The Holy God is amazing. The mission trip to Kenya, Africa was glorious. God,
answered the prayers of many by working in lives of the Kenyans. The team from
Phoenix, Arizona were spectators of what He did. Over one thousand people
accepted Christ as their Savior, forgiving them of their sins, and making them
Children of the Holy Father.

It was wondrous how we were used by God to point the Kenyans to Christ. As we
went from house-to-house sharing the Gift of Salvation, many people,
point-blank, said they were already ready to accept this Gift of Salvation. All
we did is lead them through the process of accepting Christ which began with
them being led by the Holy Spirit to want to accept the Lord Jesus Christ. It
was effortless. We just stood back and watched the Holy God work.

Because of my size and build God used me as an introduction piece to the Gospel.
For that I am grateful and will continue to exercise and share the Good News of
Jesus Christ.

We are blessed! My day job is a receptionist/operator for a senior adult
center. It is a rewarding and at times challenging occupation. Yesterday two
residents died. It is a good place to minister. The goal is to make the
residents feel safe, comfortable, and happy.

This was my off, rest, day. I've had three good workouts and now I'm ready for a
rest. I work different body areas for each body part on different days. How are
you all doing?

Today was a good one. The plan is to alternate heavy weight with short amount of
reps to light weight with many reps. I'm, also, alternating workout rotations.
I'm working one muscle group per day in a rotation then changing the workouts to
many body parts per workout in a rotation. A was told that muscle confusion is
needed to break the muscle "rut."

God is good.

God has led me to minister to the people of Kenya during the month of September.
Pray for the people of Kenya and for the team. We will be sharing the gift of
salvation through Jesus Christ. God will be using my physique in a marvelous way
for His Glory. Actually God can use all Christian bodybuilders. People look at
us because we are definitely different. But then they see who we really are by
the Power of the Holy Spirit of God through His Son.

Also, I am very sorry for letting this website group fall into disrepair. It was
my responsibility to keep it going but during the last several months I have
been distracted away for posting and maintaining the group. That will not happen
again.

What is hapening in your life? Share with the group.

Hey Gary welcome! We have a passion for fitness and for the Lord.
Yes there is not much activity going on at present, but really that can
change. All it takes ia for people to communicate what God is doing in
their lives each day. Today I just finished my arms and am working on
the laundry, praise God.

--- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "louganis44" <louganis44@...>
wrote:
>
> Hey! I don't know if there is much activity on here, but my name is
> Gary and I enjoy working out & am also a man of Faith. I'm probably
not
> as strictin my practivce as some, but like the idea of this group.
> God Bless!
> Gary
>

Hey! I don't know if there is much activity on here, but my name is
Gary and I enjoy working out & am also a man of Faith. I'm probably not
as strictin my practivce as some, but like the idea of this group.
God Bless!
Gary

Here is an interesting chain prayer.
To inspire and Glorify The Holy God and His Son:

From: Frank Bortolin
Date: 10/29/2008 6:38:02 PM
To: muscle_diva@...
Subject: Fw: Please send this back to me!


----- Original Message -----
From: lou iannone
To: Almeida Elizabeth (St. Peters) ; Colleen Milne ; Damian Savelli ;
fbortolin@... ; Marianne Hannon ;
marla.reed@... ; Paula DiLoreto ; Sarah Maguire
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 9:10 PM
Subject: FW: Please send this back to me!




Lou:)
"Lively Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly.  Leave
the rest to God."


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
From: damian.savelli@...
To: estencel@...; gsavelli_8@...;
della4life@...; anthony.salvatore@...;
louiannone@...; teo@...; jtozzi@...
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:00:51 -0400
Subject: FW: Please send this back to me!






________________________________



Damian Savelli

Senior Manager - Syndications

Commercial National Accounts



Canadian Pacific Tower

100 Wellington Street West, 26th Floor

Toronto, Ontario

M5K 1A2

T:(416) 982-6651

F:(416) 308-3733

E-Mail:damian.savelli@...




