Lent Happens in the heart

As you'll soon see, we love this time of year. Longer days, better weather, baseball...all help put a spring in my step. Maybe you're the same? It's just a good time of the year for fresh starts and new beginnings. Which reminded me yesterday, Louie Giglio once said, "For Lent, I'm giving up."

Naturally, we think there's something missing from his sentence. Um, Louie? You forgot something buddy. When in truth, "period" is exactly what should come next. As we begin the Lenten season, let's remember that it's all about Jesus and what He did for us; not about what we can do, give up, commit to, or accomplish. (Or about our failure to succeed at any of that.) Nothing to prove, lose or hide.

Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Knowing the pressure isn't just off - it's non-existent - how does that help you prepare your heart for the Easter season? If part of your heart's preparation is indeed physical as part of obedience and humble stewardship, will your commitments to healthier choices take on new meaning? Will it help shape not only the goals you set, but how you prepare and execute them? Lent is a heart issue, because when Jesus said, "It is finished," it was and still is. Aren't we glad we don't have to measure up? (And that actually makes me want to work harder in all areas of life. Isn't that incredible?)

(coffee mug available at https://www.etsy.com/shop/lovelylittlewhimsy)

A Prayer For Lent

For the first day of Lent, I wanted to let Rev. Scotty Smith lead us in prayer:

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

With YOU: Friends, as we begin the season, we're here for you for all the ways you'll celebrate and prepare your hearts. From all of us at PrayFit, be blessed this first day of the greatest season God ever gave man to enjoy. Amen?

That Is The Technique

photo credit: billygraham.org

On my walk yesterday, I found myself thinking about Billy Graham.
I don't know why.

On Sunday, Loretta and I heard a wonderful message about renewing our minds, and on my walk I was trying to meditate upon things that are true and pure and admirable, and Billy Graham came to mind. Big tears came to my eyes as I imagined him finally seeing Jesus. Can you imagine the moment?

Last year at this time I had the enormous pleasure of listening online to various teachers and preachers address students at Wheaton College. The topic of the weekend was the technique of evangelism, and Matt Brown (author of Awakening) assembled all the speakers for the gathering. It's amazing how powerful words are, because even though I was a thousand miles away, I was impacted tremendously. There I was at my laptop, watching worship leaders play and sing, when they called their next speaker, Will Graham; the grandson of Billy Graham. Oh guys, I can't explain how good it was. First of all, he sounded so much like his grandaddy, but something in particular caught my heart's attention.

He said, "If anyone knows it's not about him, it's my grandfather. Billy Graham has nothing special in him to call anyone to Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can do that." He went on to say, "Faith comes by hearing - and hearing by the Word of God. My friends, that is the technique. You'll never lead anyone to Christ without words. You'll never live a good enough life to lead someone to Christ." (Wow. Go ahead and take all that in again.)

Evangelism: The Preaching of the Gospel of Jesus. Let Will Graham's words echo in your heart as they echo in mine. We often talk about evangelizing the fitness industry, but let's make sure we actually talk about and say the name JESUS to those we run with, stretch with, and train beside. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we want to talk about Him. And the more we want to talk about Him, the more opportunities we'll find to do so. And the more we do so, the more we'll actually evangelize our industry. THAT is the technique.

-Jimmy Peña

Prayer Requests: I have some friends I am hoping come to know Jesus as their Savior, will you help me pray for them? And if you have friends you're working on, raise your hand here by saying "Yes" in the comments section and your name and those you're hoping come to know Christ will be raised in our prayer time.

PrayFit Small Groups: If you're a member of iPrayFit, you know that we have a new 4-week lesson beginning soon. Great for couples, gym buddies and of course, church small groups. Start gathering your pals, a new series is about to begin.

Your Suffering Is A Sermon

For years, we've said that our health is a means of praise and that our fitness can be a witness, and it's the truth. But if you look through the gospels, you won't find Jesus with the fit and fiddle. You won't find him around the strong, talking about able muscles, clear lungs or stable legs. And He certainly never wanted us to boast or show any of those things off. No. Where do we constantly find our Savior? With the sick. The ill. The needy, hurting, ailing, failing, and wailing. The "fitness is my witness" cliché?  Sure.  But like Max Lucado says, "It's your suffering that's a sermon."

Next week, we'll look back at a few times the Lord allowed me to confess it. And at the same time, I'll ask you to share your life, your pain, your strain and the stories of those you love. Friends, our God is at much at work during our illness as He is during our mountain-top moments. Thing is, we tend to ignore Him the closer we get to the peak.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: How we handle our pain-free abilities and gifts of good health can serve a mighty purpose - we can't downplay it - but where we go in times of pain and sickness says more to others about the God we serve than all of that combined. Does anyone have prayer requests? Let's go to the Lord together. List your need or simply say, "Unspoken" and I promise we'll all pray for you.

iPrayFit Membership Upgrade!
The new iPrayfit Membership (the membership arm of prayfit.org) is upgraded and live! We are so excited to unveil it. Renewed and revamped, being loaded with small group curriculum, exercise physiology and culinary expertise, iPrayFit is an answer to prayer and an answer to your wishes and needs. Please join the community. 

Either Spoken or Sung

I'm likely giving away my age when I remind you of one of my favorite praise and worship songs, "I Just Came To Praise The Lord." Anyone?...Anyone?

"I just came to praise the Lord. I just came to praise the Lord.
I just came to praise His holy name. I just came to praise the Lord."

