I’m going to be really transparent here and share something personal:  I’m frustrated.  I’m frustrated with a Christian nation, myself included, who has fallen deeply into the lies of the world and of Satan.

I’m not sure how many Christians really understand that there is a literal war going on in the spiritual realm.  I won’t even pretend to understand the spiritual realm, itself, but I can read clearly enough in the Bible to know that human souls are involved and are deeply significant.

Your soul.  My soul.  Your loved ones’ souls.

Everyday, Christians are faced with hundreds of decisions that affect their outcome in eternity.  One of those decisions involves how well you treat the temple of God’s Holy Spirit – your body!

Let’s be clear:  your body is temporary.  Because of that, someone could incorrectly assume that his or her body isn’t very important.  But the reality is that your body and my body were created by God in His image.  It is special, if only for that reason (although there are many more verses in the Bible that prove how special our bodies are).

But there is more.

You see, Jesus told a few parables in His time.  A few of them taught lessons about being prepared.  A few taught lessons about using our talents, skills, and possessions wisely.  Our bodies are a gift of God and clearly defined in the Bible as the temple of the Holy Spirit.  How we “use our possession” and how we “prepare” for eternity by taking care of His gift WILL have an impact on our outcome in heaven.

So… go back to the beginning:  there is a spiritual war going on right now that involves your human soul.  Your soul is directly connected to your mind and body.  Our very existence means that God gave us a chance to choose Him, to serve Him, to love Him, and to take care of His possessions wisely as we prepare for His return.

When your body is exhausted, depleted and ultimately gone, all of your chances and opportunities for choice will be over.  All of my chances will be over.  My future in heaven will no longer be under my influence from that moment forward.

The question is this:  what choices will you make until then to ensure that, Lord willing, you have a LONG, healthy lifetime of wise decisions to make, to the glory of Jesus?

Let me know what you are thinking and feeling…

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1. Fitness, the Bible, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit

I’m already chuckling. Seriously, I am. This is one of my favorite, most comical (but effective) tools that I give to my clients. Every time I tell my clients about it, they get a surprised expression on their face and nervously laugh. I can only imagine the images going through their head when I tell them about it.

I’m sure more than one has thought, “Great. I have a crazy health and fitness coach!” But I always get the last laugh (in a good way!) on this one, because it is a nice trick to help you lose weight and get more fit!

Are you ready for it? Here it is: I want you to work out in the bathroom.

Don’t worry. We’re not talking about a full-blown, 30 minute, sweat-pouring, leg-quivering, arms out of control kind of workout. You won’t get funny stares from your co-workers as you walk out of the bathroom stall red-faced, huffing and puffing (because you won’t be). And there won’t be any funny noises coming from your stall, because you won’t need to grunt, scream, or holler from a monstrously heavy burden. There will be no SWAT team, police, security, or even your boss waiting outside the bathroom door, armed and ready for whatever strange events are happening inside.

So, relax. We’re talking about a selection of movements (you get to pick) that take just 45 seconds, at the max!

The overall premise is very simple: we don’t move enough each day, so we’re going to take advantage of our small, built-in, mandatory-for-life “bathroom breaks” to squeeze in a little more exercise every day. EVERY time we increase our activity, we get a brief increase in our metabolism, which means we are burning more calories.

Of course, more calories burned means more fat burned. More fat burned means a healthier body (assuming we’re talking about someone who needs to lose body fat). And a healthier body means a healthier, longer-lasting temple of the Holy Spirit!

Incidentally, because of the “strangeness” of the idea, I first tried this out on my mom.  She literally called me less than 2 weeks later and said that her legs felt stronger, she could go up the stairs easier, and that getting into and out of dad’s farm truck was no longer a problem!  (My mom is one of my greatest success stories)

Oh, yeah… we haven’t talked about it in depth, yet, but we recommend that you drink 1 gallon of water per day. Not only does it help your body run optimally, but it will also increase the frequency of your bathroom activity breaks!

So, once you’ve used the lavatory, just get your clothes situated and have at it!  Here are 10 exercises that you can do to burn more calories throughout your day!

1. 10-20 deep squats
2. 10-20 pushups against the bathroom wall/stall.  (Please don’t do them on the bathroom floor.  I have to draw the line, somewhere.)
3. 20 standing calf raises
4. 20 seated calf raises.  Perfect for when you have to…  well, have a seat.
5. 10 “air pushups”:  Squeeze your muscles HARD as you do an imaginary pushup in the air.
6. 10 “air pullups”:  Squeeze your muscles HARD as you do an imaginary pullup in the air.
7. 10 “air shoulder press”:  Squeeze your muscles HARD as you push your arms and hands straight up in the air.
8. 10 “air hamstring curls”:  1 leg at a time, squeeze your hamstrings hard and lift your heel to your glutes.
9. 10 knee lifts:  Do 10 knee lifts for each leg.  Bring your knee up as high as you can and pull it into your chest.
10. 10 glute squeezes:  Stand up and lift one leg BACK behind you as far as you can, keeping it straight.  Works the glutes very well!

