Are you angry, hurt, frustrated, confused, lonely, addicted, stressed, proud, poor, broke or broken?

All that stuff going on inside of you isn’t just your personal battle with some really bad junk that you don’t need. It’s exactly what is holding you back. AND – it’s not just holding you back physically but also mentally and emotionally and especially spiritually.

HOLD ON, THAT’S WHY I’M WORKING ON MY MINDSET…

If you want to improve your mindset you need only search on Instagram to subscribe to any or all of the following:

• mindset.therapy – “You are the greatest project you’ll ever work on”
• motivated.mindset – “Its on you to get you where you want to be”
• mindsetofgreatness – “helping you achieve greatness in life”
• alphamindset05 – “never be afraid to treat people the way they treat you – mirror their vibe”
• juliachangcoaching – “unleash your inner warrior – bust through your fears”

Tony Robbins invites you to step into your power and become unstoppable. But mindset gurus in the fitness culture can help you go even further. There’s no end to the can-do, push-push-push, positivity, “til you puke’ ad nauseam coaching. That’s the good stuff on which you should feed and fill your mind, right?

It’s not just the bad that’s bad, it’s the things we pursue with obsessive relentless desire that also hijack our mindset. Things like strength, beauty, money, success, advantage, acceptance, respect, position, influence, and simply happiness. Yeah, seriously they all become idols when we elevate them in our day to day life. If we’re not on guard we give them greater importance than God.

If it doesn’t point you to Christ, it’s a product of warped philosophies in a massively corrupt culture.

Both the negative things and the positive things that take you away from a selfish God are not of God. They have no place when God is present. They can’t be in you when God is in you.

OOOOOK, SOOOO …?

Let’s get back to the really good news. God is the only one who can give you decidedly different tools to smash and tear down barriers and to clear away the obstructions. Through Christ alone can you achieve beyond you and everyone and everything else. Only in God’s Spirit can you truly be joyful, healed, encouraged, clear, befriended, grounded, peaceful, humble, wealthy, capable and restored.

What you want to be – all that God intended for you to be can’t until His son, Jesus sets you free.

This isn’t nirvana, an enlightened way of being motivated. It isn’t a higher state of mind, a can-do attitude that guarantees ultimate achievement and success. Mindset: Spirit Free is transformation through salvation empowered by God’s spirit filling you and dwelling in you.

This is better than your greatest physical prowess, gained wisdom, evolution to your fullest potential even magic. This is life in a totally different realm. It looks a lot different than any of the highly celebrated positive mindset outcomes that people are telling you that you need and want to have.

And if all that sounds a bit too ultra-spiritual for you (after all you just wanted to check out a fitness magazine for a few exercise ideas and wellness tips, right?) think again.

Self-improvement begins AND ends with self. Big gainz are big roadblocks to loosing everything you thought you needed for Christ’s sake. You can go further, get better, do more and live your best life OR you can BE LIFE – the life of Christ.

This is Mindset: Spirit Free. Pursue God and see His greatness.

The post Mindset: Spirit Free appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

With this issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine I challenge you to really consider just how much Jesus Christ influences you in your daily lifestyle. Are you under the influence of God or is culture beautifully but deceptively trolling through your mind as you scroll through posts? With all the “sponsored” messages; Shop now, View product, Learn more… would you even recognize the Holy Spirit’s call to action (CTA)?

This message isn’t just to check you on your priorities. We clutter our lives with a lot of really good stuff like getting healthy then staying stronger. The lifestyle of move more, eat better and live longer drives us. It will have too much influence on you if you don’t make God and keep God the Lord of your life.

Here is the better reality: When God is central to all you are and do, and is at the center of your fitness lifestyle you’ll discover the beauty, power and difference in being under the influence of God. (Listen to the Keith Green song, Oh Lord You’re Beautiful, below. It describes this difference.) Moreover, you’ll also find that you and your daily lifestyle can be an incredible and transformative influence in the lives of others. You can #reflectGOD

You’re meant to be an influencer for Christ. God wants to use you to help people experience change and break free from all the garbage that limits and destroys them. Your influence for Christ can strengthen them beyond anyone or anything. That means you can be a super-influencer.

And now for the kicker – if you’re a Christ follower then you’re called to be an influencer. No that doesn’t mean “you have a lot of potential.” It means you’ve been chosen to do the job. So, get busy. No excuses. DO IT!