Classic, right? On more than one occasion, I've felt like that in church. Shake hands, wave at friends, but get me to my seat. I need to talk to Jesus. I felt like that on my walk yesterday. I didn't set any land speed records, but it's always such a good time talking to the Lord, cleansing my heart, clearing my mind, praying for family, asking for wisdom for the new iPrayFit membership. Far beyond the physical benefits the walking is doing to my continued therapy, my training has always been an extension of my quiet time. Sure, each stride sends vital nutrients to aid in healing, but my walk is more important.

Try it. Next time you hit the gym or go for your jog, remember today's little ditty. As you raise those weights overhead, remember the ultimate burden He lifted. As you run your miles, recall the distance He went to call you His own. And I know, the world will demand that you "focus" on the goal and the reason you're in the gym in the first place. And your response can either be spoken or sung, because truly, you are. Tell 'em, I just came to praise the Lord.

--Jimmy Peña

iPrayFit Membership Upgrade!
The new iPrayfit Membership (the membership arm of prayfit.org) is upgraded and live! We are so excited to unveil it. Renewed and revamped, being loaded with small group curriculum, exercise physiology and culinary expertise, iPrayFit is an answer to prayer and an answer to your wishes and needs. Please join the community. 

I Believe

“I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made Heaven and earth.
”

— Psalm 121:1

When Jesus asked the once blind beggar if he believed in the Son of Man, the man asked, "Who is he? That I may believe." Jesus said, "You're seeing Him. It is He that is speaking to you." With his eyes open, the beggar's next words: I believe.

I believe. What a powerful statement. Down through the centuries men and woman have staked their lives and their eternity on those two tiny words. As we welcome you back to PrayFit Ministries after our short break, we're going to wrap our hearts around that thought.

When I first started PrayFit back in 2009, much of what I'd do and say was hard-charged. Each day - like we had taken over enemy territory - I'd drive a stake in the ground with the still-certain truth that faith was the most powerful tool we have to conquer life's obstacles. Our mission was to help the church body take back their health, and I was going to help lead that charge as long as I could breathe.

The last few years - as some of you realize - the message changed. When I got sick, I learned first-hand that you don't always get what you work for, and things like illness are as much or more of an opportunity to exercise faith as wellness. God taught me that health is a gift of His grace.

In Christian artist For King and Country's latest hit "Shoulders," they answer Psalm 121:

“My help comes from you. You’re right here pulling me through. You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on your shoulders. Your shoulders. My help comes from You. You are my rest, my rescue. I don’t have to see to believe you’re lifting me up on your shoulders. Your shoulders.
”

— For King and Country

Friends, I hope the mountain you face this week reminds you of both the Psalmist and the blind beggar. They lifted their eyes and believed. May you and I believe that God is right here pulling us through. The weakness, sickness, brokenness. All of it. His.
Mountains are no match. Let's close our eyes, take a deep breath, exhale and utter those two precious and powerful words: I believe.

Jimmy Peña

For Discussion:
1) I still believe faith is the most powerful tool God gave us to conquer life's obstacles, and 2) I am more certain than ever that any health we have is a gift of grace. And when we embrace our faith by the grace of God, it changes everything. Glad you're here, guys. 

iPrayFit Membership: LIVE
The new iPrayfit Membership (the membership arm of prayfit.org) is upgraded and live! We are so excited to unveil it. Renewed and revamped, being loaded with small group curriculum, exercise physiology and culinary expertise, iPrayFit is an answer to prayer and an answer to your wishes and needs. Please join the community. 
 

Here's a sample of an upcoming small group curriculum series. Hope you join us for movie night.

Light Your World

We're people watchers -- me and my best pal, Ms. Josey Wales -- and last night was no exception. Sitting outside Trader Joe's waiting for mama to finish shopping, we watched all sorts of people. Some of them even noticed Josey's grey beard and eye brows. We took it all in. But then we watched a sweet older couple arrive. He slowly got out of the driver's side only to reappear with a wheelchair and proceeded to help her out of the passenger side. After getting her situated in front of the store, moving slowly himself, he went back to close all the car doors and she simply sat there in the entry way, alone. Like the scene wasn't tough enough, what happened next really got me.

As if she were sitting in the middle of a busy subway station, most were completely oblivious to her as they passed by on both sides. Some rushing along their way, others had their faces in their cell phones. But who would blame them? Probably just anxious to get home to their families and begin their night. We've all been there. But then a woman with her young son walked out, and here began the lesson.

As she and her boy walked by, the mother immediately noticed the elderly woman sitting there. Letting her son push the cart, the woman would look back with nearly every step. By the time she got to the parking lot, it was just too much for her to handle and she sent her son back to check on the elderly woman. Sweet boy, too. With super thick eyeglasses, he walked up to her and after a quick, bashful glance toward his shoes the little gentleman asked, "Are you alright? I mean, um, do you need any help?" I couldn't quite hear her reply, but the little boy just nodded, smiled and ran to catch up with his mama. (Bravo, mama.)

Now, you'll forgive the long entry, but I don't know who was blessed most. Maybe the woman in the wheelchair; someone cared to ask. Maybe it was the older husband; that little boy checking on his girl was just fine with him. Maybe it was the mom; her mother may have special needs, too. Or perhaps it was the little boy; learning to notice others as well as develop courage to reach out. I'm not sure. For all I know, it could've been the sentimental fool sitting on a bench with his dog.

--Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: I love moments. I think the Lord does too. And isn't that what our health is for? To live in the moment? Make it a point today to notice something and then light someone's world. Who's in?

I Need To See You Move

“I need to see you move. I need to see your hand.
I’m trying to live by faith. I don’t know if I can. But I know you’ve not changed. There’s nothing you can’t do. I’ve done all that I can.
I need to see you move.”

— Newsong

Dear Lord, like it says in the chorus of this song, so many of us reading this sentence (and the one writing it) need to see you move. From ailing health to crippling financial situations, may the position of our necks mirror that of Abraham during doubt, David during despair and Moses during fear. We know that it's not only during crisis that you want us to look to you, but we're comforted to know that we can. We just need you.

Today Lord, remind us that it takes discipline to create a destiny of excellence. But more importantly, remind us also Lord that because of the Cross, we've won a reward we didn't train for, work for, or ever deserve. May you prevent our pride from blinding us to the truth that our hearts and minds are not medal-worthy. Our thoughts and actions don't deserve a podium's praise. But by your grace, your face is all you see in us. Therefore, may it be your perfect performance we get lost in. May we be mesmerized by your relentless love. Give us the resolve to realize that life is a vapor-quick gift -- a vanishing moment that's here today and gone tomorrow. Help us gather for ourselves the mind of Paul that our chance at life is our chance to show the world that we live not to hoist a medal but to wear a crown. (2 Tim 4:8)

And Lord, while we need to see you move, may that same desperate plea echo inside our hearts as something you're saying to us each day. Help us respond in obedience and out of love. Like the shepherds who ran when you were born, you're still our Good News! Like an unborn John, your presence still makes us jump for joy! And like David, may we dance to a rhythm that only a life spent serving you can provide.

It's so true, Lord. You alone satisfy. And so -- much like it satisfied the men and women who fill the pages of your Word -- seeing you move is all we need. And may you be pleased with our response when you lovingly and sovereignly ask the same of us. Thank you for another week. Any health is only possible through you, and any health we'll use to glorify you. In Jesus' name and for His sake, Amen.

--Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: ...amen. Have a good Wednesday, friends.

Glowing With Health

“God will choose to use you based on the direction of your heart,
not the accomplishments of your life.”

— Pastor Shawn Thornton

Believe it or not, I used to sing solos in church and school. Growing up in a gospel-singing family I guess you could say it was in my blood. Too funny: my first solo in the 4th grade was John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads." I remember mother made me wear this Davy Crockett-looking jacket with leather strands hanging down from everywhere. I can assure you I wasn't much to listen to, but I bet I was something to behold. She probably still has the jacket.

Speaking of something to behold, my favorite solo in church was a song about young David called "Shepherd Boy." I thought of that old song yesterday while listening to our pastor teach about Samuel. See Samuel was the one who anointed David as the future king. The last of all the brothers to pass in front of Samuel, the Lord said, "Rise up and anoint him. This is the one."

I know I've talked about David in the past -- about how he chose stones to defeat his giant. But something in my reading caught my attention. As he was being brought before Samuel, the Bible says of young David, "He was glowing with health..." (ch.16:12) Neat right?

This is the way they described the shepherd boy from the pastures of Bethlehem.
The shepherd boy who would drop the armor and then drop Goliath.
The shepherd boy who would hide in caves, fight entire armies, and write Psalms.
And above all, this is the way they described the shepherd boy who would come to be known as a man after God's own heart.

Friends, may that be our goal this week -- to glow with health, for no other reason but that our hearts are looking more and more like His. 

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Hearts that look like His. #goals. Speaking of goals, we're one week away from launching iPrayFit; the new membership arm of PrayFit Ministries. So very excited for this next phase in PrayFit. Please help us pray for this last week of preparation. What can my team help you pray for as we start a new week?  

The Worshipping Heart

A banner verse in this our so-called 'faith and fitness' industry is Psalm 139:14, "I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." I thought of this recently while I happened across a popular social media account using the verse to sell a t-shirt. The caption said something about how we can be sure of ourselves, show off our work and be proud. But let's look at the verse for a second.

"I will praise you." In other words, the outflow, the attention, the adoration, the praise is appropriately leaving the Psalmist. Nowhere in that verse is there any sense of a longing for attention from the writer.  

"Fearfully and wonderfully." Adverbs that divinely and miraculously qualify the verb, made. 

Made. Created, done, finished, completed, approved.

Fearfully and wonderfully made. In other words, completely dependent upon; nothing until made something. The created (that's us) totally releasing all honor and glory to the Creator (God) for the most basic of reasons: being nothing without Him. 

A.W. Tozer says, "The worshipping heart does not create its Object." Guys, the fact that we're fearfully and wonderfully made says something profound about us, but not nearly as profound as what it says about God.

You and I aren't "creating" when we train. We're not making, or building, and we're most certainly not improving God's work. But every move, every step, every rep, set, pose and stretch is a glorious unfolding and an instantaneous, miraculous unveiling.
Just...not of us.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: The worshipping heart does not create its Object. What makes our workouts worship is not the effort or the byproducts, but the target of our affection. Is my workout worship? Is yours?

Time To Go Home

In my latest book, The PrayFit Diet, I wrote this as part of an intro to one of the chapters. There's a reason I open with it today:

You know the story. A silhouette appears on the horizon. Too far away to distinguish, but a father who's been waiting for his son to come home can't help but wonder. Squinting, he raises his hand over his eyes to block the sun's glare. As the distant figure gets closer, the father begins to walk in that direction; slowly at first, trying to match the pace of his visitor. Until he realizes this is...this is no visitor. It's him. It's his boy. His long, lost son was home. And with compassion and forgiveness, he ran to him, embraced him, kissed him, clothed him and fed him.

