Who Do You Say I Am?

In the gospel accounts there is a story that goes as follows;

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”   They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”   “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”  Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

-Mark 8:27-30 (NIV)

Often in sermons we hear our pastors focus in on that question, “Who do you say that I am?” As Christians, we proclaim what Peter answered, identifying Jesus as the Messiah. What if we were to flip the question around just a bit? If it wasn't Jesus asking the question, but instead if we were to ask others “Who do you say that I am?” How might the answers differ?

I imagine some of the responses might include a daughter/son, sister/brother, mother/father, friend, classmate, student, employee, co-worker...but who would God say that we are?

Throughout the Bible, God calls His people many different things. We are referred to as His flock of sheep (Ezekiel 34:31), children of God (Galatians 3:26), and made in His image (Genesis 1:27) just to give a few examples.

How would our lives change if we believed these things wholeheartedly? Would we be more obedient to God? Would we stop being so harsh and judgemental of ourselves? Would we be free to love others better?

I encourage you to ponder these things in your heart, pray over them as you go about your week and look for signs of where God is already at work in you and in your life. May God bless you and keep you in His loving arms! Have a blessed week.

Glorifying God Through Healthy Living

“Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

-1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

    After living and working in a Seventh-Day Adventist community for the past few months, it has been brought to my attention that healthy living is an important component of the Christian faith. Nutrition and exercise are significant, just as spiritual practices of daily scripture reading and prayer are crucial to our daily walks of faith. Growing up in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) I never received this perspective from the messages shared during Sunday morning church services.

    Growing up I have always been involved in sports. Throughout my childhood and high school years I participated in a variety of organized sports including; soccer, dance, softball, basketball, cheer, gymnastics, track and field, swimming, and flag football. Due to some health related issues, I had to cease all involvement in athletics mid-Fall of my Junior year of high school.

    With my health continuing to decline I was encouraged to begin doing some light exercise my Freshman year of college to shed some of the weight I had gained due to side-effects of some medications I was on. As recommended by a doctor of mine, I started out with BeachBody.com’s Tai Cheng program. After completing the program, I decided to bump-up the intensity a bit with BeachBody.com’s Slim-in-Six workout. Between doing that and working at camp over the summer, between my Freshman and Sophomore years of college, I lost nearly 40lbs.

    Unfortunately I gained a lot of the weight back during the school year. I enjoyed exercising at The Y with friends, but there was still something missing. In early June of 2015, I found a local Groupon deal for a CrossFit box near my parent's house. I had a number of friends who were avid CrossFitters and I had wanted to try, but had kept putting it off due to the high cost of membership fees. But with a Groupon Deal of $27 for 10 sessions I finally had an opportunity to try it out for myself.

    From day one I fell in love with CrossFit. The variations of high intensity training and positive, affirming atmosphere of the people there made me want to come back for more. Not to mention, my body craved the high from the endorphins after having not exercised on a regular basis in years. During the time I spent living with my parent's that summer, I was at CrossFit just about every single day. Even if that meant getting up at the crack of dawn so I could get my early morning WOD in before heading off to work.

    I moved up to the San Juan Islands in August to start a new job as part of a full-time internship I was doing as a requirement of my undergraduate studies. The only box in the area had hours that didn't coincide well with my work schedule, so I ended up stopping CrossFit for awhile. I stayed active through hiking and kayaking, as well as coaching high school volleyball and basketball.

    It was during this time that I began to realize that I had began prioritizing CrossFit without making it a part of my faith. In team sports it's relatively easy to create habits of praying together before a game or doing devotionals with teammates. But individual sports often miss out on these types of experiences. I wasn't doing it for God anymore, I was doing it for myself.

    I wasn't happy with my body. My face was too chubby, my tummy stuck out too far, I had love handles around my waist and no gap between my thighs. I felt fat and ugly. What I had done was neglected to see myself as a creation of God and to love myself as such.

“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

-Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

    Recently, I have moved back on-campus at my college to complete my final semester of my undergraduate studies and have begun participating in CrossFit at a new box. I am even signed-up for the CrossFit Open (starting next week). But this time it's not about body image or other selfish ambitions, this time I'm doing it to glorify The Creator, God.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

-Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

    I am creating this blog for those who desire to have a deeper understanding of how living a healthy lifestyle coincides with the Christian faith. I hope to encourage and inspire others to live a life of good nutrition, exercise and overall well-being.

Until next time, God bless.