Train strong in Christ,

Brad Bloom, Publisher

A spinach, seaweed, horseradish and beef liver smoothie garnished with acheta powder

*No the smoothie described above is not a thing. For this article I came up with what I thought would be the most disgusting flavor of a smoothie, with nonetheless really good and healthy ingredients. If you search for it on the Internet, this article will likely be the only search result you get. If however you decide to make it and drink it be sure to make a video and send it to Faith & Fitness Magazine so I can add it to this article. Who knows, you may just be the influence someone needs to try that food they vowed they’d never eat.

The post Under The Influence appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

The difference between feeling and knowing isn’t just a matter of being picky with how we use words. You may feel badly for someone who recently lost a loved one but she or he is the only one who can know the loss. Painfully but quite honestly it’s in the knowing that we each individually fully have gain.

FROM FEELING TO KNOWING

This contrast between feel and know is evident in so many areas of life all the time:

• It’s one thing to feel financially better – It’s another to know you are debt-free.
• It’s one thing to feel stronger – It’s another to know that you just lifted something or someone you previously couldn’t.
• It’s one thing to feel healthy – It’s another to know what you must do to to prevent disease and to finally hear from the doctor and know what it is to be disease-free.
• It’s one thing to feel hungry – It’s another to know what foods and how much of them are optimal for your health.
• It’s one thing to feel loved – It’s quite another to know unconditional, lasting and divine love.

I could continue. YOU should continue to examine what you know, how you know that you know it and why it’s more than a feeling. Then – consider how, with that knowing, you can make a difference, influence others and perhaps be the tool that God uses to help them discover and experience grace and know God.

THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO #KnowTheBurn

By faith you get to KNOW God like those in the Bible knew God. But even better now, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, your life transformed can be lived, free of junk, solid, radiating not just with thankfullness and joy but with the very power of God. That power isn’t a feeling, it’s fire. Fire you can know AND be! You’re not intended to be a conduit – a conductor of God’s power. God wants you to become the power. Can you handle that? Yes you can but only when you know the burn. Live a life that radiates only God. It begins and continues with saying, “I want you God.”

Train strong in Christ,

Brad Bloom, Publisher

Listen to this song as you exercise and worship God. Let it be your prayer as you pursue God and seek to #knowtheburn

The post #KnowTheBurn appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

You read that right. While wellness is defined as: The condition of good physical and mental health, especially when actively maintained by proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of risky behavior. Your DWELLness is your capacity to seek and connect with God, meditate on biblical instruction and encouragement and be content in being there. Yep, like the satisfying experience of just laying back in the leaves and listening to God.

Many times the noise of life distracts us from seeking God’s Spirit. When we do get a clear connection with God we’re often pleased we have that “5G high-res” clarity even if it seems it’s only for a short while. Real DWELLness is when it lasts, lingers deeply and transforms us. It’s the, “Mmm, that’s really good.” It comes from desiring God and committing your ways to a deeper purpose. Dwelling in Christ requires you to truly be content in being where God wants you – even when that is challenging, scary, quiet, different, too good to be true, evolving or wherever God has you right now.

Our physical fitness can often be a real-world parallel to where we are and how we’re living spiritually. The “gym rat” (a person who spends and unusually large amount of time at a gym) or a competitive athlete may be the type of person who comes to mind when you think of someone who dwells on physical fitness. However the person who knows they are overweight or “out of shape” even ill likely dwells on physical fitness or their lack of it just as much – even more perhaps. All of us, in one way or another, to some extent dwell on our physical body: how we look, feel, move, function… live.

Here’s a perspective to consider: Our human nature to ‘dwell’ is engineered by God. Some of us do a pretty good job at it and others – not so good. I suggest to you though that if you’ll give your capacity to dwell TO God, then God will empower, equip, inspire and transform you to dwell WELL.

Your mind will more fully be on God’s words – you’ll be more inspired, better led and generously equipped. You’ll experience and understand how righteousness, humility, grace and faith are obsessions that are beautiful and fit beautifully on you. Spiritual fitness may feel like an endorphin high, but way beyond the temporary satisfaction of physical accomplishment and awards, bests and benefits, improvements and outcomes, dwelling with God is even, comforting and consistent. DWELLness is achieved through knowing God and knowing how to be at peace in Christ.

early – spin – deep

Grow in spiritual health and DWELLness when you seek God early. It can be your spin on what others call ‘me time’. It’s being fully immersed – deep in God’s Spirit.

start early – it’s how to dwell well

It’s that time of year. Mornings just seem earlier as the earth gradually tilts toward autumn. You want to get up and get going – you need to, buuuut maybe just a few more minutes of sleep. 