You know the story. The prodigal son is nothing new to you. The son takes his inheritance and high-tails it his way to the highway. You know the story. And in one way or another maybe you've lived it. Perhaps you're living it now. Maybe not with an inheritance, but perhaps with your inherited health. Long hours, long days, obligations, deadlines, family matters, friends that matter, must-see TV and your must-read social media find you on foreign soil; a place you were never designed to be. Maybe it's time to go home.

-Jimmy Peña

A Personal Request:
Dear friends, if I can beg you, we need your prayers. We have a prodigal in our family. My nephew Casey is in such pain. Lost spiritually, addicted physically, Casey needs nothing more and nothing less than God to intervene in his life. My sweet brother and sister-in-law are desperate for sincere, earnest prayer. Their youngest, Casey, is strong-willed, smart, funny, handsome and hard-working. Good with his hands and with a creative side to him, God gave Casey so much talent. But somewhere along the way, Casey was deceived. The enemy got hold of him, introduced him to the wrong crowd and led him in the wrong direction; away from home. 

Casey's disease of addiction is as much - or more - of a spiritual battle as it is a physical one. The chains hold him fast. We need a miracle. He's in trouble. Only God can save him. So I'm asking everyone to please pray for Casey right now. If you can find a place to add him to your prayers, maybe from your knees near your bedside, please beg God for grace, for intervention, for supernatural healing. It may mean that Casey - in prodigal-like fashion - hits rock bottom, and if that is what needs to happen, please Lord let it be. Casey needs to realize that Jesus is the answer and that help is waiting and freedom from those chains is possible.

There's an old song from The Gaither Vocal Band about the prodigal son story, and I think my dear, godly brother sings it in his heart every single day. Let's join him.

My son, I love you. You are forgiven.
You still belong here. Won't you come home.
The family's waiting to celebrate you.
You are forgiven. Won't you come home.

Thank you, everyone for your prayers for my Bubba (Jerry) and his wife, Paula; and Casey.

Whine Or Worship

Let's begin the week with a  prayer by my friend, Scotty Smith. 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18 (NIV)

     For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 2 Cor. 5:1-2 (NLT)

Dear heavenly Father, the current annoyances and pains in my body (and the illnesses and aches of some very dear friends) give me an unavoidable opportunity either to whine or worship. And since I know where my whining usually takes me, I gladly move to the posture of worship.

First of all, thank you for giving us the important gift of lament. I’ve learned the hard way that if we’re unwilling to grieve our losses then our compassion for others will be significantly stunted. I don’t like brokenness and sickness, and limitation and pain, but if it tunes my heart to care for others, grant me grace, Father, to rejoice in suffering.

That being said, I am SO looking forward to the new body we will receive when Jesus returns, which Paul celebrates in these Scriptures. Our healing will be complete, and never again will we experience sickness and pain in any form. No more cancer or even headaches; no more joint replacements or even runny noses.

Father, thank you that Jesus not only secured the perfection of our spirits, but also the resurrection of our bodies. Even as Jesus was raised from the dead, we too will be raised. We groan now, but will be whole forever. Hallelujah! These “light and momentary troubles” are incredibly inconvenient and bothersome; but our rejoicing will be eternal.

Until that Day, Father, I will seek to take care of myself, and will trust you for healing and health. And by the power of the gospel, please help me be someone in whom the weak, weary, and broken find understanding and encouragement. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name.
 

-Scotty Smith

For Discussion: Is there any particular part of Scotty's prayer that particularly resonates with you today?

Just Like Jesus

In exercise physiology, there's an undisputed, irrefutable, underlying principle. It doesn't matter whether you're an old-school lifter, avid runner, swimmer, weekend warrior in crossfit or otherwise, here it is: the body will only change according to the level at which it is stressed. The principle is called the "overload principle." Speaking as a one-time weightlifter - from the time you pick up a weight - do more today than you did yesterday, and you're more likely to change. Plainly said, make an adjustment, alter the environment, shock and confuse the system (and no, Tony Horton didn't invent that) but something to cause you - to force you - to do just a little bit more to achieve the same or greater output. That's the principle of overload. If you're able to apply it, it's a wonderful gift. The fact that I can't apply it any longer I hope doesn't disqualify me from writing about it.

I thought about the overload principle yesterday when Pastor Shawn Thornton told us his simple prayer that he's prayed everyday for nearly 40 years. "God, let me be more like Jesus today than I was yesterday. Amen." What a simple prayer, right? But doesn't that sum up the journey? Living and loving like Jesus as much as another day will allow. Of course, the pastor admitted - like Paul - we don't always do that. Some weeks it's 2 steps forward, 3 steps back. 

As the former fitness director for Joe Weider at Muscle & Fitness Magazine, men from all around the world would write to me and ask how they can get 18-inch arms. My simple answer? Train for the 20-inch variety. Then I'd give them strategies to accomplish it. Basically, they had to train beyond their goal in order to achieve their goal. Otherwise, they'd always fall short. And even if they achieved their objective, to maintain it, they'd have to apply the principle of overload again, and again, and again, forever. I am willing to bet that the majority of guys that wanted nothing more than to have 18-inch arms back in 1998 either never got there, never stayed there or they're still trying. I'm not knocking them, I represent them.