----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

From: Edward S. Stencel [mailto:estencel@...]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 3:18 PM
To: Veronica "Santa Baby" Putman; Teo "Captain Kerosene" Savelli; Ted
Rakoczy; Stevie Ray Con & Family; Steve "Work" Marsh; Stan Baran;
Savelli, Damian; Roberto "Lowes down & dirty" Bucciarelli; Paul "Nice
Guy"; Mike Shrimpdaddy" Reid; Lydia "Hot Mama" Williams; Lucia "Testa
Dura" Pilot; Just Jenny; Ewan "The Pro Desk Turbonator" Alderson;
Emily "The Lawyer" Stencel; Diana "Homecoming Queen" Zanin;
Dave "King of Kensington" Avery; Dan "the man" Glover; claire wolfe;
Bob "The Bluesman" Hunt; bigmikeyt@...; Angelo & Amanda
Memmolo; Albert "lumber Guy" Vickery; Al "the kids pal" Chwiejczak;
Joanne Hallas
Subject: Fw: Please send this back to me!





Edward S. Stencel
"The Pump N Barrel"



Subject: FW: Please send this back to me!










----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------








Look at the picture, read the prayer and then make a wish and read
the prayer again.




I am picking 11 people who have touched my life and who I think would
want to receive this. Please send it back to me (You'll see why).

In case you are not aware, Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the
Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in life
well and with great love... She is represented by roses.
May everyone who receives this message be blessed. Saint Theresa's
Prayer
Cannot be deleted.


REMEMBER to make a wish before you read the prayer.
That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. Just share
thiswith people and see what happens on the fourth day.

  Sorry you have to forward the message, but try not to break this,
please. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. Read the
prayer below.



Saint Theresa's Prayer


May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love
that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the
freedom to sing,
Dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Now, send this to 11 people within the next 5 minutes. And remember
to send this back.
I count as 1......... You'll see why. 'Worry looks around,
Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.'
This angel is sent to you..

You must send her to 11 people including me.

In 8 minutes you will receive something you have long awaited.


Have faith.







































----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.8.2/1739 - Release Date:
10/22/2008 7:23 AM





----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr!


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Use Windows Live Messenger to send messages to your buddies on their
mobile phones Find out more on our PC to Mobile website


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1750 - Release Date:
10/27/2008 6:14 PM


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.196 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1753 - Release Date:
10/28/2008 9:20 PM