That darkness is a gift. That’s right, God’s invitation AND reward! 

Want to really discover what it can mean to dwell in God’s presence? Don’t just ‘get up’ get into using the darkness as a tool to narrow your focus on God. 

Sure, get dressed, get your gym bag and your keys and get going to that morning workout before work. But instead of listening to the radio, checking texts or emails, or any of the other multitasking you do – – – just say good morning to God THEN listen. 

When the Bible talks about seeking God early the author wasn’t suggesting that you unload your list of problems like emptying out your gym bag and then immediately switching gears to ‘time to get busy’.

Early can become prime time – your opportunity to be in the presence of God. That’s a place where fear, anger, confusion, frustration, sadness, failure, impatience… all the stuff the world and the enemy throws at you has no power – no chance to hold you down. 

‘Early’ may not be the easy place, the convenient place or the place where anyone says you should be but as you decide to dwell in God you’ll get an appetite for it – an eager and desperate longing for it.

spin intensely – it’s how to dwell well

It’s late morning going into early afternoon on a beautiful autumn day in the not to distant future. You planned for it – marked hours out on your calendar. Gear ready – route planned.

Now it’s just you and the road and … God. 

Hear the breeze, your breathing and God. 

Feel the drive, your heart pound and God. 

No distractions, no real agenda, you’re just here to DWELL in the presence of God. 

It’s your spin on what others call ‘me time’.

go deep – it’s how to dwell well

Jesus told Luke and fellow fisherman to go deeper. When they listened and followed Christ’s instruction the results not only exceeded their expectations – they were nothing short of miraculous. 

God wants the same for you. God wants you to have better health and deeper faith.

Beyond desiring to do God’s will, and making a commitment to live as Christ commands, we can accept His invitation to follow Him. 

But to be clear ‘follow’ is much more than “come here and check it out” or “try it for a while, make a big splash and have some fun”. To DWELL in the Spirit goes a lot deeper. Persistence that goes beyond counting laps is just one way to measure the mindset – the spiritual conditioning. 

Christ knows that it’s not how far we go or how strong we become that defines who we are. It is simply staying fully immersed in Him, moment by moment that lets us move and be in our true element.

let the word of Christ richly dwell in you

Where will you dwell? Choose to dwell in His house, in His presence. This is the season – your season! Get serious about living like Christ. Your new life in Christ is your real life. Don’t let things and feelings shape your life. Your new way of life is custom-created by God.

As the words of the Bible and the Spirit of God dwell in you, you’ll see that God has incredible qualities for you to put on and wear full time. When Christ richly dwells in you He has the run of the house. Know Him fully in every detail.

Then – welcome others, “This is my house. It is #myfamiliarplace.”

Train strong in Christ,

Brad Bloom, Publisher

The post Health And DWELLness appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

The fitness culture isn’t just abundant with beautiful male and female physiques, it is one of the best communities to meet people who define being committed. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’ve moved beyond desire (I want to be fit and strong) to being fully committed to it. That takes a lot of hard work, discipline and persistence. It takes money, time, genetics, technique, pain … you get the idea. And though the best would likely admit to having some level of obsessive compulsive behavior we nonetheless recognize they ARE committed.

What specifically is necessary to be committed? One of the most decorated natural bodybuilders in the world, Ron Williams describes what it takes to be committed and how it feels to live physically and spiritually that way:

This year Faith & Fitness Magazine and all of the other Lifestyle Media Group magazines are bringing curated content to help you and all of our community journey boldly with God on the road ahead. All 4 magazines explore the same theme for the same quarter each from their unique perspective.

They began in February ‘23 with DESIRE. The summer issues help you to COMMIT. The autumn issues journey into DWELL. Finally, the winter issues lead into how we can RADIATE God’s hope, love and truth to others. It is an adventurous journey that we believe will help all of us to grow in Christ.

The spring issues focused on discovering more deeply what it is we desire, why we desire it and gaining clarity that desire is given to us by God. He wants us to want. And, as we say #iwantgod we begin and continue a journey with God’s spirit. The further we go we start to realize we’ve grown beyond where we were. That was then. This is now.