Good news… there is one more awesome activity we can do in the bathroom:  pray!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Let’s face it:  we have natural, built-in “breaks” throughout the day.  Take advantage of this great opportunity to improve and increase your metabolism, strength, and flexibility.  Take advantage of this opportunity to spend time quietly in prayer with our Almighty Lord and Savior.

Who knew the bathroom was a perfect place to get Fit For Jesus!

God bless you today.  Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know your questions, how you will implement this information, and the results you achieve from it (both spiritual and physical)!

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1. The Truth About Machines for Weight Loss

In the first Fit For Jesus blog post, I mentioned the following scripture:

This is only the beginning, but what a clear beginning it is!  Our body is the literal, physical temple of the Holy Spirit. By taking care of our bodies, we are taking care of our wonderful Holy Spirit’s temple.  Our body is a gift from the Lord, and we should all, in a simple act of thankfulness and love, take care of our body and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Are we required to? Technically, no. Salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift of God’s grace.  Our salvation does not depend on our actions, but don’t you want to give something back to our gracious Heavenly Father, who gave His Son for us?

(In the coming weeks, we will get into a lot of detail about how, while our actions here on earth have NOTHING to do with “deserving” salvation, our actions here on earth – including your levels of health and fitness – potentially have MUCH to do with our reward in heaven!)

Here is more scripture:

Jesus states that His body is a temple.  I know when I first came across this scripture, my gut response was, “Yeah, but that is Jesus.  I can’t compare myself to Him and call my body a temple!”

It almost seems uncomfortable to compare ourselves to Jesus, doesn’t it?  Yet, in the Bible, it clearly states that we are “made new in Christ”, and through the Holy Spirit “conformed to the likeness of His Son.”  Yes, we are conformed into the likeness of His character and His righteousness and holiness, but Jesus was also very human.

Jesus was exceptionally clear:  His human body was a temple!

This really seals the point, doesn’t it?  We are, both individually and collectively, becoming a “dwelling in which GOD lives by His Spirit!”.

I think we can all agree that the Bible is conclusive: our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  In the Old Testament, a tremendous amount of resources, including time, talent, attention, and money were devoted to the building of God’s temple.  The temple of the Holy Spirit – our body – should be no different!

Pray today for the Lord’s strength to help you build a temple worthy of the Holy Spirit.  Ask for strength to choose the right foods, the desire to plan your meals, the shift in priorities to create time to exercise.  Start with the clear scripture, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you in more detail about His desire for you!

Take care, and God bless you richly,

Jeremy Nelms

P.S.  Stay tuned and watch out for a post later this week about the social networking side of Fit For Jesus!  I will need 10-20 testers, so be ready!

Related posts:

1. Spirituality and Your Temple of the Holy Spirit
2. Health, Fitness, and Reward in Heaven
3. 11 More Bible Verses for Your Body and Christian Weight Loss

We have a lot planned for the Fit For Jesus website.  For now, we are going to start sharing some of the Biblical principles behind having a fit, healthy body.  And in case you’re wondering, it goes WAY beyond 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, which says,

Powerful motivation, isn’t it?  But this is truly just the tip of the iceberg, and we will spend a lot of time digging deeply into… scripture and the promised rewards of a healthy body… all with a focus on Jesus Christ!

In addition to scripture and discussion, we will also have videos, workouts, recipes, and more!  But, truly, that honestly isn’t even the best part of the Fit For Jesus website.

In the background, Alissa and I are working with and finalizing an absolutely amazing piece of software that is going to bring the best features of MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter… all into one package.

• Your own personal profile page, so you can let people know what is going on in your life and receive support.
• Ability to follow friends, so you can keep up with them and provide encouragement.
• Ability to upload videos, pictures, and music, so others can give suggestions on your exercise form (or you can simply upload some positive, inspirational messages for others!).
• An easy-to-use, categorized forum for interaction, so that your discussions can help thousands of others.
• Your own blog and journal, so you can provide week by week, or even daily updates on your progress with your fitness or personal spiritual efforts.
• Ability to create your own groups (perfect for churches, small groups, fitness groups, etc.) and even a private group forum!
• Live chat
• If you are interested, there is even a place where you can submit articles that you feel will benefit the Fit For Jesus community!

It’s an exciting time, for sure!

So, here is the best thing to do for now, while we finish up the social networking side of Fit For Jesus.

1. Put your name and email in the form below, which will make sure that you are notified as SOON as the social networking site goes live.
2. Become a fan of Fit For Jesus on Facebook.
3. Start following Fit For Jesus on Twitter.
4. Send an email to your friends about the site.
5. Leave a comment below, and tell us what you’re looking forward to the most! 

Enjoy, and you will hear from us again soon!

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Alissa Nelms

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