Thank you for your feedback and blessing

--- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "nip.melvin"
<nip.melvin@...> wrote:
>
> Thank You..I am new to this group and your message was the first i
> read....that was AWESOME  ! What an encouragement!  I am now
starting my
> day EXPECTING GREAT THINGS!  Be Blessed Man Of God! [:D]
> --- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "Tim" <tm_files@> wrote:
> >
> > The Holy Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
> > not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him and He will direct
> > your path. How can we do that? What risks do we take?
> >
> > You have just finished scaling a canyon rock face. You are on top
> > appreciating God's amazing creations: the canyons of bright red
and
> > orange, laced with wonderful shadowy patterns of dark brown. An
eagle
> > soars overhead in a sky of ultramarine, blue filled with puffy,
> > cotton candy clouds drifting lazily past.  You feel the gentle
breeze
> > on your sweaty forehead as you pray to God, "Father God, thank You
> > for this wonderful life of mine!"
> >
> > By the power of the Holy Spirit God answers, "I want you to go
> > forward over to that next rock face." You look and realize that
rock
> > face is across a canyon about one hundred feet away from where
your
> > standing. You say to yourself there is no way that I can repel
> > forward from this canyon to get across to the next. I have to go
back
> > and repel from where I came up from. A thought then says, "NO! I
want
> > you to move forward to that other rock face."
> >
> > You answer to yourself, "This is crazy! I'm listening to this
> > gibberish!" Then God says, "I am your God, and I say to move
forward
> > to that other rock face." You think, "This is stupid. I would
have to
> > jump a span of one hundred feet to even touch the top." The reply
> > comes, "Don't you believe it's ME talking?"
> >
> > You are disgusted. You can't believe in the unseen or you can't
> > believe God wants you to jump one hundred feet. Actually, you blow
> > off this whole "mind-talk" and go backwards repelling down where
> > you've been.
> >
> > That night you have a dream. You are standing on the top of the
rock
> > face you scaled. God tells you to move forward to that rock face
one
> > hundred feet away. You say to God He is crazy! God responds, "Just
> > believe that it's Me talking and be obedient to what I'm saying."
> > You are EXTREMELY afraid! You yell at God, "PLEASE HELP ME DO WHAT
> > YOU WANT ME TO DO!!!" God replies," I'm here with you. Just DO IT"
> >
> > "Alright God!" you exclaim. "You want me to kill myself. Here I
go!"
> > You step back as far as you can go. You blast off with all the
energy
> > of a trained, well-muscled athlete, running to the edge of the
> > canyon.
> >
> > You leap high into the air like an eagle starting to soar down the
> > canyon. Suddenly! you fall. And more important, your fall is
broken
> > as you hit solid ground unhurt. You get up and realize there was
> > an "unseen" ledge under the edge of the rock face. You never
noticed
> > it while you were on the top. You were so busy thinking that God
> > wanted you to jump one hundred feet across the canyon that you
never
> > expected a plan "b" direction. Then you look and there is a sign
on
> > the ledge that reads "Simpson Trail."  A path leads down the rock
> > face across the river below and up to the other side where God
wanted
> > you to "leap" across in the first place.
> >
> > Then in your dream you say to God in disgust, "But God it'll take
a
> > whole day to travel on this path. Why don't' you just give me the
> > strength to jump across the canyon."  God laughs.
> >
> > We live our lives, meeting our responsibilities with all the
training
> > and experience we have acquired for the tasks before us. At times
we
> > have high points but usually we go through our day with less
passion
> > than what God wants for us.
> >
> > So God by His Holy Spirit tells us to "jump some canyons." He
wants
> > to run risks so we can believe in Him and His humongous love for
us.
> > God wants to walks with us through His Spirit.
> >
> > But we listen with ears that have been trained from what we have
> > experienced in the past. So we are clouded from the miraculous
> > possibilities that can be before us by the power of God's Holy
will
> > for each of us. When God told me He wanted me to be minister to
the
> > fitness community I thought, "Yeh, right God!"
> >
> > Then even more important God said He wanted me to use
bodybuilding as
> > an introduction piece for me to witness the Good News of Jesus
Christ
> > to a lost world. God-willing, trying to be obedient, the goal is
to
> > be a bodybuilder in a posing brief witnessing, saving as many
people
> > as possible from that eternal lake of fire. This direction is
> > definitely "cliff-jumping." But with God He can make a path down
the
> > canyon, across the river below, and up the far canyon to the other
> > side, all for His Glory!
> >
> > So how do we trust in God and lean not on our own understanding?
We
> > acknowledge Him and what He is wanting to do in our lives. We
listen
> > to Him, and strive with all the passion the Holy Spirit can give
us,
> > to be obedient to what He wants us to do. And by this trust, comes
> > faith, and by this faith comes hope. Then we can discover all
> > those "Simpson Trails" giving God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the
Holy
> > Spirit the glory for leading us in this miraculous and joyous
plan!
> > God wants us to run risks.
> >
> > This message is taken from the verse:
> > "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
> > understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and HE will make
> > your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5&6.  In fact all of Proverbs is
an
> > important book to live by. Take a look.
> >
> > If you want, also, take a look at www.musclebound.org,a ministry
of
> > information and inspiration.
> >
>

WELCOME! We hope we can help and encourage you along your path. You,
also, are a blessing to us by the very nature of your willingness to be
a part of this group. Continue to post. Ask questions. Get involved.

--- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "nip.melvin" <nip.melvin@...>
wrote:
>
> HELLO ALL!!!
> I AM 33 FROM LAS VEGAS...FIRST TIME POSTING.  I AM HERE FOR
> ENCOURAGEMENT , FELLOWSHIP AND WORKOUT TIPS.  I AM ON FIRE FOR THE
LORD!
> SERVING HIM IN LAS VEGAS......MELVIN.
>

Make His Word the Last Word

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

– Revelation 1:8

Jesus is the beginning and the ending. He is the Almighty. When He told us that in the Book of Revelation, He wasn't just giving us a general piece of information about Himself. He was giving us a powerful truth we can apply now, today!

Let me show you how. He said He is the beginning. So no matter what challenge or situation you may be facing right now, you need to start with Him. John 1:1 says Jesus is the Word. That means, if you're going to start with Jesus, you're going to start with the Word. Don't do anything until you find out what the Word has to say about it.

Then, stay on the Word. As Colossians 1:23 says, "Continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard."

Continue in the faith. The only way the devil can defeat you is to pressure you into throwing away the Word. Everything he does, every challenge he brings you is intended to make you doubt the Word of God. So don't let go of the Word, no matter what may happen. Settle it with God in prayer and stay with it forever. It is written!

Then end with the Word. Jesus said He was the first and the last. That means the word of your doctor is not the last word. Even the word of your pastor is not the last word. The Word of Jesus is the last Word!

Remember this: You are now what the Word says you are. You can do what the Word says you can do. And you can have what the Word says you can have. Begin to believe that. Begin to say it out loud in faith.

Now shout the victory. Yes, now! You don't have to wait to see the outcome to celebrate. You have Jesus' Word on the matter, so you know beyond any doubt that your breakthrough is coming. Once you've settled yourself on Him, you can be assured that He will have the last word!

HELLO ALL!!!
I AM 33 FROM LAS VEGAS...FIRST TIME POSTING.  I AM HERE FOR
ENCOURAGEMENT , FELLOWSHIP AND WORKOUT TIPS.  I AM ON FIRE FOR THE LORD!
SERVING HIM IN LAS VEGAS......MELVIN.

I found myself entering one those plateaus we all talk about. I went to
a website that was very helpful. Check it out. I put it on our "links"
page. It's called www.muscleandstrength.com.
Enjoy!

Peace in Christ,
Tim

The Holy Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him and He will direct
your path. How can we do that? What risks do we take?

You have just finished scaling a canyon rock face. You are on top
appreciating God's amazing creations: the canyons of bright red and
orange, laced with wonderful shadowy patterns of dark brown. An eagle
soars overhead in a sky of ultramarine, blue filled with puffy,
cotton candy clouds drifting lazily past.  You feel the gentle breeze
on your sweaty forehead as you pray to God, "Father God, thank You
for this wonderful life of mine!"

By the power of the Holy Spirit God answers, "I want you to go
forward over to that next rock face." You look and realize that rock
face is across a canyon about one hundred feet away from where your
standing. You say to yourself there is no way that I can repel
forward from this canyon to get across to the next. I have to go back
and repel from where I came up from. A thought then says, "NO! I want
you to move forward to that other rock face."

You answer to yourself, "This is crazy! I'm listening to this
gibberish!" Then God says, "I am your God, and I say to move forward
to that other rock face." You think, "This is stupid. I would have to
jump a span of one hundred feet to even touch the top." The reply
comes, "Don't you believe it's ME talking?"

You are disgusted. You can't believe in the unseen or you can't
believe God wants you to jump one hundred feet. Actually, you blow
off this whole "mind-talk" and go backwards repelling down where
you've been.