What we want and hope for becomes familiar and routine enough that we can commit. To commit is an important next step. But to be committed takes giving ourselves over fully to God.

It’s at this point where the sleepers are left wanting and the faithful say #hereIam

Like Samuel in the Bible, God is calling you. It’s your time to commit, obey and say here I am use me fully.

What ever you do (whether it be pushups or prayer), work at it with all your heart.

-Colossians 3:23

AND NOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “COMMITTED!”

A Christ-centered lifestyle is every bit as demanding, sweaty and involved as a fit lifestyle. Those truly committed to fitness don’t cut corners. While they shouldn’t force fitness and a commitment to it onto others, like Michael Wittig, featured on our cover, they most certainly don’t shy away from being fit and showing it off.

There isn’t any ‘kinda-sorta’ with the person who is committed – they work hard at it. Moreover they know that fitness doesn’t just look good on them, it is good for them. It works! To be anything less is dishonest – a compromise that they just straight up won’t do.

Pay attention and get the gold here: to live a life fully committed to God requires that same level of frank and unabashed honesty – and more. God wants you to know the fullness of being “COMMITTED!” As in, “you ought to be committed!” Yeah, that kind – being consigned to a mental institution or custody in prison. Stick with me because this is where it starts to get really, really good.

Yes, everything the Bible has told you about this kind of committed lifestyle is true. People won’t understand you and will say you’re kind of crazy. Those people will hate you. They’ll speak evil of you. But you can rock #hereIam and overcome it all because He has overcome it all!

Physical fitness is for the here and now. Faith is too. But, faith transforms the here and now into living for the other side of eternity. Paul knew this back in New Testament Bible times and like many who have found life in Christ for generations since then he counted it all joy to be “COMMITTED!” They did as well and you can too.

Christian theologian Charles John Ellicott describes, in his renowned Bible commentary, Paul’s I the prisoner of the Lord words in Ephesians 4: 1-6. Ellicott says that Paul’s words, “have all the glowing freedom of spiritual enthusiasm and all the clear-cut precision of a creed.”

Wow – Yes! That’s the kind of faith I want to have, an enthusiasm (divine inspiration from God resulting in fervor and zeal) that gives me the freedom to “glow”. That takes the children’s church song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine” to a whole new level. And don’t stop there. Ellicott further describes Paul’s prisoner profession as being a creed (a formal statement of belief, a guiding principle of faith) with clear-cut precision.

Ready to become one of the world’s strongest people? Prove it! How?

Successful weightlifters know that precision – the mastery of technique, is the thing that defines them and sets them apart. This Bible passage is a God-gift to us. In it we see that Paul has mastered the “I believe”. He’s “COMMITTED!” Just like watching and learning from a champion weightlifter this nugget from the Bible equips us to be, “a prisoner in the Lord and live the kind of life which proves that God has called you.”

Train strong in Christ,

Brad Bloom, Publisher

The post From Committed To “COMMITTED!” appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

After so many reps and sets and classes and miles and whatever you do, you may find yourself singing the chorus to that Sheryl Crow song, “All I Wanna Do is have some fun. And by the looks of it, I’m not the only one.”

I don’t care how good of a Christian you are or at least think you are, you’re human! Your physical body, every muscular or not-so muscular curve, every strong or out-of-shape part and every aspect of your body you love or can’t stand any longer aren’t the only things that prove that. It’s your spiritual fitness, or more often than not the lacking in your spiritual fitness, that screams that you’re human.

And though you may not be ready to admit that, God from the beginning of time has been all-in to meet you right there.

In this issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine we’re having conversations about DESIRE and how you can stretch your desire.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

The website toptens.com list some of the things kids want most. It includes:

• Being rich
• Being good looking
• Having lots of friends
• Having lots of toys
• Having more holidays
• Traveling around the world
• Getting a dream job
• Getting into heaven

If that all sounds familiar it’s probably because as a kid you had many of those same desires. As an adult you may still want most of the same things. Your adult toys may be different and more expensive from what you wanted as a child but adults still want toys – lots of toys. Wealth, success, opportunity and yes, heaven – we all want them.

But usually not so familiar is the understanding that God puts the WANT inside of you. We often make it selfish and let it become corrupted but God knows that desire is a good thing – a really good quality. It’s part of the nature of God – the nature of love.

