Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
Carry Your Purpose
"'Go into that village over there,'" he told them. 'As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.'" --Luke 19:30
Read: Luke 19
I know I talk about him each year, but I just love him. I hope you don't mind...
There he was. Tied up. Who knows how long he'd been waiting? The most insignificant of animals with an inconsequential life. No thoroughbred blood running through his veins. His next meal was his only solace between chores. A helpless laborer, a meaningless creature. When, all of a sudden...
If you're like me, you've questioned your significance. Is this really what I was meant to do? Well, the next time you ponder your purpose, think of that donkey. Jesus asked for him specifically. Sure, the Lord could have chosen any method of transportation, but He chose him. Uniquely qualified, his purpose was to carry Jesus to His.
Forgive my sentimental imagination, but I like to think that a donkey nobody had ever ridden knew exactly who he carried. I bet he did his best to make Jesus proud. Of course we don't know what the Lord said to him as He got off and walked away, maybe nothing. But this humble writer likes to think that as the crowd took Jesus the rest of the way, that little donkey stood taller than ever. After all, Jesus needed a ride.
--Jimmy Peña
Question: Have you ever pondered your purpose? Ever wondered what Jesus could use you for? No matter what your life's calling or trade, there is someone you know or someone you don't who is empty and lost. You're hand-picked. Like the donkey in our story, you may be the carrier of their only hope. So, deliver.
PRAYFIT NUTRITION: MILK There’s a good alternative for those sensitive to cow’s milk
If you’re sensitive to cow’s milk, you might try the goat variety. Did you know that goat’s milk has more essential amino acids and more omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium than cow’s milk? With all that said, its protein is easier to digest than cow’s milk and has less lactose. Wondering about the taste? It’s a bit on the sweeter side.
Tray Tables Full Of Dreams
"We've reached our cruising altitude. At this time you may use all approved electronic devices..."
Flying back from The 700 Club taping last week, I sat staring at the tray table in front of me. It all happened so fast, I thought. Instead a sit-down interview plus cooking demo, they decided to make it a kitchen segment. I did my best to try and convey the message of grace while showing a day's worth of food. The team (Eric) busted my chops for closing my eyes so much. Passion, I laughed back in a text. Just pure passion. Oh friends, what a blessing of an opportunity.
Where was I? Ah, yes. The plane ride home. Well, across the aisle, a gentleman was thundering away on his laptop. A tall fellow, his knees were near his chest but that didn't stop him from furiously typing with purpose. For nearly five hours his eyes never left the screen. Meanwhile, I was exhausted and I could feel my glands getting swollen and a tickle in my throat. The days of little sleep and all the emotion were catching up to me. I was ready to get home.
Long flight story short, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign as we've begun our initial descent into LAX." Music to my clogged ears. And for the first time since we took off, my neighbor stopped typing and made a mad dash to the lavatory. Placing the computer on his seat with the screen open, I couldn't help but read the heading of his document. In big, bold letters it read, "PASSION PROJECTS." No wonder. I wish you could have seen me grin and nod at him as he returned to his seat. I was this close to encouraging him. After all - because of grace - I'm living mine.
As we begin a week's worth of devotions surrounding the holiest of weeks, passion will be a common theme. Of heart, of health, of hope. Please join us each day. Let's dive into Scripture together. Let's look at training, running, activity and balanced eating. If there's ever been a week to celebrate abundant life for the right reasons, this is it. Welcome to Monday.
--Jimmy Peña
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Tilapia with Mango Salsa
Our recipe of the week comes directly from the pages of The PrayFit Diet. Like every other recipe in the book, it is a tasty concoction from the mind (and kitchen) of Food Network contributor Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC.
Ingredients: 1 mango, peeled and diced ½ cup chopped red bell pepper ½ cup chopped cucumber Juice of ½ lime 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro Salt Hot sauce 8 ounces tilapia 1 tablespoon canola oil
For the salsa, combine mango, pepper, cucumber, lime juice, and cilantro. Season with salt and a few dashes of hot sauce, if desired; set aside.
Season tilapia with canola oil, salt, and hot sauce. Cook fish in a nonstick skillet or grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until completely cooked through. Serve topped with salsa.
THE 33 DIFFERENCE: Tilapia is a healthy, protein-loaded mainstay on the PrayFit Diet, and there are a number of ways you can prepare it. But after you try this recipe, you may be more of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” persuasion. By combining mango, bell pepper, cucumber, lime, and cilantro, you get a flavor explosion that jazzes up an already amazing source of protein and healthy dietary fat.
For another recipe and an excerpt from the The PrayFit Diet on BeliefNet, click here!
A Prayer for Lent
For the first day of Lent, I wanted to share with you a portion of a prayer from one of my favorite writing Pastors, Rev. Scotty Smith. Dear Lord Jesus...Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. For the next forty days we’ll have the privilege of surveying your all-sufficient cross and acknowledging our present need, as we worship our way towards Easter Sunday — Resurrection Day, the foundation of our hope and the fountain of eternal joy.
For your glory and our growth, we ask you to inundate us with fresh grace in the coming weeks. We don’t want an ordinary Lenten season, Lord Jesus. Saturate it with the gospel. It’s all about you, Jesus. It is all about you, what you’ve done for us, not what we’ll promise to do for you.