I say all of that because as I get older, and the more mistakes I make and the more ways I know I've failed the Lord, the more I realize that it's the Holy Spirit that anoints our wounds and encourages us and challenges us, reminds, convicts, and leads us each and every single day. The old gospel hymn, "If ever I've loved Thee, My Jesus tis now" can be new each day. And the fact that God sees Jesus when He looks at us and not our sin, well, that's the fuel, the means, the motivation, the power by which we apply the overload principle to our spiritual lives. If you're a weightlifter, the excellent motivator to hit the gym again today is new muscle. For sinners, the motivator to hit our knees each day is new mercy. 

God, let me be, let me speak, let me listen, let me pray, let me think, let me react, let me walk, let me look more like Jesus today than I did yesterday. Thankfully, gracefully, unlike our physical goals that disappear with time, the closer we  get to glory, the more His goal for us - to be just like Jesus - is coming true.

-Jimmy Peña

Prayer Requests: For some, today is the first day back to training and applying the principle of overload. But no matter who you are or where you're at physically, God is at work in you like He is in me. What can we help you pray about as we start a new week? Something physical, spiritual? Let us know, and let's go the Lord together.

Social Share: I've never been big on social media, but the team and I would be so honored if you helped us spread the news about PrayFit. If you'd be so kind, please share our new Facebook profile pic on your social sites. We have a new upgrade coming to the membership in the next couple of weeks, and we'd love to have some new faces when we do. Thanks guys.

Deo Volente

Well, here we are at the end of the first week of 2016. We took a different path to begin the new year; choosing to rest, to read, to pray, to wait. Some of you undoubtedly feel like a thoroughbred at the starting gate. The gun has sounded, and the rest of the field is well on their way. Meanwhile, you feel like your gate hasn't opened and your race has not yet begun. Well, take a look at this brief scene from an old favorite of mine, "Hidalgo" at the start of a 3,000 mile race across the Sahara with the crowds chanting. I'll see you at the end of the beginning.

Did you catch what he told his horse? "What I tell you, little brother? It's all for show" just before the race began; an endurance race, no doubt.

The start of each year is a lot like this clip. Loud, exciting, and a hopeful show. But before you know it, the crowds are out of sight and then begins the real battle, the strategy, the actual race. That's why I knew 10 days without training would do far more good for my soul than it would do harm to my body. And I pray it meant the same for yours. I admit, I care far more about your soul than I do your body. And the same goes for my own.

Earlier this week, we prayed that God would chip away what doesn't belong in His vision for our lives. That He would undo, mold, strip away and discard anything that didn't resemble Him, reflect Him or delight Him. We are the granite and He is our Master Craftsman. 

We then looked at Nehemiah. His gut reaction before he rebuilt the walls of the temple in Jerusalem was to whisper to God under his breath. And before we rebuild our temple, we're hopefully doing the same.

Which brings us to today. The end of the beginning. The end of a rare training fast; our willful avoidance of a cherished gift. But as I join you in our attempt to make the most of this year for our good and His glory, I'm convinced - perhaps more than ever - that nothing God gave us to be healthy was ever meant to be enjoyed at the expense of our time with Him.

The Bible says, "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance..." (James 4:13-17)

Alistair Begg says about the excerpt in James, "Before you go planning the year, you don't know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? Let me suggest to you that your life is a mist. It is frail and inconsequential. Not very flattering, but it appears for a little while. Transient. But what we know we don't want to face. But our culture doesn't want to face this. The passage of time is a clear call to us to reckon on eternity. Vanishing. James is not opposed to planning, but he is opposed to planning that leaves God out. It will be a revolution in our lives if we get what James is saying; that every aspect of life should be approached from the perspective of Deo Volente, "God Willing."

Dependent on God. Subject to His will.

Yes indeed, guys, we will soon enough be talking about goals and objectives and striving, but I'm glad we took a few days to let the rest of the field take off; to spend a few short days thinking about nothing else but our Savior, our Creator. We can rest in what it says in Matthew 6, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal..." Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but muscle wastes away far quicker than metal, or should I say, iron. Moths don't even get the chance. What you and I work so hard for in our physical pursuits will have withered away long before silver and gold.

If I can say anything to help put a button and a bow on this week of waiting, it would be this: Above all else this year, let's wrap our hearts, our minds and our bodies around the anchor of the Gospel each and every single day. Let's deny the notion that we get to enjoy the gift of health based on our mighty diligence, and instead believe what the Bible says in that it's all a gift. When it comes to our year and goals, let's memorize Psalm 31 right now when he said, "I trust in you, Lord, I say you are my God, my times are in your hands." And when it comes to our plans - physical or otherwise - let's remember Paul in Acts chapter 18 when he said, "I hope to come and see you. I will come back, if it is the Lord's will."

So enjoy the weekend and the last few days of rest. And when the time comes to begin your training, I pray you do so with a renewed heart, clear mind and gospel-drenched soul. I'll see you Monday. Deo Volente.

-Jimmy Peña

If It Pleases The king

Not sure if you caught the news story earlier this week about the Broadway musical that pairs deaf actors with hearing actors, but basically, as the deaf actors sign, the hearing actors sing. It's quite moving. But something I heard during the interview of two of its cast members caught my attention. Sitting next to her deaf counterpart, the singing actor said, "What we're trying to create, the effect we're looking for, is that people will watch her and hear me."

We'll come back to that.

