Special Touch

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29

There is probably no community of people so desperate to hear and believe those words than the community of special needs families. This is not to say that families who have members with disabilities are seeking pity or necessarily have a heavier burden than any other family. Nor does it suggest that they would desire to trade places with a family who does not have special needs. What this article attempts to call attention to is “COME TO ME ALL…”

In this portion of Matthew 11:28, Jesus does not put qualifiers on who can come to Him. Unfortunately, in many cases, the Church, the body of Christ, has, perhaps unknowingly and unintentionally, but nonetheless added their own qualifications. Charlie and Debbie Chivers saw this as a contradiction to scripture. Led by the Holy Spirit, the Chivers’ began Special Touch Ministry in 1982. Although it began as a small summer camp attended by 32 people, the vision was for a viable nationwide ministry that would open the doors of the church to people with disabilities.

While the ministry was begun to support people with disabilities within the church, the large percentage of the now 50 million Americans with disabilities who do not attend church is what the Chivers’ feel is a travesty. “There is a sleeping giant behind every disabled person and that sleeping giant is evangelizing the number of lost family members who are the caregivers for the person with the disability.”

Many people do not attend church and consequently may never hear the Word of God because they do not feel, and in many cases have been told, that there is no place for their loved one with a disability. This need goes far beyond ramps and handicapped restroom facilities. It goes to the heart of the church. Who is going to not only teach the disabled child or adult, but also minister to the rest of the family? Who will spend the time with a young adult who is mentally challenged? Who will take the time to read the story of Jesus to those who may not be able to respond with a “typical” response? Who gets to decide who is not “qualified” or worthy of hearing the gospel and feeling the love of God through His Church? No one.

“Many of our disabled friends and family are tolerated but not included. We have to be willing to condescend to them.” Charlie explained that the word condescend is not used in the derogatory sense, but in this instance the definition is “to put aside one’s dignity or superiority voluntarily and assume equality with one regarded as inferior: He condescended to their intellectual level in order to be understood.” Charlie and Debbie are putting an incredible amount of energy into teaching churches how to respond and involve families with disabilities. They are most excited about their current project of developing teaching literature for churches to be able to “condescend” to their members who may have intellectual disabilities. “It’s just discipling at their level of ability”, explains Debbie.

The verses from I Corinthians 12:12-31 are the perfect analogy for what Charlie and Debbie Chivers feel led to do for the body of Christ.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor….But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

A person who is dominantly right handed still uses his left hand even though the left hand does not function with the same ability as his right. Similarly, we cannot say to a person with a disability that they are of no use to the church body because they cannot walk, talk, hear, or even think the way other people do.

The last verse of 1 Corinthians 12 is the perfect lead in to 1 Corinthians 13. The greater gift, of course, is love. People with disabilities and their families want the same things we all want; to be accepted and treated with dignity. If asked, they would probably say they’d really just like a friend. A real friend, who calls them up and says, “Hey, wanna go grab a burger and just talk?” or “Hey, a group of us are going to the movies. Would you like to join us?” or something as simple as, “I’m walking toward the sanctuary. Can I walk beside you?” The families of those persons with disabilities need friends as well. They need someone to say, “Hey I’m coming over this Friday to watch a movie with your son while you and your wife go out for dinner.” Or, “Our family loves to play Putt-putt. Would your family like to join us this Saturday?” Or again, just the simple, “We would love to sit with you in Worship today. Where is the most convenient place for your son, (daughter, wife, husband) to sit?” It’s showing love in the most common ways, just like Jesus did when he walked on this earth.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13

We must learn to love every member of the body not for the value that we place on them but because of the value Christ paid for them. Charlie and Debbie Chivers are teaching and showing the way to do this through Special Touch Ministry, Inc. Won’t we stand with them and show the world that the Church is the place for ALL who are weary and burdened no matter what their ability or disability.

To find out more about Special Touch Ministry, Inc. go to www.specialtouch.org

Is Tithing too Taxing?

Well, the elections are over! At least most of them anyway...still waiting on some stray ballots as usual. Some people are happy about the results and some are not. And as usual some don't care.

