My first "Official" Exercise Your Faith was last Wednesday. I had about 20 ladies in attendance!!! We had fun sweating and laughing at ourselves. We were in cramped quarters though, so we finally will have a permanent and much larger meeting space this week. I have been searching for the right literature to use as a weekly devotional in the class. I wanted to find something that was relevant to our bodies/exercise/spiritual health. Last Wednesday I came across a sermon done by the president of Southeastern Baptist, Dr. Daniel Akin, called "Spiritual Exercises to Make You Strong." Its based on the scripture written by Paul in his final instructions to the church in Thessalonica. (Thess. 5:16-22)
"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."
Dr. Akin has broken down this passage into 8 specific disciplines. http://sebts.edu/president/?p=448 (click the link then click manuscript) In Exercise Your Faith, we are going to be reading 1 discipline each week and finding out what Dr. Akin has to say about applying it in our lives. I'm very excited and praise God for allowing me to find this sermon in print! I made copies and gave them out to everyone there last week. If you would like to join us in class, we meet at 6:15 Wednesdays in Room B-301 at FBC Sevierville.
I would also like to thank God for blessing us with the Smoky Mountains. Ben and I were privileged to go to Mt. LeConte on Sunday after church. It was a beautiful day with perfect views and fresh almost fall-like air! I asked Ben on our way up, "Do you get kinda giddy when you hike? Cause I do, especially today." He said its endorphins and fresh air and I agree, but God made our bodies release those endorphins to make us "giddy." I just felt so close to Him while we were out there. Jesus "withdrew himself to a mountain" several times in the Bible. It was when He was feeling overwhelmed and needed to talk to His Father. We should do that more. Maybe your mountain isn't a literal mountain like mine, but we should all retreat to a quiet place where we can just enjoy God's presence. YAY GOD!!!
New Deal 21" Crucifix
3 years ago
1 comment:
In reference to being "giddy" while hiking to Mt. LeConte, I definitely get the same way! I believe this giddiness is a result of a right response to God's revelation of Himself in His creation, pointing us to seek out who He is! Scripture provides the satisfactory explanation of who this Creator is in John 1:3, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." (ESV)
Romans 1:18-20 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." (ESV)
Thanks April!
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