July Newsletter
For a few weeks I had been pondering
what
the topic of this month's letter
would be
and to be
honest I was coming up blank.
I just couldn't
come up with anything. Then,
as will happen,
the Lord showed me what to write
in the simplest
of ways. I was throwing grass
seed down in
our front yard and immediately
I began to
think of Jesus' Parable of the
Sower (Mark
4: 3-20 NIV). In case you do
not have access
to a Bible, here it is:
The Parable of the Sower
"Listen! A farmer went out
to sow his
seed. As he was scattering seed,
some fell
along the path, and the birds
came and ate
it up. Some fell on rocky places,
where it
did not have much soil. It sprang
up quickly,
because the soil was shallow.
But when the
sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and
they whithered because they had
no root.
Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew
up and choked the plants, so
they did not
bear grain. Still other seed
fell on good
soil. It came up, grew and produced
a crop,
multiplying thrity, sixty, or
even a hundred
times." (Mark 4:3-8)
The apostles asked about the
parables that
Jesus spoke and in response:
"Then Jesus said to them,
'Don't you
understand this parable? How
then will you
understand any parable? The farmer
sows the
word. Some people are like seed
along the
path, where the word is sown.
As soon as
they hear it, Satan comes and
takes away
the word that was sown in them.
Others, like
seed sown on rocky places, hear
the word
and at once receive it with joy.
But since
they have no root, they last
only a short
time. When trouble or persecution
comes because
of the word, they quickly fall
away. Still
others, like seed sown among
thorns, hear
the word; but worries of this
life, the deceitfulness
of wealth and the desires for
other things
come in and choke the word, making
it unfruitful.
Others, like the seed sown on
good soil,
hear the word, accept it, and
produce a crop
-- thirty, sixty or even a hundred
times
what was sown." (Mark 4:13-20)
I thought to myself, isn't so
much of life
like that as well? We grasp on
to things
with such a passion and for a
while we enjoy
it wholeheartedly. they are also
known as
fads. slowly they fade away to
become the
"retro" topic for the
next generation.
I pray that anyone who is reading
this now
falls into the final category
of the sown
seed. we should all pray harder,
together,
for the other "types of
soil" because
they have heard the Word and
welcomed it,
but haven't let it take root
and stay; anchored
in the very core of their being.
These are
the people who need us! Spread
His word my
fellow Christian Warriors! It
is our duty
to do so! As Christian bodybuilders,
we are
a select few in a sea of ego,
pride, sexual
exploitation and perversion.
Let God use
us as examples to follow instead
of the wordly
view. We do it for God, not for
self!
While pondering the parable,
I also thought
about how bodybuilding and weight
training
can fall into those very same
categories
that Jesus spoke about concerning
the Word.
Like the seed on the path, some
get enthused
while talking to a bodybuilder
and when the
conversation is over, that enthusiasm
fades.
Some, like the seed sown in rocky
places
vow to get in shape, go out and
buy all the
equipment or join a gym, (you
see them at
the gym on January 2nd), but
since they have
no experience or no one to help
them out
with questions or routines, their
enthusiasm
fades and the equipment becomes
a clothing
rack. Then their are the ones
who are like
the seed sown among the thorns.
They want
to get in shape, they need to
get in shape,
but come up with a variety of
excuses not
to do so. No time, no energy,
etc. Finally
there is the seed sown in good
soil. These
are the people who take to training
and fitness
and stick to it -- the lifers.
They are ready
to answer any question you may
have and will
spot you when when you need it.
By the way,
have you done that, ever? When
I was 18,
I joined my first gym and I was
trying to
bench more than I should have
and I got stuck.
As beads of sweat began to pour
from my forehead
and panic set in, a huge hand
reach down
and pulled the bar off of my
chest. This
huge guy racked the bar with
one hand and
as I got up, he clapped me on
the back and
told me "not to sweat it
kid, it happens
to all of us." He walked
away, without
another word but I swore that
one day I would
return that favor to a newcomer.
Eventually
I did, using the very same words
spoken to
me. I pray that those words come
full circle
for that kid one day as well.
Now, while bodybuilding, weight
training
and fitness are all well and
good, they are,
to quote Solomon, "meaningless."
They are meaningless without
giving the glory
to God. Remember that in all
we do, the glory
of God is the goal.
And now our prayer. Dear Lord
please bring
Your Word to us and plant it
deeply into
our heart, our very souls. Bring
to us those
fellow Christians who can help
water that
seed and help it take a strong
root. Help
us to become good sowers and
continue to
sow that seed in others, bringing
the joy
of Your Word to the world. In
Jesus Name
we pray. Amen.
Until next time all! Go with
God and Lift
that iron!
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