That night you have a dream. You are standing on the top of the rock
face you scaled. God tells you to move forward to that rock face one
hundred feet away. You say to God He is crazy! God responds, "Just
believe that it's Me talking and be obedient to what I'm saying."
You are EXTREMELY afraid! You yell at God, "PLEASE HELP ME DO WHAT
YOU WANT ME TO DO!!!" God replies," I'm here with you. Just DO IT"

"Alright God!" you exclaim. "You want me to kill myself. Here I go!"
You step back as far as you can go. You blast off with all the energy
of a trained, well-muscled athlete, running to the edge of the
canyon.

You leap high into the air like an eagle starting to soar down the
canyon. Suddenly! you fall. And more important, your fall is broken
as you hit solid ground unhurt. You get up and realize there was
an "unseen" ledge under the edge of the rock face. You never noticed
it while you were on the top. You were so busy thinking that God
wanted you to jump one hundred feet across the canyon that you never
expected a plan "b" direction. Then you look and there is a sign on
the ledge that reads "Simpson Trail."  A path leads down the rock
face across the river below and up to the other side where God wanted
you to "leap" across in the first place.

Then in your dream you say to God in disgust, "But God it'll take a
whole day to travel on this path. Why don't' you just give me the
strength to jump across the canyon."  God laughs.

We live our lives, meeting our responsibilities with all the training
and experience we have acquired for the tasks before us. At times we
have high points but usually we go through our day with less passion
than what God wants for us.

So God by His Holy Spirit tells us to "jump some canyons." He wants
to run risks so we can believe in Him and His humongous love for us.
God wants to walks with us through His Spirit.

But we listen with ears that have been trained from what we have
experienced in the past. So we are clouded from the miraculous
possibilities that can be before us by the power of God's Holy will
for each of us. When God told me He wanted me to be minister to the
fitness community I thought, "Yeh, right God!"

Then even more important God said He wanted me to use bodybuilding as
an introduction piece for me to witness the Good News of Jesus Christ
to a lost world. God-willing, trying to be obedient, the goal is to
be a bodybuilder in a posing brief witnessing, saving as many people
as possible from that eternal lake of fire. This direction is
definitely "cliff-jumping." But with God He can make a path down the
canyon, across the river below, and up the far canyon to the other
side, all for His Glory!

So how do we trust in God and lean not on our own understanding? We
acknowledge Him and what He is wanting to do in our lives. We listen
to Him, and strive with all the passion the Holy Spirit can give us,
to be obedient to what He wants us to do. And by this trust, comes
faith, and by this faith comes hope. Then we can discover all
those "Simpson Trails" giving God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Spirit the glory for leading us in this miraculous and joyous plan!
God wants us to run risks.

This message is taken from the verse:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and HE will make
your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5&6.  In fact all of Proverbs is an
important book to live by. Take a look.

If you want, also, take a look at www.musclebound.org,a ministry of
information and inspiration.

It's has been a very busy three weeks. I've been busy setting up a
Christian fitness website called www.musclebound.org. I'm still
committed to, also, post on this site, however.

God is blessing, to Him be praised!

The plan was to do one "rep" a day to encourage and strengthen the
body of Christ: being this fitness group.

Unfortunately since my mother went into the hospital my focus was
being the hospital visitor for my mother.  The rep messages had to
take a back row during this time. Which brings us to the "rep" for
today.

God allows distractions in our lives to get us closer to Him.  Last
week my family were VERY close to Him.  Our prayers were answered.
Even though she now has a blood infection along with the pneumonia
things have improved, praise God, from the beginning of the week.
And though her illness is a family distraction, it has not diverted
my attention from the ministry and employment responsibilities. At
times, God wants us to spend time with Him prioritizing our lives,
deciding what really is important.

And God, again, impressed to me that the main thing in life is
RELATIONSHIPS! When we are flexing, lifting, or doing whatever we
fitness people do, it's the relationships we develop that's important
along the way.  That is why there still is a "Bodybuilders for the
Lord" Yahoo group.