On Monday, we began reading the book of Nehemiah, and if you had a chance, you learned or reviewed the story of its character, Nehemiah; a government worker in the employ of the king who becomes a building contractor, called in to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And while much of the story is a listing of all the many people that worked side-by-side on the project, what Nehemiah did immediately before and immediately after is our focus today.

As we read, Nehemiah was distraught by what he'd learned of Jerusalem's appalling conditions and its wall burned with fire. When the king asked him why he looked so down, Nehemiah told him of his homeland. The king then asked, "So what do you want?" And notice Nehemiah's default reaction: "Praying under my breath to the God of Heaven, I said, "If it pleases the king, send me to Judah, so that I can rebuild it." (ch.2, v. 2-5) Eventually, as Nehemiah says, "The generous hand of God was with me, and the king granted my requests." (v.8)  

So to recap: Nehemiah silently prays, God answers, the king gives, God receives the glory, the wall is rebuilt. Oh and, speaking of the wall being rebuilt, the faithful people of Israel rebuilt the wall in just 52 days, which was miraculous because the wall had been laying in ruin for 140 years. And when it was all said and done, Nehemiah proclaims, "The enemies lost their confidence, because they realized God was behind the work." (ch. 6, v. 16)

Too many elements to consider in one entry, but what motivates me about Nehemiah - long before he picked up a hammer - was his heart to please God. And then when asked by the king, Nehemiah's first impulse was what? As he takes his steps toward the king to reply, can't you just see him whispering to God? I love that visual.

Not only that, he prayed to God under his breath and then was bold and courageous about his reply. And of course, through it all and after his work was done, Nehemiah gave all the credit to God. He wanted nothing more than for anyone who saw the wall - and anyone who heard the news it - to know that God alone was responsible.

Getting back to our Broadway story, I like to think the reporter conducting the interview reacted exactly the way Nehemiah would have wanted. She said simply, "I watched this play and I didn't think of two actors, I thought of one."

Oh, for people to think of God when they watch us work; to see us but hear Him. And before we pursue our work, our health, our bodies, our rebuilding, our progress - before it pleases the king - may this week be the whisper under our breath.

-Jimmy Peña

Granite and his Master

You've likely heard the story of the talented sculptor that when asked the secret to his masterpiece replied in so many words, "I just chip away what doesn't belong." He saw the final product in his mind and removed everything else.

Tozer once wrote, "God created man for Himself, to have sweet, intimate fellowship with Him on a daily, growing basis. When He looks at man through the cross, He sees what nobody else can see. He sees Christ. Everything that does not belong there - everything that is not Christ - God, in no hurry whatsoever, takes the initiative to interrupt our lives and begins to remove it."

And so, here we are. Lives interrupted, training stalled, goals postponed; a few days into the new year and the beginning of a new week. Many of us have replaced our time in physical training with that of spiritual training. In fact, on Friday I encouraged us to read Colossians and Hebrews. Why those books?

In Colossians, Paul writes to restore Jesus to the center of life. The people in Colossae had allowed other things in life to receive equal billing to that of Christ. And Paul wrote Colossians to restore balance. In other words, if something is "in balance" with Christ, it's out of balance. (Think, "faith & fitness" in our case.)

And of Hebrews, Biblical scholar Eugene Peterson says, "Hebrews urges that it's never Jesus - and - anything. It's not Jesus - and - angels, or Jesus - and - Moses, or Jesus - and - the priesthood. Hebrews deletes the hyphens and removes the add-ons. The focus becomes clear again. God's work in Jesus Christ."

Hence, the challenge to read those two books. 

Does 10 days away from the gym seem too much too bear? Feel a little unfair?  A bit too extreme? Tozer says, "What if a master sculptor was working on a piece of granite, and the granite objected to the many chips falling to the floor. The granite feels that the Master has gone too far. That kind of thinking would be incomprehensible. So be assured the Master Craftsman knows exactly what He's doing. His primary intention is for you to "go on unto perfection" (Heb 6:1). And he'll stop short of nothing to accomplish this end. He'll interrupt your life without asking your permission."

Chip away, Lord. In us, we want You to see only You. Anything about our lives, our minds, our motives, our values, our goals that doesn't reflect Your glory, Your perfection, Your desire for our lives, please remove it. If gaining a clearer view of Your will and louder sound of Your voice means a loss of health, muscle or any other physical, measurable outcome of an activity that You have given us to enjoy, so be it. Chip away. Not a trace. Take it all.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: What in your life and mine needs to be chipped away? I have so much. With training on the back-burner a few days, what is God revealing to you and me about our hearts? Is there anything during the time in His word and on your knees that He's revealing to you?  If so, please share in the comments below or if you'd rather say, "Unspoken" we'll pray with you by name. I'll start. "Unspoken." Anyone resting in the Lord this week?

Challenge: In the hour you would normally spend in the gym or on the road or in pool, read Nehemiah 1-6.

Thy Way Not Mine

"Thy way, not mine, my Lord" penned by Horatius Bonar way back in 1808 helps illustrate the beautiful, inconvenience of faith, as well as, the coordinates for the new year, "Choose Thou for me my friends, my sickness or my health. Choose Thou my cares for me, my poverty or my wealth." 

For some, this is your first time at prayfit.org; brought here by a call of stillness, of waiting, of study, of rest. If so, welcome. Make yourself at home. For others, this is your 7th year here. You have a familiar place at the table.You know your way around my heart and where my soft targets are. And you know that exercising faith can be a life-interrupting, plan-disturbing, goal-delaying, ego-disrupting process.

