Free & Fit - Proverbial Prayers & Planks - Advent Devotions from Proverbs with a Word, Proverb & Exercise Everyday - Monday 2nd December
Proverbial Prayers & Planks
Advent Devotions from Proverbs with a Word, Proverb & Exercise Everyday
Monday 2nd December
December 2nd Proverbs, Plank & Prayer
The word for the day is Seek - Seeking after Jesus this Christmas should be our priority. Jesus is the Reason for the Season!
The verse for today is Proverbs 2:4 "If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure."
In the amplified it is translated like this:
“If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver And search for her as you would hidden treasures.” Proverbs 2:4 AMP
The exercise for the day is: Rotating Squats - Lower-body exercise to target legs and glutes. Rotating in every third squat. My form is off here! Make sure you go low and keep your back straight.
Full Reflection & Prayer here:
Instagram Post & Workout here:
Reflection & Prayer:
The Bible teaches us about seeking after three essential virtues : Faith, Hope and Love. The most important of these to seek after is Gods Love. When one of these three is absent, or unavailable to us, this is when loneliness and human disconnection are experienced.
When I was 13 my experience was an absence of hope. It was at this time when my reality of love was broken, my family was disconnected and everything I once knew fell apart. My Mum & Dad were going to separate, to ultimately divorce and become another statistic to which many people accredit the reason for broken childhoods. This is when the bond of trust between two people is broken, right then and there dysfunction and disappointment take place. However, in that moment this was the very time when hope truly manifested in my life. It is here I began to realise in every relationship I needed a deeper bond, a three-strand-bond between God, myself and neighbor.
In the absence of my conventional relationship with my parents, my relationship with my other family members improved, my sister became my best friend, my dog became my most common companion during walks and recreational activities and all my school friends became my immediate family.
I was changed from being an inwardly focused family member to an outwardly focused friend based person with a new sense of hope, of purpose, to bring love to others, to a more all round and faithfully loving member of my local community. Instead of turning inwardly towards my broken family, I felt a stronger hope in the world outside of the brokenness and began to seek God in places of broken areas of my life. To seek a relationship with God brings hope, restores faith and strengthens love between people, communities, friends and families.
To be fully transformed it takes a change in our perspective, to see our circumstances differently and to shift our values from disappointment to hope, faith and love. To be fully transformed we need to look not at the values of the world or obstacles we now see, despite how much it hurts, no matter how huge a loss or how different our lives look compared to what we imagined life would be our God can reconcile, restore, rebuild and transform our circumstances.
For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18
The ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate death and resurrection of the Cross brings us back to Jesus. In this verse Paul wanted to identify that those who died in Corinth will be followed by others for the Cross of Christ. The first fruits, Corinthian believers, and later fruits, Paul argues, including those who died in the Pandemic, and those who have died throughout time and history, to the present day, will be raised to life at the parousia. The second coming of Christ will bring life and death. What does the Cross mean to you?
What is the Cross to me I hear you cry? Firstly, in my own context I see the Cross in relation to the Church today and the world today in the same way as Paul. That the plea of Paul to challenge the Church in Corinth applies to us all today. That its still relevant and necessary for the Cross to overcome our foolishness. To not neglect our need to make a conscious decision, our need to pick up our Cross and to follow Christ to die daily as Paul would put it.
Secondly, in the context of all our societal and worldly abnormalities with the current inherent injustices across the World the Cross is necessary. Reconciliation, discussion, love of God, love neighbor and the self are all necessary in order for our humanity to recognize its own and our need for a savior. The Cross of Jesus Christ Crucified is still foolishness to so many, so let us not get tired in the name of bringing the Gospel Peace and ensuring the message of the Cross is not lost.
We are, like the Church in Rome and Corinth, in need of dying daily and reminding ourselves of the need for us to believe in the resurrection message. That Christ died for all believers; past, present and future. What does the Cross mean to you?
To fully transform we need to seek to test and approve what Gods will is for our lives, by the renewing of our minds and focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes. The verses from today tell us that we can experience and see this through the transformation of the Cross. The greatest sacrifice and transformation of all was Jesus dying in our place so we maybe set free from our own captivity.
