Thursday, August 30, 2012

Growing Up



1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

I heard these lyrics in a song on the radio lately: “Never gonna grow up. Never gonna slow down”. It brings to mind discussions that I’ve been having and hearing on the irresponsible attitude that Pastor JJ calls “Perpetual adolescence”. A egocentric outlook of radical pleasure being the chief end of life and the proper goal of human endeavor. Fun is a part of life, but not life. Think about all of the people in the world in poverty without proper food, water, sanitation, shelter or clothing, trying to survive today. What about people that lose everything to natural disasters, like floods, fires, tornados, earthquakes, and hurricanes? What about those who lose loved ones to disease, tragic accidents or even natural causes? What about the stress of unending bills, the job, the car, the house, and the family? Real life flies in the face of selfish hedonism. We must keep the main thing, the main thing and quit majoring on the minors. Chasing the wind of the exciting thrill will never lead to contentment and satisfaction in life. This is the journey, not the destination.

Hosea 8:7 They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.

Life is not about “good” times, but about being a “godly” person, a “good” neighbor and excellent steward of God’s gifts. There is a time to be young, where someone is responsible for you, but there is a time to grow up and be responsible. We need mature adults with a balanced life perspective aligned with God's will, not permanent babies. Why on earth are we here?    

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 9-13 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God."

In Christ, Brian

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord



John 10:30-33 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

I live today in the year 2012 A.D., and realize that every time anyone says, writes or thinks about the date, they are affirming that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether they know it or not. The abbreviate A.D. stands for the Latin words “Anno Domini”, which literally translates as “in the year of the Lord”, based upon the birth of Jesus Christ. Am I sure? The years prior to 0A.D. are the descending  years ending in B.C. and B.C. literally means “Before Christ, an epoch used in dating years prior to the estimated birth of Jesus. Everyone should research to find out why the birth of Jesus is the point in time that from which succeeding time is measured because the answer has eternal meaning to every one of our lives. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, God- the Son, Lord of all, and Redeemer to those who repent & believe. Jesus was “God incarnate”. God is Spirit. Incarnate means “to be made flesh”, so Jesus was “God in the flesh”, the God/Man in this physical world. Emmanuel, translates “God with us”. Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, sent by the Father to save this sinful world. Rejoice! Who wouldn’t measure all time by Him?

John 3:16-17 & 35-36 Jesus answered, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  35John the Baptist answered ,“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

 

But there are those who believe that Jesus was just a good, moral & wise man. C.S. Lewis, former professor at Cambridge University and converted agnostic wrote: “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make a choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something else. You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher, He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

 

John 14:2-4 & 6 Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The Lord Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for you and me. The question is: Who will make the choice to repent of their sins, believe that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior – a free gift of Salvation by God’s loving mercy & grace? Who will believe and receive?

John 1:10-12He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” 

 

In Christ, Brian

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Change Your Thinking



Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Bad luck or spiritual attack, the home computer is down again. But no problem, it’s with the (IT) Information Technology repair guy now, and the backup laptop is working fine. Continuing with Pastor JJ’s Sunday Sermon series notes, we come to his message on the Philippians passage above.

The word “Holy” means to be “set apart” by God, for God’s purposes and for His glory. The child of God lives out of a different reality and has a deeper purpose that we are called to than this world. So, despite our circumstances, we always live as a “citizen of heaven”, and that is our true home. We do not slap on the label of “Christian” and continue to live as if this is our home, because Jesus is our King and we are “Ambassadors of Christ” (2 Corintians 5:20). When the Devil tempted Adam & Eve with the big lie that led to the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, telling them in Genesis 3:4-5 " Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”, Satan perverted the thinking from “a good God to be obeyed in love”, to “a jealous God that lies to keep good things from us”. This deception marinated our original earthly parents minds toward the focus of the things of this world, instead of the things of God; the love of the world (carnally-minded), not the love of God (spiritually-minded). And lie continues to deceive the world today.

1 John 2:15-16  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.


Do we, the church, act like the pagan world around us, doing what others in secular society do?  They do so because being further from God is all they know in the free exercise of licentious passions, doing what is “right’ in their own eyes. They are living life rejecting the reality of Devine judgment and everlasting punishment. But the people of God are not to do that which we were not created to do, or think on those sinful things. Sin is a crime against God and His wrath is the wages earned. A just, holy, & righteous God must punish sin. Do we do it our way or God’s way? God’s way should be ours too.

Romans 1:18-23 & 25 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,  because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man. Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


Romans 8:5-9For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

 

We were born with trust. Made to love God and focus on His perfect way and purpose in our lives. Where do we put our trust? We need to live according to truth in the Word of God (John 17:17), walking in the Spirit and not fullfilling the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16), looking to Christ (Hebrews 12:2), and fix our thoughts Jesus (Hebrews 3:1).