I'm in a Bible study this fall on the book of Isaiah. WOW. Talk about deep. But also talk about real!! It could be the headlines in the Dallas Morning News. The thing that sticks out to me is that people are still trying to rule the world and not give God the credit. They seem to think that they are in power because of something THEY did...ha I'm sure God laughs at that thought...In fact, the Bible says.” The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust” Ps 2:4

HOWEVER! I also believe after studying Isaiah that the Lord will use whatever means necessary to get his point across. That means a lot of things, but the point I wanted to make in this note is what that means to us and our current economy....mainly the whole "tax and spend" agenda that we seem to be in. While there are certainly "pork" plans and "earmarks" that are selfish and probably unnecessary, I’m not talking about those. I'm talking about the supports that are needed like helping the needy, poor, sick, disabled, orphaned, widowed…you get the picture.

Whose job is it to take care of the needy? Is it really the government’s? I don’t think so. The Bible says in James 1:27

“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

This includes those who cannot fend for themselves.

James 2:14-20What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?

So is God using our Government to do the job that we were meant to do? I believe he is. In Isaiah 10, God used the Assyrian army to bring destruction upon the children of Israel because they had forgotten to whom they belonged. They had begun to worship idols and forget it was Yahweh, the one True God who had brought them out of slavery. They had allowed “the government” to dictate to them where their allegiance should lie. And because it was easier to take the government’s way rather than fight it or seek God’s way, slowly but surely, they had turned into a nation who didn’t acknowledge God.

But there was a “remnant” that had not forgotten. Because of that small group of people, God protected Israel once again and did not allow them to be utterly destroyed although they had to go through much trauma, tragedy and death in the process. God used the ungodly nation of Assyria to bring about his will for His people to worship Him.

In like manner, we have allowed the government to take over our role of caring for the needy (and many other roles as well). Our tithes and offerings were meant to support our local body of believers and offer help to those who cannot help themselves. Only about 6% of the Evangelical population tithes. People who think the government should take care of all of the social ills in this country are the least generous with their own money. The most generous in charitable giving is the conservative working class.

So really regardless of whether you’re conservative or liberal, republican or democrat, Christian or not, our treasure speaks for what our hearts will not say out loud. We can yell and scream that we do not want government taking over our healthcare and our schools, and our private corporations, but until we are willing to give at least the bare minimum when it comes to God’s church and the organizations set up to help those who cannot help themselves, we might as well, shut up…

We have the perfect opportunity to take care of a large portion of our country’s social ills, through the system that God set up for us thousands of years ago..Tithes and offerings. But we have shirked our responsibility; our privilege; our blessing that God so wants to give us.

So there it is ….more tithe or more tax… which do you find more taxing?

Hebrews 13:16 (The Message)

Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship- a different kind of sacrifice – that take place in the kitchen and workplace and on the streets.

Malachi 3:10 Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

If we are the body, am I the appendix?

If we are the body- am I the appendix?

When my cousin, Anita Hurst was little, probably about 6 years old, she had appendicitis and had to have her appendix removed. Her mom, sister and I were at the hospital visiting her when we heard a familiar voice down the hall, “Anita Hurst, please.” It was my dad trying to find Anita’s room for a visit. We waited for the nurse to give him the room number. Her response, “What for?” My dad was confused and repeated “Anita Hurst”. The nurse again answered oddly, “We don’t have those here. You’ll have to talk to someone at the funeral home.” Now it was clear…the laughs we had talking about that miscommunication…She thought he said “I need a hearse, please”….hahahahaha….

Well, that story has nothing to do with this note, except that it involved something about the appendix. I just thought it was too funny not to share…I am not a medical doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but from what I know, medicine has yet to determine the purpose of the appendix in our body. It just sort of hangs out attached to the large intestine. The only time we really know that we even have an appendix is when it gets inflamed and infected. Again, Doctors don’t really know how or why this happens either.

I thought about this as I listened to a sermon on the radio recently. Romans 12:3-8 says: For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

So I asked myself, “what body part am I?” Am I the appendix? Just hanging out, serving no purpose, watching all work take place and pass by and getting irritated if something accidentally gets lodged in my duct work…hmmm? Well, the good news is, none of us was created to be an appendix. Maybe God only made the appendix so that I could use this illustration…ha… now wouldn’t that be something…all that science gone to waste and the answer comes in a note on FB…OK…I don’t think that highly of myself, don’t worry. I do know that if the Bible says I am part of the body of Christ, (His church) while I’m on this earth, then I do have a purpose. Maybe I’m just the little toe in the body. But even the little toe has a purpose. Did you know that the little toe is the most important toe on your foot for balance? That’s right, people without a little toe have difficulty with balance…hmmm? I’d say it’s a pretty important part of the body, wouldn’t you? So whatever part of the body you are, as long as Christ is the head, you are very needed, important, and useful. Just don’t be the appendix, hanging out doing nothing until you get irritated.