I really would like for you to lift up Lenice Brandon to the Lord for
a complete healing. She is over eighty and God is not done with her
on this earth yet.

Last night my mother went to the emergency room for breathing
problems.  It reminded me how God works in our lives.  Both of my
parents are not doing well.  This has happened in a very short period
of time.

It would be impossible for me to take care of their needs at present if
I were working.  By faith I know God had me retire from my teaching
position before the end of the year because He obviously knew my
parents would need attending to. You might say, "That's fortunate;"
or "What a stroke of luck;" or "That worked out great."

I say, "Thank you God for helping me, help my parents." We live our
lives by faith.

Some of you might have a large pink elephant, sitting on your sofa in
the living room. You say "it" is absolutely not there, but at times
it  knocks over an end table lamp or drinks water out of your fish
tank.

We sometimes have issues in our lives that we don't admit to, called
large "pink elephants." They bother us, upsetting the lives we live.
And, even at times, making us less than the Christian people we need
to be. We need to admit we have these "elephants."

It's strange that we don't admit to pink elephants and we, also,
don't admit to or call upon God, who is as invisible as the pink
elephant.  Though we see His marvelous creations, we still need by,
Faith, to acknowledge Him as a real, Father/Partner in our lives.

God is with us but we are silent. It is like you spending an entire
day doing fun things with your best friend; not talking or listening
to what they are saying. They move with you but you don't acknowledge
them. If they are your friends wouldn't you listen and talk to them
while you were shopping at the mall, working out at the gym , or just
kicking-back on the sofa with your pink elephant.

And maybe if you were kicking-back acknowledging God on the sofa,
your Glorious, All-powerful Heavenly Father could say to your issue
elephant, "You know it's kind of crowded here on the sofa with you,
me, and my best friend. Why don't you move out. We really don't want
you around anymore."

God wants us to have relationship with us even if He is as invisible
as one of your pink elephants.

Praise God in all things!  Hope your day is a blessed one!  Keep the
Faith! The Bible says "…hope in that which is seen is no hope at all.
If we hope in for what we do not see or have, we can then wait for it
patiently." Romans 8:24 &25.

And here's a great "catch!"  God says, "In the same way, the Spirit
helps us (hope) in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray
for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words
cannot express."

I guess it's all about our focus.

God has His eye on you and His mind in you!

He sees you. He knows the very hairs on you head. Even with an exterior
of sin, if you are a believer, you have the mind of Christ Jesus
through the Holy Spirit, which actually is the Mind of God.

To walk as God's light in the lost world

So many of us are on the fence between what we should and should not be
doing. The Kingdom of God is at hand with the New Jerusalem ahead.
Unfortunately, for all unbelievers it will be a time of eternal
suffering.

Our responsibility is to those people.  God wants to use us to save
them from an everlasting torment. The Bible says God doesn't want
anyone to suffer. People make choices as to how they will believe.

God help us be obedient to be used to spread the Truth to a lost
world.

The Bible says, "Be ye Holy, for I am Holy."  How do we do that?

We do that when we are obedient. It's easier to be obedient when we have faith. To have faith we have to trust.

So as fitness people, how are we Holy; especially as bodybuilders wearing small posing suits? People will judge because we are different. But, since we are Holy when we are obedient, we can praise God in whatever we do or say, bringing Glory to God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Bible says everyone in Christ is a new creation. It says,"Behold
all things have become new."

What does that mean for us each day? Every second of every day we are
renewed by the Power of God, paid by the obedience His Son the Lord
Jesus Christ, and given to us through the Holy Spirit.

Physically, we might be transforming into something healthy and, in the
world's view, impressive, beautiful, and physically powerful. In the
Holy Sight of our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, they are
transforming our minds, and more important, our hearts to Glorify God
and be used, through obedience, to spread the Truth to a lost World.

