"The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." Ruth 2:12Good day, Ladies....let's pray:
Father, I pray to You this morning and ask that You be with me today. I thank You for Your beautiful creation all around us. I praise You for my health and well being. I thank You for the fact that I can do and enjoy so many things. May I never take it for granted.
I ask forgiveness of sins in hopes that You will cleanse me of my unrighteousness. I pray that You will blot out my transgressions. May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight, my rock and my redeemer.
In Jesus' name....Amen.
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Welcome to Lesson Ten:
Today's passage: Prov. 31:17 "She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms."
Today we will look at the importance of exercise and healthy living so that we may be able to do all the work the Lord has for us.
Our opening verse takes us back to Ruth who is being praised by Boaz. Ruth's diligence (perservering and careful in work; hardworking) in her work revealed her true character to Boaz. As a result, he was attracted to her. She stood out among all the workers in the fields.
Notice it doesn't say anything about her physical appearance.....but to glean a field all day long, we can safely assume Ruth was in pretty good shape.
Please read:
1Pet 3:3
Remember what is precious in God's sight: gentle, quiet, spirit.
Remember how we read about Mary Magdalene?
Luke 8:1
She had been tormented for years by 7 demons. I tried to paint a picture of what she may have looked like after her years of torment.
What about the Woman at the Well?
Please read:
John 4: 15-18
If this woman has had 5 husbands already, I think it is safe to assume she wasn't a very young woman. She probably had some physical attributes from all the embarrassment, stress, and humiliation of multiple divorces. I know when I went into the prison to teach Bible study, I saw women there whose bodies looked worn down from their many years of hard living: drugs, sex, and alcohol abuses.
I remember one woman in particular. She was in her forties but she looked about twenty years older. Her countenance was so downtrodden and her posture was too. She seemed so hopeless.
I wrote to her often and shared the Gospel message with her. One day I was able to go into the prison after not seeing her for about 4 months. When I entered into the classroom, she ran over to me. I didn't recognize her at all. She was a new creation in Christ! She was smiling and standing up tall. She had her hair cut and she had quit smoking so her teeth and face were shiny and bright. I had to just stare at her as she told me her story. It was amazing.
I think of this woman when I read about the Woman at the Well. She was once trapped in pagan worship and sexual sin. But she turned to Jesus and He spoke to her. He gave her the Living Water and she would never thirst again.
Please read:
1 Cor. 6:19
Remember this verse? Who owns us? Our we our own?
Romans 6
After reading the entire chapter, focus on these particular verses:
6:4-6
6:7-9
6:12
6:13 "instruments" here is translated as "weapons". We are to use our bodies as weapons of righteousness. We are in a battle against evil...but our foe is already conquered through Christ.
6:16
6:18
6:22-23
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Life Application
If our bodies do not belong to us and are to be used as weapons of righteousness, shouldn't we take care of our bodies?
Please read:
Eph. 5:8
1 Cor 9:24
2 Tim 4:7-8
Heb 12:1-2
I love to run. It is my favorite exercise. Although now, with my bad knees, I pretty much "jog" rather than run. But at least I still try!
I think I love to run because I see results faster than other exercises. I find that most women who hate to exercise hate it because they have never seen the results for their efforts. For me, if I am working hard and I do not see the results, then I tend to quit. But running takes me places. I can see the finish line!
Results of our labor are very important. That is why Paul wrote of the ultimate reward for our efforts: "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
But to run a race, to do the work set before us, we have to have the strength to finish it.
Scott and I are in training for a marathon for January. Both of us have always wanted to run a marathon but never had the time to train. When we started school back in 2002, we both promised that after we graduated we would train for a marathon. Well, this is the year!
I know he can do it, but me? Well, that's another story. It will take the Hand of God that's for sure! But I know that trying will be worth it.
You and I need to exercise now more than ever because of the foods that we eat. Many of them have toxins in them to preserve them. These toxins stay in our bodies unless we get rid of them.
Our bodies were perfectly designed by God to get rid of toxins. There are 3 ways to do this:
Urinating/defecating
Sweating
Vomiting
Now, the first ones we should already be doing everyday and no one likes to do the 3rd one....so that leaves us with sweating.
Exercise helps rid our bodies of the toxins inside that can destroy us over long periods of time. I remember well when Scott was laid off from his job in 2000. He worked 2 jobs to support us. We had very little money for groceries, so I had to buy a lot of those cheap frozen dinners. I knew they were full of preservatives which over a long period of time would begin to make us sick, but I had to stretch our budget as far as it could go.
Sure enough, after about 11 months of eating those meals for lunch and dinner, we all began to get sick. Nathan was the first. He started to vomit after he would eat one meal! That's when I knew we had to stop and find another way.
The Lord provided for us. Scott got a better paying job and our grocery budget slightly increased.
Poor little Nathan really suffered the most. Now when I see those frozen meals at the grocery store, I just shudder from the memory of seeing my little boy sick from eating them. Ick.
The Lord made us some perfect foods so that we can help our bodies fight off those toxins we ingest everyday in the air and in our foods.
Salmon is one of the best foods you can eat. It is high in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, protein, vitamin D, vitamin B6, phosphorus.... all these help your body fight off diseases.
Blueberries are another perfect food. They are full of antioxidents and help our bodies fight off diseases.
Asparagus are high in vitamin K which protects our bones. They are also rich in folate which thwarts off heart disease.
Flaxseed Oil. Add a little to a fruit smoothie and aid your digestion as well as heart circulation.
I know what you are thinking: "Hey we are all going to die. I could eat all the best foods and exercise everyday and still get hit by a bus..."
But remember why we were created: to do.
God has many important works for us and we cannot do them and do them well if we are sick in bed from eating bad foods and not taking care of ourselves. You get the point....
Remember to:
Exercise daily. Have bad knees? Walk. If you can walk from your car to the grocery store, then you can walk as exercise.
Do some strength training. Lift some light weights to help build strong muscle. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn when you exercise.
Eat good foods to counter the toxins you ingest...but don't deprive yourself. Eat what you enjoy, but in moderation. I am completely against starvation diets. They NEVER work.
Drink liters of water daily. And once a week drink cranberry juice (not the juice cocktail!!) to flush out your kidneys. If you drink soda.....STOP! It causes kindey stones (diet sodas too) and weight gain.
Add vitamins and nutrients to your diet.
REST. I work out 6 days a week and give myself one day a week (usually Sundays...) to rest and eat whatever I want. Even donuts at church!! Yum.
Do not take your health for granted. I did. I used to run 3 miles a day before I became pregnant 13 yrs. ago. I never smoked and hardly ever drank alcohol. I thought since I was in such good health, my pregnancy would be so easy. Yet I found myself bedridden for 6 mos. It was a nightmare! I had edema in my back and my knees. I couldn't bend my knees all the way. My lower legs atrophied down to the width of my forearms. They could barely carry the 50 lbs. I gained during my pregnancy and I had to use a wheelchair. And that's not even the half of it!
I remember crying to God and vowing that if He gave me my health back I would never take exercising for granted again. He was merciful to me and now I praise Him everytime I work out because I know what it is like not to be able to.
So, gird yourself with strength so you can finish the race and win the prize!
Until next time......
"When Paul talks about "reaching forward to what lies ahead," the context of his words suggest a runner racing toward the finish line. His body bent forward, Paul fixes his eyes on his goal. Moving along the path he has set for himself, the path God has laid out for him, he leans forward as his feet carry him toward the finish. All of his energy- mental, emotional, and physical- is committed to the race he is running."
-Elizabeth George (Loving God With All Your Mind, 1994, p. 88)
Blessings and good health!
Ruth
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