Thy way, not mine, my Lord. What does that mean for you today? (Especially today.) Is it a sacrifice? An oasis? Maybe it means a chance - either for the first time or the first time in a long time - to get completely lost in surrender.

Years ago, I spent time training in an altitude chamber. As you may know, training at altitude helps you better perform at sea level. The more time you spend up high, the better you perform down low. As a physiologist, that makes good sense to me, but as a believer, it points me in the right direction; which is exactly where we're going.

Today, the rest of the world is attacking, climbing, striving, and getting a jump on this year's agenda, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with that. But as for me and this house, the time you and I normally spend at the gym or on the road, in the pool, in the squat rack, at the track, under the barbell or on the treadmill will be spent in God's word, in prayer and study. Like you, I believe the best way to hit the ground running is from our knees.

Which reminds me, find your place; that place where for the next 10 days you'll go to meet the Lord face to face. You may already have your spot; a closet, the bedside, or next to the couch. In any case, find it. 

Years ago I wrote, "If we have flat abs, but smooth knees, we're in bad shape." I chuckle as I type that, because it didn't mean half as much to me then as it does now, maybe because I mean it, but regardless, it's still true.

And let's read. Let's listen. Let's devour God's Word like never before. You may think that your muscle fibers won't be able to take it if they can't make their way to the gym, but let me assure you, we can go a lifetime without training, but we can't live one second without grace. Let's bask in that truth together.

Thy way, not mine, my Lord.  May the next few days together - and alone with God - help wean us from our dependence on the satisfaction, contentment, approval, pleasure, fulfillment, and happiness we find from this body, and if need be, tear us limb by limb and goal by goal away from any notion that our joy rests in the pursuit of its upkeep.

May the next few days prod us in the direction the Holy Spirit wants us to go; in our thoughts, deeds, motives and longings. May we drench ourselves in the Gospel so that when we emerge from our hiatus and face the life and lifestyle we temporarily elude, anyone who missed us will know we've been with Jesus.

The way we see it, the starting line may as well be the finish. Thy way, not mine, my Lord.

-Jimmy Peña

First Day of 2016 Prayer:

Leading us in prayer is my friend, Scotty Smith.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of a new year, and thank you for all the grace you lavished on us in the past year. There wasn’t a day you didn’t send new mercies and sufficient grace (even when we ignored them); and you steadfastly delighted in us, even when we delighted in anything else but you. Because of Jesus’ finished work, your love for us is irrepressible, immeasurable, and inexhaustible. It’s also the passion and power you use to make us like Jesus. We worship and adore you, for so great a salvation.

And now, in response to the words you spoke through Jeremiah, this is our prayer for the upcoming year. May it be a year filled with getting to know you better and better, and serving you more and more passionately. The lust for praise and power, riches and relationships, comfort and control will be unrelenting. But Father, we want intimacy with you to seize our hearts, schedules, and energy.

May knowing you—in renewed and fresh ways, compel us to love mercy, work for justice and walk humbly with you this year. May we dance and suffer, work and pray, serve and love, all to your glory. Pour out your Spirit in our churches, and give us an invigorated love for our particular church families, as messy as they may be.

May we live each day this year confident of your great love for us in Jesus, surrendered to your sovereign purposes and providences, and filled with longing and hope for the Day Jesus will return to finish making all things new. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.

Challenge: Today and this weekend, read Hebrews and Colossians. Praying for you all. See you Monday.

An Inconvenient faith

“Faith: More Dangerous Than It Sounds”

— A.W. Tozer

When was the last time faith interrupted your life? Can you remember the last time your faith was inconvenient to what the world deemed prevalent?

Today falls in-between; in between Christmas and New Year's Eve when business isn't quite business as usual, school is still out, and we're counting down the days; counting down the days until we put a button on the year and begin newness; a newness I have had the honor of stepping into with you for 7 years.

But unlike the previous years together, this year we're going to do things a little differently. Before we shake 2016 to its foundation, let's be shaken to ours. For the first 10 days of the year, we're devoting ourselves to humble reverence, complete awe, and utter dependence (true for every day of the year.) Apart from God, nothing we do physically means anything, so for the first 10 days of January, join us for total rest from all physical training.

I hope this isn't shocking, but we'll devour God's Word, begin memorizing entire books, praying, talking and dedicating the year to Him alone. Radical? Not really. Uncommon? Perhaps. But whether it seems too relaxed or too reckless, let's meet right here; here where we have no desire to draw attention or crowds; here where we have no aim to make a name for ourselves. 

We're here to abandon self. We're here to follow Jesus. 

Of faith, Tozer says is, "More dangerous than it sounds." And at the risk of sounding crazy and losing precious ground on physical goals, dreams and resolutions, let's pray our faith breeds a dangerous dissatisfaction on any satisfaction our physical pursuits provide us. May we - even but for a few short days in January - deepen our faith to the point of a sure, undeniable distinction between faith and fitness. 

God, You're the reason we have breath in our lungs. We don't want to waste a day. Unveil in us - as we reveal to others - why we're made.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: Will you be here on January 1-10 as we begin a new year like never before? Will you allow your faith to interrupt your new year?

Life Disrupted

Earth interrupted. Love unexpected. Hope interjected. The Maker is made. The Creator, created.

