THE PARALLELS BETWEEN WORKING OUT AND SERVING GOD

Hello Friends,

There are many parallels between physical exercise and serving our maker; and today I am going to mention a few key things that make doing these important to your walk in this life, and the next.

Disclaimer:  Just because you don’t workout doesn’t mean you aren’t saved, it only means you aren’t as healthy as what you could be. Also, the Bible never directly tells us to lift weights or to do cardio, but we know that these things are required for us to become the best version of ourselves for God.

The similarities between the two:

We all know we should be involved with it:  Honestly!! Whether we were raised with either of these things or not, we all know that we will be a much healthier person both mentally and physically when we exercise and when we serve God. When we use common sense, we will naturally be more open to the idea of there being a higher power and we will resent the idea that we all exist due to a big bang. The same goes for exercise. Everyone knows deep down that they should be doing it, and no one can truly argue against it.

You can’t ignore it once you know the truth:  Once you know the truth about God and the Bible it would be foolish to ignore it. In fact, most people can’t. Once you know about God’s love and forgiveness, you would be a fool to decline God’s offer of eternal life. As far as exercise goes; we all know we should be working out. When we neglect our bodies and then see someone jogging down the side of the road, or when we see a gym, or even when we see a healthy looking person, it will remind us that we need to step it up. Now whether we do or not, it will always be somewhere in our mind because we know we should be involved with it.

Not because we have to, but because we want to be better: Joshua 24:15 says – “choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The Israelites didn’t HAVE to choose to serve God, but they did because they knew it was a good decision. Modern Christians should be like this as well. We shouldn’t say the prayer just because we feel like we must, we should have a strong desire to be better, thus leading us to accepting Christ’s offer of eternal life. And like before, physical exercise is the same way. We don’t HAVE to jog, bike, or lift weights, and we shouldn’t have to just because someone wants us to. We should want the health, longevity, and clarity of mind that comes from exercise. We should be more than happy to dedicate a couple hours a week to our overall health and happiness. 1 Corinthians 9:27 states – “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Serving God should always come before working out, but please remember that both things are very important. When you do these two things, you will move on from the past, be confident in the present, and you will be healthy and holy in the future.

God Bless,
Noah Brewster

BEING AN EXAMPLE

Hello Friends,
First of all I would like to tell you how amazing it is to be saved, and to know that I have a reserved seat in the kingdom of God. This happiness that I possess is from the faith that I have in things that I cannot see. Many unhappy humans will criticize people for having this type of confidence about something that no one can really put their finger on. However, I have seen firsthand where faith in the father can get you, and how much someone’s life can improve once they begin living for Christ.

Disclaimer – When I say living for God, in no way am I referring to the people who have only said the prayer. I’m talking about the people who actually LIVE for God by growing in Him and by being an example of God for others.

Being an Example: With having the gift that every person can receive, (Jew and Gentile alike), it would be a sin for us to hide the light of God. However, many people act as though the only way to spread God’s word is by preaching to people. The only problem with this is that most people don’t want to be preached to about this subject, (Especially if they see that you’re hypocritical). Believe it or not, sometimes simply living a life in reflection of the Father is more effective than preaching to people.

This takes me to my next point; actions speak louder than words. It’s a fact. So, if you want to be effective in serving Christ, then you need to make sure that you are living the type of life that God would have you live. 1 Peter 2:12 states – “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful when you get the chance to witness to someone. But, if you are truly living a life for Christ, and are a good example of him, then people should be able to see that something is different about you. Then the people who would be willing to change will be curious because they’ll see that there is something special about you. What they’ll see about you that’s different is – 1: You will be more smiley and happy, 2: you’re conversations will be positive and uplifting, 3: You won’t have piercings and tattoos all over your body, and 4: Your mannerism will be different.

Titus 2:6-7 says – “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity.” These things are all obvious indicators that you are different. And, the closer we get to God’s will for our life, is the farther we will be from the ways of the world.

In Christ,

Noah Brewster

IMPORTANT VERSES TO REMEMBER

Hello Friends,

I talk a lot about sin and the importance of avoiding it. When I do this, I will also include Bible verses that support what I am saying. The reason I’m telling you this is because although I may be including some verses in my text, maybe a few verses aren’t enough. Sometimes we need more than just one reminder to help prevent us from working against God by giving in to our flesh. Romans 6:23 says – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There are thousands and thousands of verses in the Bible that talk against sin and share the dangers of the sins that we may be tempted with. If avoiding sin wasn’t important, then God wouldn’t have made sure that nearly half of the Bible warns against sin and/or encourages purity. Below are many Bible verses that I have recently read that warn against sin and that encourage us to live a life for God.

Disclaimer - We all have flesh, thus causing us to sin. The reason Jesus died on the cross was to pay for our sins so that we can be saved from the second death. However, just because we are forgiven for our sins doesn’t mean we should continue to commit them. We should make it an effort to avoid sin and to become the best version of ourselves that we can be for Christ.

Psalm 1:1, Psalm 1:6, James 4:4, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Colossians 3:2, Psalm 4:5, 1 Corinthians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Galatians 5:19-21, Psalm 9:15, Proverbs 4:13, Proverbs 6:16-19, 1 Peter 2:11, 1 Timothy 3:6, and James 1:12.

Whenever you feel you’re being tempted by your flesh to sin, please reference these verses, and you will be reminded about the importance of avoiding sin and the importance of staying pure for your father who is in heaven.

In Christ,

Noah Brewster

P.s. If you have no intention of referencing any of the verses above, please give your Bible to someone who will take God’s word seriously.  God Bless!