PIVOT

This is a huge shift to make in your life. When you pivot from assuming that your desires are your self-fabricated wants to understanding that in fact they’re meant to be God authoring His very best in you toward an exclusive one-of-a-kind outcome THEN you begin a journey of expectation. It’s the expectation of obtaining the promise. It’s not what you could do, it is what God will do.

Is that arrogance? No. Rather, you’ll become trained in humble perseverance. And desire isn’t a spiritual trick to gradually let you become eternally hopeful but never satisfied with actually achieving. It is the God-given appetite directed toward attainment and possession of God’s plan and promise for you. While you’ll have to work at it, you’ll find all that hard work can be joy filled faithfulness in your relationship with a God that satisfies.

THE DESTINATION IS THERE

As the Carmen song above says, “Your desire is the confirmation that the destination is there. God wouldn’t put it in your spirit if it wasn’t going no where [anywhere]. So, set your sights on the promises and don’t you be scared.” Fitness and everything else in life we want to do doesn’t have to become boring. All of it can be ever new – renewed daily in Christ.

It’s not about what you bring to the workout it’s about what you believe. Take your time to read these 2 Bible chapter so you can see how God intends faith to drive life.

Through faith many in the Bible had faith but didn’t have the promise in hand – they didn’t fully see what God had in store for them. Nonetheless they desired it, believed it and did it anyway. They didn’t have Christ, but you do!

So, let’s get going and dig into DESIRE. It’s the first step toward an incredible lifestyle in Christ. During this year we invite you through an entire process of growth and transformation. The journey begins with desire. But that’s only the beginning. When you commit your ways to God you see a clear way forward. You can permanently dwell in strength and adventurous joy. That leads us down a bright road to radiate God’s love and hope to others.

Train strong in Christ,

-Brad Bloom, Publisher

SHARE IT ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND MORE

The post “I Want…” And Why You Should Want It appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

Luc Van Loon, an exercise physiology and nutrition professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that elderly adults in a 6-month training program who intentionally consumed high amounts of protein gained 2.9 pounds of muscle. However, the other study concluded that in just 1 week of bed rest they can lose 3.1 pounds of muscle. Van Loon summarized, “You can mess up a lot more in one week than you can improve in six months of training.” It makes a good case for exercising regularly and eating wisely every time.

The study as shared in the article gets into 4 insightful details about:

1. how quickly protein is absorbed
2. how exercise can improve absorption
3. if you don’t exercise you synthesize less protein resulting in “anabolic resistance” and potentially a “catabolic crisis” (significant and accelerated muscle loss)
4. how you eat and how well you eat makes a difference

I found all of this information particularly fascinating since during the past year I’ve been caring for my mother. During this time I’ve observed first hand the exercise, bed rest immobility and eating habits of not just her but other older adults. It’s led me to look more closely at my own exercise and eating and that of others across all age ranges all the way to infants – specifically my grand daughter. I invite you to watch this short fun video that is produced to make it appear as if she climbs off the bed to get her bottle.

THE LAW OF EVERY TIME

What we do and don’t do every time truly impacts us physically and also spiritually. It’s similar to Newton’s first law of motion: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force. That leads me to quote perhaps the most famous line from Star Wars, “May the force be with you”. And – that leads me to take a moment to talk with you about something really important that Luc Van Loon and Outside Online totally missed:

Humans need something more than habitual routines that should be good but often are bad. Healthy eating, exercise and rest are good. A poor diet, too much sitting, excessive sleeping, and laziness are bad. Either way, your moving and eating habits, good or bad are not enough.

REASON, PURPOSE, VISION

Your spirit needs a reason, a purpose, a vision that you can embrace every time. Every time you don’t feel like it, every time you’re sick or tired, every time you’re discouraged, angry, confused, afraid or have lost all hope — every time life throws all kinds of stuff – really bad stuff at you — at us. When we have that reason, purpose and vision (God’s Spirit alive and at work within us) then we can make the best of every day, take action and build more than muscle – we can build a world that can quickly synthesize the protein of Christ’s compassion for profound and divine outcomes for right now, future generations and eternity.

As musician Lauren Evans says in her song, This Could Be,

What if each day could be amazing. What if you and I are the perfect equation to turn outcomes that are unfavored into a million reasons for celebrating … If we’d open up our eyes, this could be the time of our lives.

Listen to the whole song now.

Lauren’s message is spot on target for today’s culture. When we dare to try God’s ways, He will flip situations into the best of endings. The Bible has a message for you that takes it even further:

Read the entire Bible passage to experience the full spiritual kerpow!

