Free & Fit Lenten Study - Week Two: Sport & Spirituality Intwined by Tim Cheux

Jesus Saying for the Week:

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

— Luke 23:43

Collect for the Week:

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,

to you be praise and glory for ever.

In the darkness of our sin,

your light breaks forth like the dawn

and your healing springs up for deliverance.

As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,

sustain us with your bountiful Spirit

and open our lips to sing your praise.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God for ever.

In Jesus name. Amen

Prayer for the Week:

As we rejoice in the gift of this new week,

so may the light of your presence, O God,

set our hearts on fire with love for you;

now and for ever.

In Jesus name. Amen.

Psalm 31: 1-8 Reading:

“In You, O Lord, I have placed my trust and taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed;

In Your righteousness rescue me. Incline Your ear to me, deliver me quickly;

Be my rock of refuge, And a strong fortress to save me.

Yes, You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.

You will draw me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength and my stronghold.

Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness.

I hate those who pay regard to vain (empty, worthless) idols;

But I trust in the Lord [and rely on Him with unwavering confidence].

I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love, Because You have seen my affliction;

You have taken note of my life’s distresses, And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;

You have set my feet in a broad place.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:1-8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Scripture for Today:

https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.31.1-8.AMP

Workout for Today:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca1H7_BOjMk/?utm_medium=copy_link

Reflection:

In England when we come back from vacation we bring back something called “Rock”. Its essentially a piece of tough candy that your dentist which had never been invented.

A piece of Rock is associated with going on vacation to the Beach and brings much joy to children and teenagers to know they have been on vacation and had their “Rock”. If they leave without their “Rock” there seems to be a strange void, something is missing and its as if they had never been on vacation. A huge loss is experienced if children don’t get their candy!

On what do you place your trust in and name as your “Rock” in your life? Today the Psalmist requests for the Lord to be his “Rock” and Refuge. Today through the NT we see this as Jesus Christ.

The Cornerstone which the builders could not bring down. The centre of our faith is routed in Jesus Christ being the “Rock” of our Salvation. Jesus himself later went onto say that Peter, Simon Peter one of the twelve disciples, would go onto become Christs Rock of the Church.

Today we have to ask ourselves who is it that we place at the centre of our lives as our Lord and Saviour. We truly need to make the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the Rock of our everyday, the Rock of our every moment and the Rock of our every situation in Jesus name. Amen

Let us Pray…

Father God please come into our lives today and become the Rock of our Salvation. Transform our circumstances and become our constant help in times of trouble. Help us overcome all things in Jesus name. Amen

Activity for the Week:

This week we are aiming to complete an act of kindness everyday. Wherever you are try and support your local community through an act of Kindness. We support a “Share the Miracle” campaign every Easter and look forward to donating Chocolate Easter Eggs again to the shelter this year. Please let us know if you would like to join!

Week Two Lenten Study on Sport & Spirituality:

Question to Ponder: How do you see these concepts at work together in your own Ministry?

As believers in Christianity, and Christian spirituality specifically, at Free & Fit we believe in the sacred spoken word of God in the Bible. Jesus, before going to be hung on the cross, prayed that all believers (that he is the son of God) would be one with him and one his Father, God Almighty, and the creator of the universe.

In my daily workout I practice the discipline of Faith and Fitness becoming one. Through working out and praying contemplatively we believe faith (belief in Jesus Christ) and fitness (physical activity) can be practiced as spiritual practices together as one.

Jesus said in John 17:21 “My prayer is not for them alone (his disciples). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John‬ ‭17:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬.

The Jesus prayer is our shared prayer. We pray that our Faith and Fitness would become one as we are one with Christ and as we are one with each other through community and fellowship together through our relationship with the Trinitarian God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We participate in faith and fitness to Love God and love all people as one.

Similar to the Lords Prayer which I pray before and at end of each of my workouts. It acts as part of my liturgy if you like whilst I am working out. It breaks up my thoughts of self, helps me focus on God and return ever so gently to a conversation, a dialogue and prayer with God. It takes me away from myself and returns me to my one true love, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the practice of stretching and praying I become more aware of Gods creation whilst working out outside, in tune with the Holy Spirit and my fears disappear and Gods constance, peace and love fill me abundantly more than I could hope or imagine.

In conclusion, its entirely possible to build a relationship between sports and spirituality through active team or individual sports if our perspective, as participants, is on God and not ourselves or our opponents.

We can represent God in competition, perform excellently and even Worship God through practicing a mindfulness exercise of meditating on scripture whilst we participate. As soon as we switch ourselves off from God we become just like any other participant, but if we focus purely on God we can complete the necessary focus required to be fully engaged on Faith and Fitness as One. Lets Pray the Lords Prayer every time we cross the white lines, every time we compete and give thanks when we finish returning ever so gently to our Father in Heaven.

Passage of Scripture for the Week The passage for the Jesus Prayer is taken from the Tax Collector when prays in Luke 18:9-14.

“He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [posing outwardly as upright and in right standing with God],

and who viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray,

one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]:

‘God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but was striking his chest [in humility and repentance],

saying, ‘God, be merciful and gracious to me, the [especially wicked] sinner [that I am]!

’ I tell you, this man went to his home justified [forgiven of the guilt of sin and placed in right standing with God] rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself [forsaking self-righteous pride] will be exalted.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:9-11, 13-14‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Scripture for the Jesus Prayer:

https://bible.com/bible/1588/luk.18.14.AMP