One of our (Matt and me) New Year's decisions was to exercise more consistently. A couple friends of ours invited us to compete in an 8-week fitness challenge made by the writers of sixsistersstuff.com. The challenge involves getting points for drinking enough water, eating enough fruit and veggies each day, NO SUGAR, keeping a food journal, and exercise. I think the most difficult thing for me has been not having sugar-- I just never thought about grabbing a handful of m&ms, snagging a warm cookie right off the tray. But this challenge has made me think about what I am putting into my body every day and how I am taking care of it.
But a thought that keeps coming to my mind as I am exercising or refusing a delicious-looking dessert is, How am I taking care of my spiritual body? Am I aware of what I am putting into my mind and heart every day? Am I striving to exercise my faith and knowledge about my God?
1 Timothy 4:8 says, "Bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness profiteth all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."
Now, Paul wasn't saying don't exercise your body, because it doesn't do anything anyways; we ARE supposed to take care of our bodies so we can better do what God wants us to in our lives. But when you compare only exercising your physical body and exercising your spiritual body-- they can hardly compare! When we are building our spiritual muscles, we are not only going to profit the rewards on this earth, but we're also going to see the rewards in heaven!
2 Peter 1:5-8 talks about adding character qualities to our faith. We should be continually growing and building our spiritual bodies. "Giving all diligence (that means I have to work at it), add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
For if these things be in you and abound (are continually growing), they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
When we work at taking care of what we put into our bodies, and strive toward getting in shape (the shape it's supposed to be in :) ), we will see our bodies CHANGE! Also, when we work at learning more about Christ and striving to be like Him, our lives will change!
Since we've started this challenge, I've had some bad days...(no exercise and 3 1/2 cookies), but that doesn't mean that I quit because I failed one day! We can always start fresh each day because God's mercies are new every morning... Great is His faithfulness!
We are now on the 5th week... Keep going strong!! :)
