we love America's pastime. We agree with Babe Ruth when he said, "Baseball is the greatest game God ever saw fit to let man invent."  And after watching the World Series last night, I remembered another reason I love it so much.

Ever notice that the managers wear the same uniform as the players? Think about it. There's not another sport like it. Ever see a football coach with a helmet? Or a basketball coach wearing a tank-top and shorts? No, baseball is the only sport where its managers blend in with the team.

I think Jesus could relate, because He chose to relate. Rather than standout among us, He blended in with us. Though He created the universe, His appearance was universal. He became our up-close-and-personal Savior. In order to reach us, He let us touch Him.

- Jimmy Peña

The First Step

He took his promised pay; hell-bent to show them that he could make it on his own. At first, maybe life was grand; money to spend and plenty of friends. But it wasn't until he lost it all that he realized just how lost he was. But while it took many steps for him to get to the place of real despair, I like to imagine his first step home.

He knew the awful stench that he'd been noticing every day wasn't coming from the pigs, and the memory of the house where he grew up was becoming far too distant. He stands, drives the shovel into the muddy slush and says, "I'm going home."

Maybe not to a foreign land, but spiritually and even physically, you and I have made decisions that have taken us away...
"I can go without reading my Bible each day. What can it hurt?" 
"I don't have to go to church on Sunday to worship. I can talk to God on the golf course, in the gym or even from my chair."
"I pray all day, why do I need to carve out time to sit and listen to God?"

Or maybe...
"My health is isn't worth protecting."
"I'm too far gone to try now."
"I'm too old. Nobody needs me at this point. What possible good can I do?"

Or perhaps...
"I work hard, so why not show off a little. I can be proud of my work. A little pride never hurt."
"I'm in the fitness industry, and to keep up with my social media competition I need to compromise in certain areas."

Before long, we're a long way off. But what I love about the story is that while his decisions made him a prodigal, no decision took away his title: son. Foolish? Yes. Poor decisions? Absolutely. But he was already forgiven, still family, forever blood. All he had to do was come home for the party.

- Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: What's your "first step" toward home look like?

Your Servant Is Listening

I've been taking meetings this week for the launch of the iPrayFit Project, and I find myself praying for God's will and protection more than ever before. Have you ever been in such a place? I just want Him to be pleased. As I sit around listening to all sorts of voices around the room, all I want to hear is His.

In 1 Samuel, young Samuel was awakened by God three times, but he thought Eli was calling him. And as we learned from the text, when Eli finally understood what was happening, he instructed Samuel to answer God with, "Yes, Lord, your servant is listening."

Makes me wonder: Could we already be as fit as necessary to accomplish God's will for our lives, but so focused on being as fit as possible that we miss it? Or on the other hand, some of us need to be as fit as possible in order to be as fit as necessary! Whichever the case, are we really listening?

Anyway, Samuel ended his life as well as he started. His mom, Hannah, had trouble conceiving him but the Bible says that God remembered her. And because of that, she named her baby "Samuel" which means "The Lord hears". Maybe it's just me, but I think it's neat how the very first words from young Samuel (The Lord hears) were, "Yes Lord. Your servant is listening."

Samuel ended up being one of the most obedient and effective men in the Bible. A priest, judge, a prophet and an anointer of kings. And, appropriate for us at PrayFit, he was the one that God told, "Do not look at his outer appearance...For the Lord does not see what man sees. Man looks at the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

Friends, I don't want us to ever miss what God has for any aspect of our lives. I want us to hear what God wants, and for us to put everything we have to use for His glory. For some, that may mean more focus on physical stewardship, it may mean less, or it may mean putting to better use the gifts you already have to serve others. In any case, I'm honored to be listening with you. We're here, Lord. Listening for You.

- Jimmy Peña

Those Watching

I mentioned this on social media over the weekend, but this pic reminds me of Hebrews 12, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses..."

This is how I want to train; with this mindset. Why we take bodily stewardship as seriously as we take modesty and humility, and why it's a battle each and every day. Why we want to use our health to serve the less fortunate. Not to be seen, but because of who's watching.

This is the heart behind a 2017 initiative being launched soon. The iPrayFit Project is the most exciting endeavor God has ever placed on our hearts. I personally have never been more humbled or thrilled at a mountain. We've had a few books and DVD's, but all of that was only to prepare us for this. All the illness, all the tough times, everything; all for this time. Can I ask you to pray for me and Loretta as we move forward with this? Nothing would mean more to me. And as you do, list your prayer requests and we will lift your name.

Have a good week everyone. Grow in grace.
- Jimmy

When Fear Is A Friend

"Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God..." --1 Peter 2:17 

You may have anticipated today's entry -- for the other shoe to drop. Well, you'd be right, because there is a healthy kind of fear. Back in my heavy lifting days, after the warm-up and light sets, we'd gradually load more and more plates to the bar. As I wrapped my wrists and knees for the heavy stuff, the fire of fear would build inside me.

By the time I put my belt on and chalked-up, it was an inferno. A slap across my face and a deep inhale through the nose, and I'd get under the bar for battle. Indeed, I respected the bar too much not to respect it. Plainly said, fear dictated my posture for the moment, kept me sharp, alert, strong. Fear was a friend.

When the Bible talks about fearing the Lord, it's not referring to a scary fear -- it's talking about a reverence, an awe, a holy respect that brings wisdom. When we seek Him daily in prayer and Bible study, we gain wisdom from a love that's born through awesome fear. As Christians with a mind for health, our fear of the Lord should dictate our posture -- first in our kneeling and quiet times, and then in how we conduct ourselves in humility and diligence. Our fear of the Lord is what separates us from other fitness enthusiasts or athletes. In other words, we respect Him too much not to. Fear keeps us sharp, alert, strong. Make no mistake, fear can be a friend.

--Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: How else can fear be healthy? What do we fear more, not getting the approval and applause of others or not having God's approval? Is our life as health-minded believers a posture that proves it?

Fear Less

With it being "Fear Week," I thought I'd take us down some memory lanes. Like the time Loretta and I joined some friends at Universal Studios. To be honest, we're not huge fans of Halloween, but we enjoyed getting out with the gang. After dinner together, the dozen of us like Scooby-Doo and friends, gathered our collective courage and dared the various mazes designed to haunt and scare. Like, Zoinks!

Of course, I was hesitant. Not fully healed and still unable to twist or turn, I was fine to sit it out and meet everyone at the end. And I would have too were it not for my pesky friends. But in truth, a few things helped my decision to dare it. First, our group had private security in all directions to help keep us together. And second, the characters whose job it was to frighten us along each path were not allowed to touch us. Spook us, yes. Lunge at us, absolutely. But as long as I kept calm, I could walk in a straight line without fear; no need to react, wince or balk.

So like -- "gangway!" -- off we went. As we entered each maze, I literally found myself going through both a physical and mental checklist. First, I stood up tall, drew my core in tight and thought to myself 'nobody can touch you Jimmy. Don't react, don't wince, don't balk, just walk.'

Well, I foiled them. And halfway through the night I wrote this entry. As the skeletons in the closet attempted to trap me and the shadowy unknown tried to paralyze me, I thought of each of you. I figured, during a week designed to playfully frighten us, let's unmask fear -- the good fear, bad fear and the beginning-of-wisdom kind of fear. Hopefully when all is said and done, we can echo the psalmist when he wrote, "When I am afraid I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal men do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4)
Let's have a good week in this maze of grace. Oh, and one more thing, let's remember to stick together.

- Jimmy Peña