The Living Lord Jesus be Glorified.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make
your pathway straight." Proverbs 3:5

People call this week "Passion Week." This "Passion" was a Holy
focus. Christ's Passion was to come to earth to ultimatlely die so
that we might live by faith in The Father's Plan.

So do we have a Passion? With all our busy schedules, we feel we are
the world's greatest plate spinners.  We have lined up many spinning
plates on a row of thin sticks. We have to keep all the plates
spinning so the plates won't stop, fall off, and break.  The question
is how many plates do we have?

God has shown recently that He helps us find our deepest passion.  We
all have interests outside the responsibility area of life: family,
work, and church. Some of us have many interests. Some have very few.

What is the thing in life that gives us the greatest joy! This might
be related to our responsibilities.  We might have an extreme passion
for what we do at work. Since I taught school I know of a lot of
teachers who are driven to staying late every night, taking work home
on weekends, and getting excited everyday about what their children
are accomplishing. These teachers feel they are "called" to teach and
have an overwhelming sense of joy or "passion" to meet this calling.

My wife has a passion for her family and friends. Her and I are
constantly meeting the needs of people around us. Several months ago
we had sixty people over our house for a wedding rehearsal dinner for
our nephew. It was a Hawaiian luau complete with a five course buffet
with singer/ entertainer and all under a thousand light canopy. My
wife had been planning this event for months with the help of all her
willing and, sometimes unwilling, assistants. My wife is blessed by
God to serve others, making her the beautiful woman she is.

And finally people can have a passion for serving in the church. As a
person recently called to a ministry I'm aware of what the Lord has
in store for His members. The individual church runs on committed
believers. These people are encouraged by their leadership and Holy
Spirit to become the supporters of the church's programs. Meetings,
fellowships, fund-raisers, campaigns, special events, teaching, and
all other areas are manned by people who have a passion for serving.
Working in the church gives people joy.

What about areas outside these three responsibilities? You might call
this area the "fun place." A person buys an old Chevrolet Corvette
and begins to restore the car. The person starts by spending
tremendous sums of money buying new or used replacements for the car.
The person might start calling the car their "Sporty Baby."  The
person will spend countless hours rebuilding, calling the project a
work in progress. The car becomes the person's "passion." They get
personal joy when accomplishing something.

So what is YOUR one passion or do you have many passions that you
divide up your time? That is the issue. God wants to show you your
main passion. You have to be receptive and TRUST in what He is
showing you. The Bible says to love God with all your heart, soul,
and mind. How do you do that? By trusting in what He is saying
through His Holy Spirit through His scriptures, prayer, and in your
daily circumstances of life. It's a relationship. And in this
relationship he helps to show you what you true passion is and how He
can use it for His Glory. And when you bend to what He is saying you
acknowledge Him. When this happens, God probably has one of His "High-
Five-Moments" with His Son Jesus Christ!

This being a fitness website, the possible challenge of bodybuilding,
weight-training, or any physical conditioning, is that it takes a lot
of time, money, and energy. Is this your only personal passion? If it
is, you'll gain joy from the experience. You'll find the time and
resources to do it in much the same way as our man with the corvette.
If you have fitness as an interest, along with many other interests,
it will get a little crowded time-wise. What are your true passions
or joys? Focus on them. God, also, wants to show us our passions. God
actually has given us or allowed us these passions or joys which He
can use these for His glory. He joins us in these passions.

Personally my passion is to get huge and beautiful. I'm not ashamed
of who I am but not satisfied. God has shown me the direction He
wants me to go,revealing me this passion that He can use for His
Glory. God wants me to spread His Message to a lost world while I'm
moving towards that posing platform. It's not about winning
competitions, but about winning poeple to the Kingdom through what
God is doing, all for the Glory of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
So months ago God started me back into bodybuilding.  When I'm in the
gym it's like worshipping Him.  I read in a muscle magazine "…it's
all about the almighty pump." Being Christian fitness people that
gives us new meaning about the word "Almighty!"

