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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Stores of the Bible   CURRENT TV SERIES All Things New

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.   --Philippians 1:20 Have you noticed lately how many people seem to be sick and tired? I’m serious! The number of people who either seem to be sick all the time or live in a constant state of fatigue represents a growing trend that is having a huge, negative impact on workplaces, families, and ministries. There’s even a new term in the workplace for this problem: “presenteeism”! It refers to the people who constantly show up sick and tired at work, making the business less productive and having a negative influence on the environment of the office or shop. The problem is that too many people are not living healthy enough lives to make a positive contribution at work, at home, or at church. That’s why I believe it is imperative for us to be both spiritually and physically fit. Paul himself said that Christ should be honored in our bodies. It is both biblical and practical to take care of ourselves physically. Our bodies are the temple of Jesus Christ, so they must be kept pure, strong, and vibrant. Christians are supposed to do everything in the name of and for the glory of Christ, so why shouldn’t we take good care of our bodies for His sake and His glory?  We should be vital in our faith and our fitness! Look at Jesus Himself.  He was no pale weakling. He was a strong, vibrant Man who had the strength to stand up to sinners and endure the pain of the cross. Fitness is a biblical concept. We don’t necessarily need to obsess and stress over it, but we should make an effort to honor God by honoring His temple in the way we care for our bodies through exercise, proper diet, and adequate rest. Honor Christ by being physically fit.

The God Who Feeds the Birds

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
Matthew 6:25–27

The needs that we have in our lives are not unique. Generations before us have faced the necessity of finding food, shelter, and clothing. The question is not whether we need those things—we all do—but how we approach getting them. We can worry and frantically rush around trying to figure out how we are going to take care of them, or we can trust that the God who created the world has promised to supply the things that we truly need.
The poet Elizabeth Cheney wrote:
Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”
There will never come a need in your life that takes God by surprise. I’ve been caught off guard by health issues, financial distress, and people’s actions, but the things that seemed to me to come out of nowhere were long foreseen by my Father in Heaven. And He has never yet failed to keep a single one of His promises. The God who knows when a sparrow falls and provides food for the birds can be trusted to deal correctly with every challenge and difficulty that we face in life.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Our faith in God is not demonstrated when things are going well, but when we need to rely on it the most.