The No Sin Zone

"Unrepentant sin leads to spiritual blindness that cannot distinguish between good and evil."

Sin is such an ugly word. Let’s take it out of our vocabulary. No I don’t mean we won’t sin anymore, let’s just take it out. Just don’t use the word. That’s what our society is trying to do and has been really since the dawn of time. Adam tried to wiggle his way out of sin by blaming Eve. And Eve, who sort of had a legitimate though weak argument, (IMO) blamed it on the serpent or Satan. I mean really, between winning a challenge with Satan and winning one with your wife….oh wait, what am I saying…Adam didn’t have a chance did he? ha

When my kids were little, we played “peek-a-boo”. We would cover our eyes and say “Where is ….?” And then move our hands from our eyes and say “Peek-a-boo”. Then we would teach them to do it. For toddlers, this is a fun game, but their little brains aren’t developed enough to realize that if they cover their eyes, we can still see them. They will stand in the middle of the room with their hands over their eyes, thinking they are invisible. As long as they can’t see anyone, they think no one can see them.

I think this is where we’ve come to in our society--playing peek-a-boo with sin. If no one sees me sin, then I’m not sinning. And better than that, not only am I not sinning, it’s not even sin. Kind of like the tree in the forest analogy I guess. You know, if a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear, does it still make a sound? Always thought that was a weird question. But apply it here. A person might say, “If no one sees me sleep with 20 something (or more) women (or men), then it’s not wrong.” (My question: then why keep it secret?) UH…YES…the answer to both: the tree still makes a sound and yes, if no one sees me it’s still SIN! What’s so difficult about that? Unfortunately, the reverb from my sin will last a lot longer than the echo from the falling tree.

You know the old argument that people will throw up, (Biblically based don’t cha know)”judge not lest ye be judged” (there’s a difference between being judgmental and judging right from wrong) but OK. Then they’ll use the adulterous woman story. Remember, she was about to be stoned when Jesus said the famous words used by many who are caught or continue living a sinful lifestyle and want to feel justified, “You without sin, cast the first stone”. Awww man, that leaves me out. I certainly am with sin, every single day. But wait. What about the rest of the story? As expected, everyone put down his stone and left. The woman was left there with Jesus. Now this is the crucial part that everyone wants to forget. When she realized that she was not going to be stoned, Jesus said to her. “Go and sin NO MORE”. He didn’t say, “Go there’s NO MORE SIN”. Did he expect her to never sin again? No, what he meant was don’t live a life of sin without thinking of the consequences and repenting. Be thankful for the grace and mercy that was given you this day and because of that thankfulness, choose not to sin.

That’s what we’re to do. God is not the giant Killjoy in the sky. He is not looking down on us like a huge “whack-a-mole” game waiting for us to pop our little heads up with a huge sin on top of it so he can bonk us and knock us back down into our dark little hole. That is not God.

Don’t get me wrong. God detests sin. He will not tolerate it, because he is just, but he is slow to anger and great in mercy. That’s something to be thankful for. My thankfulness is shown by seeking ways to NOT sin and asking forgiveness when I do.

I’m not trying to be “Suzy Saintly” here. Believe me when I say, I don’t have time to judge other people’s sinful behavior when I’ve got enough of my own. If we just followed Psalm 139:23-24, none of us would have to time to consider what other people are doing or not doing. I’m just saying, fess up. Don’t try to dress up sin in ribbon and lace and call it a party dress when it’s not. We have the power to be in the “No-sin Zone” when we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Not the “there is no sin zone” but the “No I-don’t-have-to-live–in-sin-zone”.

There are other words that are used to disguise sin. Here are a few that I’ve heard. See if you can come up with more.

Adultery – an Affair

Embezzlement – misappropriation of funds

Lying – embellishing the truth, white lie, “style”,

Fornication – living together, hooking up, young and in love

Gossip – News, journalistic license, 1^st amendment right, prayer request

Slander – news, journalistic license, 1^st amendment right, prayer request, style

Isaiah 41:12 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, for I protect you.

Psalm 19:8 -The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life.

Proverbs 21:12 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.

Proverbs 3:7 - Do not be wise in your own estimation; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 26:12 - Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Psalm 36:1-9 An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God, for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin. The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;he does not care about doing what is wise and right.He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil. O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; your faithfulness to the clouds. Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom. How precious is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings. They are filled with food from your house, and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies. For you are the one who gives and sustains life.