MAINTAINING A GOOD PHILOSOPHY

Hello Friends,

A person’s philosophy is how they see life; it includes what their moral standards are and what their outlook on life is. It is very important that we maintain a good philosophy. How we look at sin is very important. If a Christian believes that it is okay to be involved in sin or to hang around the heathen, they will most likely be involved in sin and will hang around the heathen. This is a very dangerous thing for a Christian to do.

For most people, the extent of their conviction is that they should be nice to people and should try to be good; but there is so much more to it than that. Personally, I make it an effort to read the Bible, to avoid sin, and to help other Christians grow. I believe that this is what every Christian should be doing; that is my philosophy. My philosophy has helped to keep me pure and morally upright.

Colossians 2:8 instructs – “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” A person’s philosophy will cause them to either do good, evil, or to be lukewarm. Please make sure that you have a healthy philosophy.

In Christ,

Noah Brewster

HOW TO MAKE SATAN YOUR ENEMY

Hello Friends,

Many Christians will say that they despise Satan’s ways, but then they will give in to sin on a daily basis. And I’m not just talking about infrequent sins, I’m talking about sins that people will stay caught up in throughout their entire life without even realizing it. To help mend this detrimental lifestyle that some people have, I am going to inform you of some ways that you can work against Satan by working for God.

LIVING FOR CHRIST:

How do you make Satan your enemy? By reading the Bible and by living a life for Christ. When we surround ourselves with positive, healthy and Godly things, we will have less time for the negative, unhealthy things that this world tries to throw at us. By reading the Bible and helping others, we will have more confidence and more peace. When you have peace and confidence, it will be more difficult for Satan to cloud your judgement. Romans 5:1 states – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

SIN TOLERANCE:

If we are truly saved, then sin should bother us. If we have no problem with surrounding ourselves with immoral music, bad movies, or immoral friends, then something is truly wrong. The world is trying to get people to be tolerant of sin, but just like a Christian should be separate from the world, they should also be separate from the world’s lifestyle and its values. Psalm 1:1 says – “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

That’s it, that is how you work against Satan. It is very crucial that we stay morally upright, and that we stay away from worldly influences. When we are caught up in a sin, we are following Satan, but when we follow God’s word, we are living for Christ. So choose to live a life for God, and in doing so, you will make Satan despise you even more than he already does; and that’s good, because that mean that you are doing the right thing.

God Bless,

Noah Brewster

SOME HOPE FOR YOUR FUTURE

Hello Friend,

God wants you to be happy, and He wants for you to prosper in this life. However, God is not controlling your actions, and therefore, if you desire the kind of lifestyle that God wants you to have; you must make it an effort to point your life in the right direction. A big part of living the right kind of life is avoiding negativity and embracing positivity.

How to be more positive:

God doesn’t want His children to be negative. He also doesn’t want for people to feel sorry for themselves. When we do this, we put ourselves in a spiritual rut that can be very difficult to escape from. The way we begin to fix this is by focusing on the positive, mending the broken, and by ignoring the things that we can’t change. When you do this, you will be surprised how much better you feel about yourself, and about the current challenge you may be facing.  

Below are some verses to help improve your attitude, 

and to give you hope for the future:

Romans 15:13 – “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Romans 5:2 – “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

According to the Webster’s dictionary, Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for something to happen. So, we need to ask ourselves this; what is it that we are anticipating? We are anticipating the second coming of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. The reason that we are on this planet is so that we can prepare ourselves for the glorious return of our God, and to bring others to the saving grace of Christ. So, we must maintain a good attitude and continue to remember what our deepest desire should be. I hope that I have been effective in reminding you what we should be hoping for, and how magnificent it will be when God returns for us.

In Christ,

Noah Brewster

SHOULD WE JUDGE OTHER CHRISTIANS?

Hello Friends,

A common debate in the Christian society today is whether we are to judge other Christians or not. I have met many people who say that it’s wrong to judge Christians, but when I ask them why they believe this, they can never give me a straight answer. Today I would like to share with you what the facts are regarding this matter, and what God says about it in the Bible.

They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but is that true? If a book has a violent cover, or the title has a bad word in it, wouldn’t you be able to tell that this is the type of book that you shouldn’t be reading? The same goes for people. When someone claims to be a Christian, but you hear them swear frequently, or you see them post immoral things, or do immoral things, then to you, it should seem evident that they aren’t truly saved. But is doing this wrong? Is deciding for yourself whether someone else is saved or not a good idea?

According to the Webster’s dictionary, to judge simply means to form an opinion of something by observing the evidence. So, when you see someone acting a certain way and you create your own opinion of it, you are judging, and that’s okay.

Let me ask you a question; how would you ever know whether you should be around a certain person or not, if you don’t evaluate that person’s actions and form an opinion of them? See, God wants you to stay pure mentally and physically, and to do this, you need to surround yourself with people who are also striving to do the same. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 states – “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”

The Bible warns against judging heathens, for God will judge them in the end times. You can, however, judge Christians. But the common question here is whether you should or not. In my opinion, it is crucial that you judge (form an opinion of) other Christians. The Bible also states this in many verses. (I am not referring to the judgement that Christ spoke of when he warned against hypocritical judging and/or judging with condemnation. As this would clearly be sin.) I recommend that you read Psalms and Corinthians to learn more about this subject from the Book itself.

I hope that you can understand how crucial judging other Christians is. If you have no opinion about something, then you will fall for anything. This can be detrimental to your spirit. But, if you are cautious about who you associate with, then you will be able to stay pure, and you will be able to grow in Christ more quickly.

God Bless,

Noah Brewster