Now, with all the great Biblical minds writing devotions and blogs about Christmas week, I won't try and jockey my way into position for your attention on the matter, but I would like to pause with you; 

a pause that follows the example of the shepherds. The marginalized and forgotten part of society, they dropped everything and accepted the invitation. They too - like us - are invited to be eyewitnesses of His majesty;

a pause that follows the example of the wise men. The gifted and given. They were smart enough to know they didn't have a clue until they stared into the face of the Savior;

a pause that follows the example of Joseph. A man a real character, obedient to the Lord and honorable. What a task it must have been to teach his little boy to walk. After all, His precious feet have to be found in the temple, walk on water and make their way up Calvary.

a pause that follows the example of Mary. "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Can't you just see her take a deep breath as she tries to wrap her mind around what she's experiencing?

And finally, a pause that makes us followers of that little baby. His cooing was the world's first sound of hope and the most glorious thing ever heard. His human needs represented God's amazing pity for our eternal ones.

Help was here.
Help was near.
In order to reach us, He let us touch Him.

Pause. Not popular in our industry. This week, our field is usually filled with messages and methods to have great food while maintaining your physique. It's a holiday that at best represents a treat to enjoy before we tackle what we really have a passion for; goals, objectives, and attention. After all, doesn't Christmas come every year?

But guys, like the little town of Bethlehem, like Jerusalem, like the world, I want my life disrupted. As I type in tears, I want to pause. If the shepherds would let me, I want to drop my staff and run with them. If I were wise, I'd bring a gift. If Joseph needs anything, I'll fetch it. And if Mary needs to rest, my unworthy arms will hold Him. I'll sing to Him softly, whisper to Him. I'll tell Him how much I love Him, I'll confess to Him, I'll beg His forgiveness and pledge my devotion.

Earth interrupted. Love unexpected. Hope interjected. Life, disrupted.

-Jimmy Peña

For Discussion: What do you need Jesus to disrupt? Your work? Relationship? Health? There is a star in the sky and it means we can be eyewitnesses.

Faith Disrupts: Beginning the new year, we will pause our physical efforts. Will you join us for a 10-day training fast? Watch this video as we begin preparing to retreat.

Before long, we'll all be invited to one challenge or another. New goals, new heights, objectives and dreams. Lookout 2016, here we come. But at PrayFit - and this won't be a shock - we're gonna pump the brakes.

'Twas Grace

To say that I have been less than adequate at conveying the message of Ecclesiastes upon the subject of fitness would be like describing Everest as tall or the ocean as deep or the end of the universe as far. True, if I were aiming for true, but as adequate descriptions, absurdly short of the mark. If this sounds like an apology, please accept it. If it sounds like some sort of qualifier that will excuse me of all inadequacy, then this is me begging you to allow it. But that said, give me a few minutes to try and put a button on this for us.

Guys, King Solomon came to this conclusion, and with his announcement we come limping to this brittle end of our series: The pleasures in life mock us. The quest to find meaning or satisfaction in life is like chasing the wind. So as fitness-minded individuals, how do we conclude our trilogy?

At the end of the Teacher's book, he concludes that the most important thing about life is to fear the Creator of life and to do what He says. "In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world...Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple-blossom white, adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body...Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it. "It's all smoke, nothing but smoke, says the Teacher. "Everything is smoke." Fear God. Do what He tells you." (Ecc 12:3-8 and 13).

What does that mean for us? (I type that with almost a smirk as if the fact that we train means we are somehow excluded or somewhat excused from Solomon's warning. Right? As if the gym - and what it stands for -  has a force field around it and everything  within it comes first.) But the fact is, and you and I can recite this as clearly during the first rep of each set as we can the last, that the sum of all life, and all effort, and all striving and all toil and all blood, sweat and tears will add up...to nothing. And because we all have an appointment to keep with the Creator, the best thing to do while we do our best to stay young, fit, strong and able is to fear God while we're young, fit, strong and able. 

And that fear of God, that humble reverence, that blessed burden on our hearts that whispers to us between sets that there's more to this life than what we see in the mirror, should be heeded above all else. Fearing God is a good thing. About the fear that Solomon urges, Alistair Begg says, "To fear God, and to trust God, and to love God, and to know God are all the same thing. The fear that is referred to in Ecclesiastes 12 arises from the discovery of the immensity of God's love. It's the fear of a child of a father. That even though I've done so many bad things, still my father loves me and that fills me with awe. That's the fear. It's John Newton's fear. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved." 

This is not your - kiddie pool faith and fitness, let me pose for the camera, smile and flex with a verse on my tank top - kind of truth. No, my friends, Solomon was the first and we can allow him to be the last to tell us, warn us, urge us to fear God while we can, while we're young because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His grace teaches us to fear God more than we fear losing muscle, and to fear God more than we love to gain it. And the precious irony is that even though it's all meaningless,  it doesn't mean we're not called to be good stewards of the gift of life. Like our time, our resources, and our money,  the stewardship of the body is holy business that requires the grace of God and helps produce and display our fear of Him.  

It's the fear of God that won't let you bring yourself to train unless you've read your Bible. It's the love of God that allows you to help those in need once you get there. It's the trust of God that compels you to be modest and humble when everything inside you wants to show off your hard work. It's the knowledge of God that comforts you when He alone knows what you're dealing with on the inside. And it's the fear of God that protects us from the enemy.

Fitness; meaningless without God and only meaningful because of Him. Grace has taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. The world can have the gym. I want Jesus. 

Did I mention Everest was tall?
 

-Jimmy Peña

The End