Staying Forever Young! (Yes, forever!) - Biblical Fitness Program

We are told, "Godliness with contentment is great gain". 1Ti 6:6

We know that we brought into this world nothing, and we get out of this world with nothing. So we begin our life with nothing, and end with nothing. We go from zero to zero. Therefore it makes a perfect sense to say, "If we have food and clothing, we will be content."

But what about so much craving for food (let alone the unruly desire for money and all other things)?

My family doctor says, "You need to bring down your weight from 182 to 165." So I joined a fitness program. But increasingly I am bothered by the gym getting increasingly crowded. Why is the LA Fitness (especially the one in Downey) so crowded with so many who are so overweight? If I have food and clothing, I can be content with it. Granted. Then again, why the 'craving' rather than the 'contentment'? Why is it not so easy to be content with the [the amount of the] food that your body is in need of? More importantly how can one curb (and control) the craving for food, so you would not gain weight but naturally keep the weight at the level where your doctor recommends you to be?

I think the solution to the problem is seen in 1 Timothy 3:16 which reads, "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory."  Jesus secured the ultimate gain - the gain on one's body and person, not only in terms of gaining or losing weight but in the sense of getting 'fit' in the true sense of being 'fit', for how else can you be better fit than being given a body in which Jesus was taken up?! Indeed, beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great!

Where then does "the godliness", not any godliness but "true" godliness come from? How can you get it? It springs from Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:24; 1Ti 3:16, NIV 2011 reading, "Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great...")

Now we are told, " For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1Ti 4:8). So in addition to the fitness program for physical training you may already be in, consider training yourself to be godly. [The membership at the LA Fitness is $35 a month, but the program for godly training at LA UBF is for free. If any one is interested in the plan, pls send an email to hdk121@gmail.com for the details.]


  

The way of boundless joy even in poverty and sickness!

Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.  Proverb 14:10 (NIV)

Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage reads, "We do not know what stings of conscience, or consuming passions, torment the prosperous sinner. Nor does the world know the peace of mind a serious Christian enjoys, even in poverty and sickness."

[His commentary reminds me of what Joseph's brothers blurted to each  other, "Surely we are being punished becasue of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that is why this distress has come upon us." Genesis 42:21]

I think Matthew Henry is right in discussing the pasage by juxtaposing "the unbeliever" and "the believer" (a serious Christian). According to KJV, "no one" in the latter part of the verse can read "no stranger". The general flow of the Proverb 14 indicates that the stranger in turn refers to those who have been estranged from God the Father, the author of man's life, or in Solomon's term simply a "foolish" woman. In the Bible it is often seen that woman is synonymous with people  in general, so that a wise woman denotes a believer (or Christian if you will), whereas a foolish woman stands for those who live as if there is no God.

So do not say, "No  one understands me." Why? No one but you knows your 'own' bitterness. Yes, the old Indian saying goes, "Do not pass judgment on anyone until you have walked in his shoes for ten years", but remember: it is impossible for anyone to walk in your shoes for that long. You are you, I am I, he is he, and she is she. So the Apostle said, "Each one should carry his own load." Gal 6:5

Then you are stuck with your own fate (bitterness), right? Wrong! As Solomon says, you've got to STOP tearing down your own house with  your own hands. Rather like a wise woman (such as Hannah, the mother of Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:10), START building your own house, by pouring your 'bitter' heart onto the Lord, and turning to Him for His comfort and yes, "JOY". Do not be like Penninah. Be and do like Hannah! [By the way it  has been said, "JOY" is an acronym of Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself third.]

God's blessings on your walk in the Lord.

Prayer for our MIssionaries in the Middle Easst

Christians Flee the Middle East

David Dolan - 4/4/2012 12:00 AM

 

Christians Flee the Middle East
When the Turkish Muslim Ottoman Empire controlled the Middle East a century ago, self professing Christians numbered around 20 per cent of the overall population. As is still true today, the largest number of Arab Christians were residents of Egypt. But other Arab countries, especially Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and the Holy Land, also had substantial Christian populations. Today, only around five per cent of the region's people call themselves Christians, giving the Middle East, the place where the world's largest faith was born, one of the smallest contemporary Christian populations on earth. Reports from Egypt say that around two hundred thousand Coptic Christians fled the country last year, due mainly to increasing attacks from extremist Muslim groups. The Christian flight from Iraq also continues to gain steam, with some 70 Iraqi churches destroyed in Baghdad alone since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraqi media reports say nearly half of the country's estimated one million Christians have left the country over the past eight years. Only in one Middle East country, Israel, has the Arab Christian population actually increased in the past decade.

I am making everything new! Rev 21:5

In LA area as well the spring is all around us. Trees go green again. Flowers are blooming.

Three questions:

No. 1: Does Jesus' risen body have "blood"? [Remember: the Scripture says the flesh and blood cannot inheerit God's kingdom.]

No. 2: Will there be sea (or ocean) on the planet earth in the perfected word to come? [Note: John did not see any sea in the new earth.]

No. 3: Are the children of God (if they make it to God's kingdom) going to have pets? [I still miss my kitty pet, Sammy who died a heroic death - he ventured to go out of my house, to the street at night, and died of a car accident.]

My answers to the three questions are all "Yes". [Jesus' risen body has blood; the new earth will come with ocean; and God will ensure that his children have the joy of owning pets.] My rationale is that 'everything' (or "all things" in KJV) means 'everything', including blood, ocean, and pets. Oh, wait! There is something more: they are all made brand new - blood, ocean or sea, and pets! What does the 'new' (or 'renewal' Matthew 19:28) mean? Strong's concordances saves you, that is:

a) as respects form - recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn

b) as respects substance - of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of

What do you think?

P.S.: I think people of Jesus' day like Thomas could have hardly imagined of the ways we have like smartphone, Ipad, or wi-fi, for to them, I guarantee that these are all unprecented, novel, uncommon, or unheard of. What do you think?

May the Lord bless America to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation!

Last weekend we had a Spring Conf. at the Big Bear Mountain. The conference organizers made new attempts like: emerging generation spoke as messengers, Anthony leading a stretch session.                  

- Using a moment for making an announcement, Isaac Kim gave "One Minute Bible Study on the 66 Books of the Bible" stating:

"What is the Bible all about? Answer: The 66 books can be seen as the progress of God's kingdom in general, whereas the Book of Revelation can be understood as the progress of God's kingdom in specifics. There are four Bible verses that support this view:

* Exodus 19:6

* Revelation 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6.

These passages indicate that the kingdom work progresses to the extent of the number of the 'priests' built up increasing. So check yourself how we the Adam's race screwed up, yet how the Lord made a new beginning at the outset of the first five books of the Bible called Torah, for what purpose (Exodus 19:6), and finally what he envisioned to accomplish as seen at the opening (Revelation 1:6; 5:10) and closing (20:6) of the last book of the Bible. The title of the Spring Conference at the Pine Crest (Jesus came to call sinners) was also themed after the general theme of the Bible, for as Malachi 3:3 states, God sent Jesus who called Levi to be St. Matthew, the author of the first book of the New Testament, the first gospel. As a result of Jesus' calling, Levi (supposedly from a priestly line) stopped collecting money, and started collecting people into His kingdom. The prayer topic for the United States of America then is, "America to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

At the Pine Crest, I gleaned an artcraft (in the pic above) which reads, "God answers all prayers. Sometimes he says "Yes". Soetimes he says "No." And sometimes he says, "You've got to be kidding."  Which category do you think the prayer topic for America belongs to? Yes? No? You've got to be kidding?