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We can redeem this world to glorify God. God uses us, His children, to move the hearts and minds of others to a “saving’ knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We are not chained to this lawless world system. We live and think like our Lord Jesus. God can use you and I to bring light to the world and glory to Him. Take your thoughts captive for God. That which is true, the noble, the just, the pure, the lovely, the good report, the virtuous and praiseworthy, meditate on these things.  If your mind is on the things of this world, change your thinking. 

Revelation 7:12 “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”


In Christ, Brian

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Whole Picture



John 10:11 & 27-30 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

A good friend and brother of mine, Danny, who was a member in the church team that I was on, that flew to New Orleans to help in the clean-up rebuild efforts after Hurricane Katrina, sent me an e-mail story about a fictitious dialog  between someone & God that had a message that first enlightened me to a truth that I had previously not thought about, until I saw the Bible Study video by Bruce Wilkinson on the “Prayer of Jabez”. The dialog, sent by Danny, was a long list of things that didn’t go as planned in the mind of the complainer, but God had a reason for each. The end of the conversation goes:   

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.....in all things, the good and the bad.
Me: I will trust you.
God: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God, and I love looking after my children.

The point of this story and Wilkinson’s also, is that we see what happens daily in life, but we do not see everything … we do not see the whole picture. God’s care and provision in our lives includes the harmful situations that the Lord does not allow to even reach us, even when they cause our plans to not go exactly as we wish them to. But in the final analysis, with the whole picture being seen, God’s purposes and actions in our lives is always the best. Whether it’s in the storms of life or on the “fair weather” days, good or bad, we need to trust God and be grateful for His loving hand in our life. As the sheep do not see or understand all the care and protection that the good shepherd provides, we do not see or understand all that the Lord is doing “behind the scene” for us either. God tends to His Flock … our Heavenly Father takes care of His children.

Psalm 108:1-6O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth; That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me.”

In Christ, Brian

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

High Anxiety


Philippians 4:5-7Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Pastor JJ in his Mega-series Sunday Sermon on Philippians, tells us that anxiety disorder is a mental uneasiness arising from fear, solicitude, or apprehension leading to deep concern. And there are plenty of cares, riches, and pleasures of life, that bring no fruit of Christian life to maturity (Luke 8:14). Pressures and over-whelming demands have created confused priorities, unrealistic expectations, unachievable goals and an unbalanced life for far too many of us, leaving us asking: “what am I going to do?” The cost and time required for clothing, electronics (smart phones, iPods, social networks, worldwide web, etc), entertainment, food, games, gas, housing, medicine, toys, and vehicles distracts and misdirects us from the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding and can make us ineffective for God’s kingdom work. This hurried life-style and social acceptance causes juggled priorities and missed obligations that could lead high anxiety releases in the form of drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex and spending disorders, and the like to escape. We see this on a grand scale in our society today. We live as if we are ruled by this world, not God.

Ephesians 2:1-5 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved).”

God came near to us, not us to Him, and while we were still sinners and dead in our transgressions. I’ve heard religion defined as “man’s attempt to reach God by bringing Him down to our level”, when in reality it is God who comes down to meet us. The real root question is: “Who do we believe God to be?” Do we really believe that God is good? Matthew 6:24-25 tells us: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Do we truly believe in God’s love? Do we sincerely believe that God provides for us? Do we faithfully believe that God is close? Do we honestly believe that God speaks to us? Do we genuinely believe that God touches our lives? Do we truthfully believe that God is in control? Bottom line: Are we trusting God or ourselves? The answer is God. That is where true joy and happiness is to be found.

Matthew 6:32-34For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In Christ, Brian

Saturday, August 18, 2012

I Want to Live



John 10:9-11I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ‘I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.’”

This life is not about survival of the fittest or survival of the surviving. In the 2008 animated Disney Pixar movie “Wall-E”, I found that there was a key massage when the space ship commander said: “I don’t want to just survive. I want to live.” In “living” he meant to excel & thrive in life – have life abundantly. What a great message in a family movie, but I wonder how many people caught it? But where is the “great” life found? It starts with walking through the door of forgiveness of sin and into eternal life. Jesus is the door to heaven. The good shepherd laid down His life for anyone who makes the choice to accept Christ as their personal Savior & Lord. But Jesus tells us that there is an enemy; a thief of life also. Who is the thief that comes only to steal, kill and destroy us? A choice for Christ is a choice for life and life to the fullest; a life that thrives with a solid eternal perspective.