I hope you’re ready to explore the challenges and opportunities, the expectations and transformative beauty, the complex and yet extremely simple power of Every Time. It’s a call for us to be #morethanfaithful AND it’s certainly a celebration that God is #morethanfaithful

Train strong in Christ,

Brad Bloom, Publisher

The post This Could Be The Time For EVERY TIME appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

Your gym membership (with some other company besides the Y) may very well offer a similar “away” benefit. If it doesn’t OR you’re not a member of any particular gym you’ll likely find that everywhere you go there is some fitness facility or program that will welcome you at least once with a day pass as a visitor to try it. AND – to all those church leaders who have a fitness ministry, if you’re not actively inviting people to take your facility or programs for a test drive, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

WHERE IS ‘EVERYWHERE’ FOR YOU?

This issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine focuses on the theme Everywhere. I invite you to explore what God wants ‘everywhere’ to be for you.

As you do that, keep in mind that WHERE you workout is more than just the place where you exercise. For starters the space between your ears needs to have a clear understanding of your needs, goals and opportunities – the everywhere where God wants you to go with your faith and fitness. No exploration of everywhere can really happen well until you first invite God to have the strong place within.

Along with your mind you need to prepare your heart to tap into the Spirit of God for grace, commitment, enthusiasm, instruction, patience and more. In other words your fitness isn’t just about getting in your workout and relieving tension someplace, it’s about finding the sacred space and meeting God consistently in that place.

When you do that then you can really start to explore new physical spaces where God would have you be. Maybe that’s a work+out with your family, the free weight room at a church, a group exercise class (different from what you’ve ever done) at a local fitness provider or running or biking along a community trail with a friend or with a group.

IT’S NOT SOMEPLACE – IT’S GOD’S SPACE

Everywhere that you recognize is #GodsSpace is where your fitness lifestyle will make a pivot away from simply being somewhere YOU can workout without being disturbed to being the exact space where the Spirit of God can move through you to be the life of Christ to OTHERS.

You may never get to Hong Kong, Chicago, or some small town in Louisiana. You can’t be everywhere. But don’t miss the opportunity to be everywhere God has created space for you. That’s where your faith and fitness can be powerfully used by God.

Share your story of where everywhere is for you. Take a look below for the stories our readers are sharing:

Dorrie battled anxiety and PTSD from psychological trauma and emotional abuse. Like many, she has found that physical fitness is a powerful component to healing. But, exercise alone has limits. Dorrie discovered the space she needs for recovery is found when she’s fully in the presence of God. It’s a sacred space – not because of where she is but because of the spiritual strength she gains by being in #GodsSpace This short video story is told by Dorrie herself.

For a better way to do pre and post workout recovery go to re: Pre And Post Workout Tools For You

The post Everywhere appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

It was the 2004 season premiere of the Oprah Winfrey Show and the go big entertainer gave a new car to all 276 audience members – everyone, creating one of the most iconic moments in television history.

Now, imagine if your gym gave a membership to everyone. Yeah, like literally to everyone. That would be really cool, right? Yet it wouldn’t take long before “Wow!” would turn to “whoa wait a minute.” Even Oprah’s prize winners had tax implications even though the car manufacturer paid the sales tax. Imagine going to your favorite exercise facility and burning 30 minutes just to find a place to park then stand in line to enter and then ultimately find the equipment all being used. Not good. So maybe your gym can dial it back – only everyone in your city gets a membership. That’d still be too broad. Maybe your gym could do the YMCA model of a needs based scholarship.

Before your brain gets lost in exactly what could work best, shift gears to think about how this wouldn’t just be a publicity stunt. Looking at just the U.S. population of over 334 million take a look at these stats:

• US gym revenue is around $35 billion
• There are over 41,000 gym facilities
• 64.2 million memberships

(2020 IHRSA data)

That’s a lot of everyone. If you have a gym membership or do your own physical fitness you can bask in the positivity of these statistics. However most people, about 4 out of every 5 people see it differently. They don’t have a gym membership. If you were to look at that 80% of the population you’d see many can’t afford it and most of them really need it to improve their health and overall wellness. Fitness is for the fortunate or at least those who choose it.

AND THE POINT IS?