....And Whirled Peas

…And WHIRLED PEAS

I’ve been confused and at times amused listening to the rhetoric swirling around the current administration’s plans for fiscal and military recovery and/or reconciliation. It reminds me of the movie “Miss Congeniality”.

You may recall, Sandra Bullock, as Gracie Hart, an undercover FBI agent sent to foil a plot to destroy the Miss United States Pageant. One of my favorite scenes is when Gracie is asked the question, “What is the one most important thing our society needs?

Her answer comes from her background in law enforcement rather than the traditional answer given by a life-long pageant contestant.

Gracie Hart: That would be... harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.

As everyone sort of sits there she realizes her mistake and finishes with:

Gracie Hart: And world peace!

Everyone claps, ooohs and aahhhs…It’s hilarious.

This is the way I believe this administration is trying to run our country—like a contestant in a beauty pageant. Maybe they won’t win, but if they can just get the congeniality award, that’ll be an accomplishment. Let’s make everyone happy (or at least whoever we’re talking to at the moment). Let’s quit fighting people no matter how they may want to kill us. Peace at all costs. Let’s just say “yes” to all requests for buildings on hallowed ground or people who want to live here illegally. Don’t have a job? Don’t worry about it….we’ll pay for it for as long as you need. As long as everyone likes us and thinks we’re nice, we’re a winner…right?

Unfortunately, Miss Congeniality rarely “wins” the pageant. Not saying I think that’s right. I would much rather have someone who’s known for being nice and caring represent our country than someone who’s all about outer beauty, but that’s not reality and being the leader of the free world is not a beauty pageant.

So why the title “Whirled Peas”? Well, it’s sort of a word association game so go with me for a minute here…Miss Congeniality talked about world peace. I recently saw a bumper sticker that says, “Visualize Whirled Peas” (play on words for world peace) and if you’re a mom or dad who’s ever fed your baby peas, you know that there’s probably nothing more disgusting looking or tasting. Better yet, let the baby feed himself. Don’t even think about the diaper duty afterwards. So when I think of the way our administration is attempting world peace, I think of that bumper sticker that says “Visualize Whirled Peas”.

It seems to me that the way we’re going about trying to make everyone happy, by giving all the freebies we’re losing freedom rather than gaining. When you take away a person’s reason to work and reason to fight for what’s right, you’ve essentially made them a slave. So instead of having world peace, you end up with whirled peas, or in other words a big mess.

Is praying a stretch?

Is Praying a Stretch?

Ron and I have been on a weight loss/get in shape gig for about a year now. Ron has done a much better job than I have. He’s an animal. Part of the routine that we do is an exercise program called P90X. We had heard all the “OMG…that is brutal. “ comments but Ron thought he wanted to try it. So back in February he got started. It was brutal, but he was convinced that if he just stayed at it, it would pay off. “Do your best. Forget the rest.” Is the mantra of Tony who hosts the DVD set. So with Ron’s encouragement and seeing the results he was getting I decided to try it as well.

UGH!! That was my first impression. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My “best” was certainly not worth remembering, so I didn’t know how I was going to “forget the rest”! But I continued.

The worst part of the whole program is the stretching. Tony is a big proponent of stretching. We stretch before the exercise, during the exercise and certainly after. Then there’s a whole DVD of just stretching. Not to mention the 1.5 hours of YOGA which, FYI…is a LOT of stretching. I bet if I totaled it up, there would be as many minutes of stretching than the actual exercises.

“Stretching?” you say. “What’s so bad about stretching?”

Well, here are my top reasons why I hate stretching.

1. 1. It hurts

2. 2. I feel like I’m wasting my time

But the experts will tell you their top reasons for stretching:

10 Reasons Why Everyone Should Stretch

1. Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion.

2. May reduce your risk of injury.

3. Helps relieve post-exercise aches and pains.

4. Improves posture.

5. Helps reduce or manage stress..

6. Reduces muscular tension and enhances muscular relaxation.

7. Improves mechanical efficiency and overall functional performance. energy-efficient movements.

8. Prepares the body for the stress of exercise.

9. Promotes circulation.

10. Decreases the risk of low-back pain.

Source: The American Council on Exercise

Now what does all of this talk of exercise and stretching have to do with prayer?

Well, for me, prayer is like stretching. (GASP…WHAT?) Yes, I who promotes prayer and Bible study and really, really believe that’s the best way to live life- struggle with my prayer life.

