Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
He's the 'Why'
"No one can serve two masters." --Matthew 6:24
Read: Matthew 6
Speaking in churches across the country, the crux of our message is the fact that living an abundant life is not about food choices or exercise routines. It's not about making a daily or weekly plan to conquer your fitness or weight-loss goals. In fact, it's not about what our reflection reveals whatsoever. The PrayFit theme is and will always be, "Life is not about the body, but our health is a means of praise." It's easy to say. Rolls off the tongue. But our motto is more than a line in a speech.
It's more than a Tweet or a Facebook status update. The reason I can say that is because if you take away food, exercise and the mirror, it would still be true. Results neither determine nor deter the meaning of the mission; a mission only life's final war with pain can exhaust.
If I asked whether or not your health would be important to you if nobody saw what you looked like, would you work as hard as you do to keep it in shape? (You may be asking, "Why else would we try?") Whatever your answer, just remember the fact that byproducts of the effort don't determine the worth of the effort. What determines the worth of our objective to live healthier lives for our spouses, kids, or work isn't whether or not we succeed at it. What determines our worth is who we have inside our hearts.
Friends, Jesus gives our lives meaning. He's the point of the story, and the point of our health we don't want to miss. And for that reason, and that reason alone, we place our trust, time, our money, our precious loved ones, and yes, these bodies. If you're thinking about rearranging your priority list, let today's verse be the only reason why.
--Jimmy Peña
WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: STRENGTH & SWEAT How much time do you need to get an effective, total-body workout? Some will say an hour. Others may say 30 minutes is good enough. We contend that the proper blend of exercises performed at the right pace can get you a fantastic workout in ten minutes flat.
FOR A MOMENT
September 27, 2011 Read: James 4
"If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." --James 4:15
Way before you found your hobby, He gave you hands. And long before you walked into your first job, He gave you legs. Sure, we need money, but He didn't wrap our hearts with it. We need shelter, but a roof doesn't cover the soul. If anyone knows what we needed to get through this life, He does. And our body topped His list. How it got to the bottom of ours, is a mystery.
Folks, make no mistake -- God makes no mistakes. If, in all His wisdom, it was important for us to have a body on earth, how on earth could we diminish its importance? Sure, someday what we needed first in life -- and the common denominator and vehicle to all our other needs -- will ultimately breakdown and fade. But our flesh-and-blood lives are just a moment in eternity. While some see the brevity of life as an excuse to give in, it's really the reason to endure. He didn't build our bodies to last forever, and it's a good thing. But He knew you could do anything for a moment.
-J.P.
On December 6, Lionsgate Entertainment will release PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge to a global audience. The DVD will feature a 33-minute, bodyweight-only program that boosts strength, stamina and flexibility. The program's 33-day length is a nod to proven habit-forming behavior as well as the length of Jesus's life. "He gave us 33 years," says PrayFit founder Jimmy Pena, MS, CSCS. "Let's give him 33 minutes for 33 days, honoring the one who made us."
>> For the full story on the PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge, click here. Or, to preorder immediately, visit Amazon.