In a culture obsessed right now with concepts like equity, inclusion, diversity, rights, systemic change and other well intended talk (some of which has resulted in actionable positive efforts), human nature is pretty selfish. As ‘good’ as we’d all like to think we are, a biblical truth remains: All have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Or as Isiah in the Bible puts it, we’ve all become unclean and our righteousness is like filthy rags. Your sports bra or jock strap start out Downy Fresh but eventually they stink. It’s time to upgrade your fitness membership to include laundry service. That means you become clean and fit so that you stay fresh and strong – not just for yourself but especially for others.

WHO IS WHOEVER?

There is one passage in the Bible that is perhaps familiar to everyone. It is John 3:16 – God loved the world so much that he gave his only son (Jesus). Whoever believes in him won’t parish but instead have eternal life. Everyone is a lot of people and ‘whoever’ is too.

What seems so absurd to so many people is that God loves us on such an extravagant level. Is God eccentric? Not at all. God’s perfect love and grace is the original pattern – the true norm. Humanity has deviated and departed from what is intended to be central to how we live and who we are. God’s love is deep. God wants our love to be just as deep.

But you’re not Oprah and you’re certainly not God, so is that really even possible?

Start to think about living Christlike compassion by praying this way, “God for whom could I get a guest pass to my gym so they could have some fun and benefit from doing a workout with me and maybe eventually become a member?” It could be anyone. Who is your whoever? AND – better than a gym membership, think about the audacious hope, the unfathomable potential for the person who gains membership into God’s eternal presence.

NO FEAR

No fear is more than a popular brand and bold statement. God wants you to have no fear not just with your fitness aspirations but with your faith. When it comes to having a vision for the everyone in your life God wants you to be uninhibited and not put any restraints on how deep you will go with him and for him.

Use the list below to pray about who God could be saying ‘everyone’ is for you:

• family member
• neighbor
• co-worker
• friend
• enemy
• everyone who is out of shape, ugly, uninteresting, disabled, old, dying, or in some way or another not necessarily your first choice for a workout partner.

Afraid? You shouldn’t be.

Sometimes through very secular elements of our world we can find God calling us into a deeper walk with him. So it is with the Calvin Harris & Disciples song, How Deep Is Your Love.

Some of the song’s lyrics are like God is speaking to us: I want you to breath me. Let me be your air. Let me roam your body freely [your entire spiritual being], No inhibition – No fear. How deep is your love? Is it like the ocean? What devotion are you? … How deep is your love? Can it go deeper?

By God your love can go deeper than self-care, self-improvement, self-accomplishments and self-fulfillment. The thing that you love, more than fitness and more than life itself, can be ‘the thing’ that makes all the difference today. Everyone needs you to have that come to Jesus moment, that spiritual maturity and that ultra-fit level of devotion to God. Who is everyone? It is the ‘whoever’ God gives you.

It’s a fresh day. Go get dressed and do your toughest workout of the day – taste the sweetness of your best sweat ever!

REACH OUT TO YOUR ‘EVERYONE’

Use this graphic to share this Publisher’s Letter on your social media and more with your friends. Be sure to include the hashtages #everyonefit or #everyonegetsamembership

Then, pray, consider who God would have you reach and send an email, text, call or the next time you see her or him at the gym be sure to follow through. Post a comment below and share your story.

The post Everyone Gets A Membership appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.

NEXT IS PROGRESSION

I got to hit the gym recently with my good friend and one of our Lifestyle Media Group board members, Seth Doherty. It was leg day – and he can out squat me at the squat rack by a lot of weight. He’s been doing CrossFit for a few years now so I asked him how it was going.

I remember years ago when I first met him he shared with me how he grew up as a kid on Lake Squam in New Hampshire. It sounded so ideal that when he invited me to swim at a lake near his home in Virginia (a deep, cold, stone quarry lake) I thoughtlessly agreed. By the time he’d gotten across the lake and was returning he realized I was no where to be found. I hadn’t gotten to far when the cold water started causing me to cramp and my lack of stamina in the water drove me to barely make it to the edge before drowning.

So when he said that he can outperform the best of the CrossFitters in the area of endurance, I was not surprised. “So”, I asked, “what’s the next big challenge for you then?” Seth replied, “I want to get better at the crazy stuff.” He could tell I wasn’t following him so he clarified, “The gymnastic skills – – – The handstands!”

Personally, with a wrist injury, a handstand isn’t a big deal to me. I mean, OK, they look cool but…” BUT, if you’re seriously into the CrossFit culture it is a big deal. So, making progress like this is important.