As with stretching, prayer for me carries the same two challenges

1. It Hurts-sometimes it just hurts to pray. All that confession is painful. I don’t like remembering all my failings, sins (both omission and commission)…all the shoulda woulda couldas… Sometimes I get so bogged down in the confession that I forget about the forgiveness and just spend the time beating myself up…ahh...yeah..good times…ha

2. Waste of time-yes, sometimes prayer feels like a waste of time. I feel like spending a few minutes in prayer would be better used in Bible study. I need to just know more scripture, more stories, more information about the prophets of old. Or I feel like I could be doing something more productive. I could be out there in the world helping others…yadayadayada…Or better yet, reading another book about helping the world…that’s my favorite. Or it’s a waste of time, because things I’ve prayed about didn’t turn out like I wanted. There are things I’ve prayed about that I KNOW would be God’s will… Like friends contemplating and finally going thru with Divorce. I prayed and prayed, begged, cried, yelled…everything I could think of on their behalf yet they still divorced. So was it a waste of time to pray?

Intellectually and even spiritually, I know better. But apparently I’m not alone. There was a whole program on prayer a few days ago on Family Life Today. Paul Miller has written a book, which I ordered by the way, on prayer and it’s effectiveness. As I listened to the program, I began to formulate my “stretching vs prayer” analogy.

Let’s look at the 10 reasons I found for Stretching and compare them with prayer. We’ll combine some of the reasons.

1. . Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion. May reduce your risk of injury. Helps relieve post-exercise aches and pains.

Yes, prayer is healing. All the experts, even non-Christians believe that prayer is an integral part of healing. People who pray are actually less likely to become ill and if they do are more likely to recover. But looking at some of the words like “increases range of motion” we could interpret that a different way. Range of motion means how far you can stretch or reach. Prayer gives us the strength to reach out to people or causes in a greater capacity. Things that we could not do on our own are somehow accomplished when we pray.

There are many testimonies of people who we may see as great evangelists or teachers who just started with a desire to reach people for Christ and had no idea how to do that but prayed and doors began to open. I love hearing those stories.

I have been praying for a while now that the Lord would give Ron and I a ministry or mission to work on together once we became “empty nesters”. I had a great idea in my mind that I thought would be awesome. But I prayed that God would lead Ron to decide so that I would know it wasn’t just me bugging him to do something. This was not an “all of a sudden” answer, but it was (is) dramatic and very exciting (at least to me). But once the idea came (from God) thru Ron, we were off and running. Doors started flinging open to this new direction in our lives. Doors that there is no way we would have even thought to knock on…thinking “who are we to knock on that door?” The door just opened. WOW…But talk about a stretch….(I’ll have more to say on this subject later)

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groaning. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.

2.Improves Posture: In prayer our posture is usually a humble position, bowed, kneeling perhaps, prostrate even, but let’s look at the word posture in a different context. Posture can also mean confidence. With prayer we have a confidence not in ourselves, but in whose we are and in the ability of Him, not us. Prayer posture gives us the ability to fight the spiritual (which may appear human) battles with confidence.

Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

3. Helps reduce or manage stress. Reduces muscular tension and enhances muscular relaxation. Improves mechanical efficiency and overall functional performance, energy-efficient movements. Prepares the body for the stress of exercise.

Prayer definitely fits this benefit of stretching. Again, experts say that people who pray are less stressed in the same or similar situations as people who don’t pray. There is something calming about sitting quietly just seeking God’s presence. Although it is difficult for me to do, because, I tend to drift off into thinking of all the things I need to be doing (and not just spiritual things either…laundry, dishes, dinner, shopping…you know) But when I do focus on God and his grace…I feel overwhelmed with gratefulness and the relaxation throughout my body is evident. Does this mean that if we are praying we will never be stressed? Well, perhaps it should mean that, but we are human. That’s why Philipians 4:6-9 should be our “go to” verse.

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

4. Prepares the body for the stress of exercise. Promotes circulation. Decreases the risk of low-back pain.

Lower back pain can be caused by a lot of things but one thing I’ve found that helps is strengthening your core. Your core is from about your shoulders to your hips. Definitely my weakest area physically. Our core spiritually is knowing who we are in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Ephesians 6:18-20 again covers the stress of exercise and promotes circulation part for sure.

With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak. Eph 6:18-20

Having perseverance in exercise comes from making sure we have stretched properly. Having perseverance in living the Christian life requires prayer… It may feel like a stretch, like being pulled in ways that are not normal for us, but the very thing that feels painful at first is the process that will strengthen us if we do not give up.

Ephesians 6:9 So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.