Over these next forty days intensify our hunger, our assurance, and our longing for the day of your return—the Day of consummate joy—the wedding feast of the Lamb. Fill our hearts with your beauty and bounty, that we might freely confess and gladly repent of the ways we contradict the gospel — with our thoughts, words and deeds. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
--Rev. Scotty Smith
Prayer Requests: Friends, as we begin the season, we're here for you for all the ways you'll celebrate, whether by fasting and abstaining or renewing and recalibrating. With that in mind, let's start out right. If anyone has prayer requests, let's list them and go to the cross together. As always, if you'd rather say "Unspoken" we promise to lift your name in prayer. From all of us at PrayFit, be blessed this first day of the greatest season God ever gave man to enjoy.
Opening Day
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." --Romans 8:1
Read: Romans 8
Yep, I'm too predictable aren't I? For me, today marks the beginning of the 2014 Major League Baseball season. Of course, many of you know we're thrilled that the Boys of Summer have taken the field. In fact, I'm not kidding when I say I've been whistling "Take me out to the ballgame" a lot lately. (And maybe now so are you.)
But as I'll watch my beloved Yankees take the field today, it occurs to me that Opening Day can teach us a lot about grace. Reason being, right before player steps into the batter's box, each person's average on the screen will be .000 -- a clean slate. Reverend Scotty Smith says, "Jesus didn't just die to give us a clean slate, but to give us His righteousness." Take a swing at that for a second.
You know, each morning you and I step up to the plate ready to swing away at whatever the day throws at us. Thankfully, no matter how many strikeouts we had yesterday, God's mercy is new with each plate appearance. And with Easter fast-approaching, it feels so appropriate, no? Jesus conquered death so we can have life; an abundant life with no record of wrongs. When Jesus rose from the grave, He gave us every reason we need to look alive. You know, I'm now whistling a medley. "Take me out to the ballgame"...because I know "He Lives".
--Jimmy Peña
FAREWELL to THE CAPTAIN Today will be my favorite athlete of all-time, Derek Jeter's, last first bat of the season. I won't try to explain what it means to me, but I will express this. Many of the things I'm doing at PrayFit may very well be my last. I'm not sure - neither are you - of how many at-bats we have left. And much like Jeter demonstrates in this picture, I thank the Lord everyday for inspiring PrayFit. Maybe you're saying the same thing about a dream you're living. If so, here's a virtual fist-bump from me to you. Here's to a new day, a new season, a new opportunity to swing away.
Suit for the Soul
"See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey." --Matthew 21:5
Read: Matthew 21
A few years ago, Billy Graham said to an eager audience:
"See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My children and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember this suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember that I know where I'm going."
Friends, this holy week, let's renew our perspective of these bodies. These suits for the soul have a purpose in life. They aren't the purpose of life. Let's not be remembered for them.
Funny, it makes me think of the donkey on Palm Sunday. In that day, donkeys were known to protect sheep. Well, that day he carried The Lamb; an unspeakable honor. I don't doubt for a second he knew it. And neither should we.
Let's make it our life's purpose -- like Billy and the donkey -- to be remembered for where we're going, and who we carried along the way.
--Jimmy Peña
Question: Are you focusing too much on your physical appearance that you've neglected your true purpose? Who do you know that needs you to deliver Jesus to them? You too have an eager audience. What does it mean to you when you realize your health is not about your body?
Please share you thoughts here with us in the comments section or email us at [email protected], and have a blessed and renewed Easter week.
"We don't strive to be healthy in order to be loved by God. We strive to be healthy because we are." --Jimmy Peña
Built To Be Broken
"And by his wounds we are healed." --Isaiah 53:5
Read: Isaiah 53
For my daughter's fourth birthday recently, we allowed her and her younger sister to stay up an hour past bedtime so we could all snuggle up to a good movie and some popcorn. Our selection? At Jesus' Side, an animated story that centers around a pack of outcast animals in Jerusalem during the last week of Jesus' life. The birthday girl, Mya, sat cuddled up to me.
During the scene where Jesus is carrying his cross to Calvary, my wife turns to look at us and her eyes welled up with tears. Mya was crying. She was heartbroken at the way Jesus was being treated. When He finally gave up His soul on the cross, Mya buried her face in my chest and wept. I fought the lump in my throat as I held her tight and wiped her tears. It was only when the canine protagonist came to Jesus' empty tomb that her sadness was replaced once more with her signature smile.
The joy of the resurrection, as it turns out, isn't age-dependent. Even a four-year-old can appreciate the beauty of Christ's victory over death. Our bodies, we tell her, are designed for fun things like jumping in puddles and riding bikes. His, on the other hand, was built for one purpose: to be broken, so that one day, we can bury our faces in His chest and He can wipe away all our tears, for good.
--Eric Velazquez
REPORT: WEIGHT LOSS CAN BE CONTAGIOUS
What's your main fitness goal? If it's to lose a few pounds or inches, it's time to surround yourself with an all-star cast of teammates.
Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University found that team members in a weight loss competition not only achieved similar weight loss outcomes, but participants who said their teammates played a large role in their weight loss actually lost the most weight. The study found that subjects who lost 5% of their bodyweight or more tended to be on the same teams.
The PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge (Lionsgate) is being used nationwide by churches and small groups looking to get in shape. Participants meet regularly or perform workouts on their own and log progress on our forums or compare results in other ways.
>> To start your own 33-day challenge with friends or family, click here. >> To share your results with others who are already taking the PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge, click here. >> For the full story on the weight loss study from Science Daily, click here.