The Bible says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord. That helps us start to understand a big concept of NEXT and build a vision of progression where it isn’t about getting better, doing more, going faster, being stronger and achieving what our mind can conceive and believe.

It’s about doing all of that by being dependent upon God and doing it unto God with His leading, grace and provision. That’s a heck of a lot more ambitious and rewarding than any progress we can self-induce.

Lisa Vassur Jarvis looks to God to make progress with her fitness ministry with this mindset.

NEXT IS NEAR

You’ve heard the expression, “It’s so close I can taste it.” Want and desire are God designed to be powerful drivers. That’s a good thing. Want is an incredible gift from God that help us to get the very best He wants to accomplish through us. But, sin in our life can taint that gift. If we’re controlled by our ‘want’ it gets corrupted and becomes wanton. When that happens we long for a false sense of more, extravagance without righteousness and a lustful push for next that is uncontrolled. It’s the tomorrow that never happens because we fail to be obedient, see what is near and embrace what God gives us right now.

The Bible gives us inspiring examples of people being near to God. Take for instance Moses on Mount Sinai. You might say he got a little too close. There was no standup tanning bed there, but he straight-up got burned by God’s presence. Not only did he bring back the 10 commandments but, “when all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” Jump over to the New Testament and a sick woman had such a level of determination in her faith that she pushed through the crowd and touched Jesus’ clothes. She got an immediate healing and Jesus was like, “Whoa, who touched me?!”

Don’t expect to do that if you see Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Arnold Sports Festival. He has a band of bodyguards all around him as he walks through the crowded corridors. Maybe he heard my wife’s story. In the year’s we’ve been married she’s often recounted to family and friends a childhood experience she had. As a little girl her heart-throb was singer Donny Osmond. Her older brother took her to a concert and when Donny walked by, close but not close enough, her brother literally picked her up and threw her like an acrobat directly in front of the surprised performer. She got the autograph!

All of these illustrate how being NEXT is being near – like intimately near. And – with the ones you love, your God-given purpose and indeed with God you should not only WANT to be near, you have the ability to BE near, real near as in becoming one. But, here’s the real learning curve not only is this closeness what God also wants for you, it’s time to open your eyes and embrace the truth John Prather shares that NEXT is NOW.

#whatsNEXTisbetter – SO SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Since 2003 we, Lifestyle Media Group, have been faithfully bringing you our bi-monthly flagship brand, Faith & Fitness Magazine. We have and continue to be completely free and totally online – A Christian ministry to help you build physical and spiritual strength. Our content is far more than an alternative to secular fitness media. We work to help you discover that being fit is so incredibly fascinating, meaningful, vibrant and lasting – a game changer, when Jesus Christ is central to all you do and everything you become. When we say that we’re “your tool for powerful, healthy and passionate living” we’re challenging you to go further than the hyped, feel-good, motivational affirmations of “live life adventurously”, “get more out of life”, “pursue your dreams” and more. We’re here to help you make your lifestyle your God crafted destiny to BE LIFE!

So, it’s time to pull the trigger on what is next for us and for you. We’re transitioning to a quarterly cycle. That means 4 issues per year instead of 6. Dialing back? Not at all. We’re bringing back Shout! Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine and map A Travel Lifestyle Magazine – AND we’re adding a new brand, ripen A Gardening Lifestyle Magazine. All of them are designed to help you make God a big part – the central component to your daily lifestyle.

Each of the online magazines are very different as they dive into the unique skills, experiences, stories, tips and resources of the specific lifestyle interest they represent: travel, outdoor, gardening and fitness. They’re all identical in that they help you to understand how you can make the Christian faith central to your active lifestyle activities. Through this common thread the stories you find in one magazine will give you natural opportunities to link to the other magazines and explore further. That can lead to trying something new, meeting new people you never knew doing things you’ve never done, learning new skills and deeper truths, growing your faith and ultimately being the life of Christ to others in ways you never could have imagined.

God created us as beautifully simple yet vibrantly complex beings. You do more than just wake, eat, work and sleep. You move, go, get outdoors and grow – and more significant than what you do and how you do it is how it shapes you and how God can use you to shape the world. We’re glad to have you as an active part of the Lifestyle Media Group community. Invite your friends to join you. Together lets explore what God has for us NEXT.

The post #whatsNEXTisbetter appeared first on Faith & Fitness Magazine.