God helps us find our main passion: the thing that gives us the
greatest joy. We'll find the time, money and energy for this passion.
More important God wants to join us, using it to draw closer to
us.

This is the day! The Day He did it for all of us!  Why do we call
it "Good Friday?" Why not "terrible or "horrible" Friday? Christ
suffered so much. For those who saw a recently released movie about the
crucifixion, it was a definitely realistic portrayal of what Christ did
for us. We GREATLY appreciate His obedience to His Father and His plan
for us.

Christ died so that we might live, but that is not the end of the
Eternal story. Three days later Christ arose and lived so that we,
through faith, might put our sinful nature to death. And better yet, as
Christ lives His Holy Spirit, also, lives in us, walking with us each
day of our life: CHRIST JESUS BE PRAISED!

He died so that we might live and then He lived so that we could "die"
each day. GOD SAYS THAT'S WHAT MAKES TODAY VERY "GOOD."

In Daniel, the fifth chapter and fifth verse, God is writing on the
wall about the ending of the reign of King Belshazzar.  Daniel is
brought in to interpret the writing. Daniel states during that night
the city would be attacked and Belshazzar would be killed.  What God
wrote and said will come true.

In our lives when God speaks do we say, "I need to pray about it," "I
need to talk to someone," or "I need to see if the voice is true to the
scriptures?" The Bible says to "test the Spirits." We may or may not
believe it at that moment in time, but, when all is said and done, when
God speaks to us it will come to pass.

Sit back and enjoy the ride, and the relationship!

It is a goal to do a Spiritual rep a day to inspire and bring Glory
to God.

Today, consider standing on the edge of a deep canyon. God says,"Take
a leap of Faith." You reply,"How about a small step or a nudge
forward."

No! God wants you, with all your might, leap as high and as far as
you can possibly go!

You are VERY afraid, but God says, "I'll be with you always,
including the time you are flying in the air."

So with all the conviction and obedience you step about hundred feet
back. You focus on the other side of the deep canyon, which is about
fifty feet away. You know God has carried people across great canyons
in their life, so with your little mustard seed of Faith you make
your attempt. Taking a running start, with all the emotional and
physical strength, you leap into the air.

You fly for a moment knowing it is what God wants you to do. Then
suddenly you land on solid ground. What you didn't notice, all along,
was the lower edge of the cliff under the one you were jumping from.
God saved you but in a different way. And you were obedient!

What is a "rep?"  You all know what a "rep" is. What you don't know is there are Spiritual "reps."  At times the weight is great but it grows and strengthens our Faith. The exercise is circumstance which breaks down the entire emotional body. But God's supplement in the Holy Spirit restores the tearing down. And we can then rejoice in the competition; when God says,"looking good" or "great lift" or "miraculous form."

And we all know who gets the Glory! Praise God in all things!      

Tim,

Thanks [in case anyone is wondering, I found at the weekend that I
could no longer access my BT Yahoo! account, so after a few hours of
not getting it to work, set up a new Yahoo! one].

I had found that my e-life was taking up too much of my life. There
are the old emails that I'll never read again, and friends' email
addresses which I'll find out again. WHat I found interesting is that
it gave me a chance to e-declutter things. Groups I contributed a lot
to I suddenly found I didn't miss. Why did I never get round to
telling X that I didn't want their organisation's emails? etc.

Graham

--- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "Tim" <tm_files@...> wrote:
>
> Welcome back. I know computers are a pain some sometimes.
>
> Just a note to let you all know. I've retired from teaching and
going
> to do God's ministry from this site. It's all about relationships!
>

Welcome back. I know computers are a pain some sometimes.

Just a note to let you all know. I've retired from teaching and going
to do God's ministry from this site. It's all about relationships!