How can we respond? How can we transform those around us? How can we transform our neighbors circumstances? Do you see your friends weakness or do you see the opportunity for friendship? Their vulnerability to be who they are despite their circumstances and the challenges we all face in life is difficult for us all. The process of seeing our fellow brother and sister, by listening, by acknowledging and by co-living with them is a simple act of kindness. This act of kindness brings compassion, brings hope and brings empathy into their day. What can we all do for our fellow human to be aware of their existence and encourage their purpose in everyday life? A simple text message of gratitude, a written letter or a poem for the season. The love for the other is always possible in spite of the border of misfortune. The transformation is possible and the opportunity to seek reconciliation is possible in all our relationships.
For Faith and Transformation to be trully in action it involves listening to our friends in difficult times, welcoming home people in difficult circumstances and caring for people in different situations and scenarios . Without my ability to recognize my poor Spirit and need for TransformationI wouldn’t be able to kneel and pray to the Father, to the one whom I love and who offers me perfect love. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. So today I confess to you all openly my need for a savior and transformation in Jesus Christ and how grateful I am that you and I can all have a relationship with Jesus. If you don’t know him, today is a great day to get to know him.
Here is my closing poem (optional needs work lol):
Come to the alter for restoration,
Make a space perhaps a prayer station,
Build for God a house and make it a home,
Don’t just be in the garden standing like a gnome!
Our hope remains in the one who saves,
Jesus is our hope and brings calm to the waves,
His loyalty to us brings us all hope,
Don’t be down on yourself, be like an open love letter and envelope!
Prepare your heart, prepare your body and prepare your soul,
Don’t get distracted by your circumstances and instead go after Gods goal,
Let us all remember to focus on God and remain in him,
Don’t go easily into the dark, fight and be Gods light not dull and dim.
Let the best of your life be based on the foundation of Gods word,
To read your Bible daily and not get stuck in the data and technology herd,
Reading and learning the Bible is best, but we also must take some rest,
Make sure you make time to take a Sabbath and sit in silence with peace,
This summer stay cool with God and make sure you don’t forget your sunscreen!
Questions to Ponder.....
Where is your hope right now?
Do you feel lost like so many sports fans that watching on from the tv you are left without hope when their team loses?
Do you know this hope you long for can be fulfilled not where you are, but in a different location with Jesus Christ?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Today you can make a new start. A fresh start. Its simple; if you believe in your heart that Jesus died, was resurrected and sacrificed for all believers, like you and me, you can have hope for the future. Many people have said a prayer like this throughout time and history. This prayer was for them and this prayer is also for you. You can say it silently in your heart, aloud after me or just agree by acknowledging in your mind or word by declaring in agreement with me by saying “in Jesus name. Amen.”
Closing Prayer
Sacrificial and Gracious Jesus, bring us out of the depths of our flesh, restore our consciousness and release us into divine communion and intimate fellowship with your Holy Spirit as we pray in agreement that you died, raised us with you into eternal life and prepared a mansion for us with God in heaven. In your name we pray. Amen.
“So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:26 NLT
Reach out to us and sign up via www.freenfit.org
Free & Fit Mission
The mission of Free & Fit is to share the Love of Jesus through serving the community in Sports, the Arts, Outreach & Service.
Free & Fit Vision
The vision of free and fit is to engage, motivate, improve and help members find freedom in physical and spiritual ways.We believe physical freedom leads to a peaceful heart; leads to a healthy body and an all round healthy state of spiritual well being.
Twitter&Instagram: @freeandfitnyc
Full details of our Release and Waiver here: https://www.freenfit.org/post/free-fit-nyc-exercise-participation-in-online-sessions-release-waive
Thank you for reading and agreeing to these terms.
Please email any questions to:
Sign up to our events online: www.freenfit.org
Freedom // Fitness // Fellowship
Free & Fit Challenge © Copyright 2024
Free & Fit NYC/NJ © Copyright 2024
Free & Fit London © Copyright 2024
Free & Fit CLT © Copyright 2024
Comments