John 3:35-36The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The United States Declaration of Independence states that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Key words are truths, created, and by their Creator. The truth of life for created mankind is defined by our Creator God and designed to be lived “Godward”, viewed and defined through the lens of His Holy Word , and lived out through on the path of holiness and righteousness for truly fulfilling contentment and satisfaction, to excel & thrive in life with godly Liberty that produces happiness. Happiness is a state of mind, and true happiness is found in the love of God through Jesus.

Count your blessings. Don’t just feel blessed, but know that you are blessed. Every person who accepts God’s “free gift” of forgiveness and eternal life (aka Believer) in Jesus Christ. You are blessed and that’s living!

Psalm 113:2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!

In Christ, Brian

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

In the Nave



Romans 3:20-25By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith.”

I heard an interesting thing the other day. A “Nave” is defined as “the main part of the interior of a church; especiallythe long narrow central hall in a (Cross-shaped) cruciform church” (see diagram attached).


It is from “Nave” that we get our English word “Navy”. Because Noah’s Ark (a ship) was a foreshadowing representation of “Salvation in Christ” as the Ark was the instrument God used to save His people from the Genesis Flood (Genesis 6-10), so His church is the instrument God uses to save His people, even today. The church’s job is to know Christ and make Him known because to be safe from destruction, you have to be inside the Ark (in Christ), in the nave. Not just know of Him, but know Him. Not as something we do, but as “who we are” in the Lord. Not just bringing the message of the Gospel, but being the message lived out. It’s not about accommodating the pagan culture that has no fear of God and His wrath to come. God’s grace is finite.

2 Peter 2:4-9For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked  then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.

Yes, there is a hell and there is a day of judgment. Let’s send out God’s Navy (His church) to reach a lost & dying world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world and bring them safe into the “Nave” for refuge and salvation. The church, with the gospel message of repentance of sin, forgiveness in Christ’s atoning blood, and salvation from hell to eternal life in heaven, is never irrelevant or unnecessary in any age. May the truth be told. Rejected or not, God’s plan of salvation is found only in Jesus Christ – Acts 4:11-12 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Bottomline: Sin must be paid for. Know the truth and make the choice.

John 14:1-6Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

For those who trust in Jesus, He is preparing a place in heaven and He will come back for you, who believe, so that we will be with Him forever. Christ is the way. Jesus is the “nave”. Get in!

1 Corinthians 1:29-30No flesh should glory in His (God’s) presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption’.”

In Christ, Brian

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Sin of Hypocrisy





Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

Nobody’s perfect. That is not only true, but biblical (Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”), but must be taken in context of that passage of verses 22-24. In our natural sinful flesh, which we “miss the mark” of God’s commands, laws, standards, and teachings, nobody is perfect, except for Jesus, but that doesn’t make Christians a hypocrite; that make them a sinner. I read that though no Christian achieves the full measure of sanctification in this life, that we all struggle with ongoing sin, does not justly yield the verdict of hypocrisy. We must define words and terms for mutual understanding and use. We were just talking this morning at our church monthly Men’s breakfast how Christian definitions can differ from secular for the same word. Take for instance the word “righteous”: ruled by what is right, but who defines what is right & wrong? God or Rulers, society or self? What is the difference? We are all human. Why doesn’t everyone see the same? The Lord explains in John 3:3Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Non-Believers miss the truth in spiritual matters, and see something different.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek and the term hypocrite comes from the world of the Greek drama. It was used to describe the masks that players used to dramatize certain roles. Today, the theater is symbolized by the twin masks of comedy and tragedy. So Two-faced / pretentious; acting one way on the outside, but actually another way on the inside. A hypocrite is someone who does things he claims that he or she does not do, and vice-versa. For a Christian simply to demonstrate that they are a sinner does not convict them of hypocrisy. If the world would simply change the charge from “the church is full of hypocrites” to “the church is full of sinners”, we would plead guilty (Romans 3:23 again). That’s not pretentious, but truth. The church is the place where sinners who confess their sins come to find redemption from their sins. How does the God-rejecting world deal with their guilt? All hypocrisy is sin, but not all sin is the sin of hypocrisy. A high standard of spiritual and righteous behavior has been set upon the Christian church. If we put on the mask of the hypocrite, we come under the judgment of God for that particular sin and must rush back to the cross and to Christ, understanding where our righteousness resides. The truth is that under the guise of the rightness of Christ, received by faith, that any of us can ever have a hope of standing before a just & holy God. To put our faith in Jesus Christ is not an act of hypocrisy. It is an act of redemption.  
Romans 3:24-25Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”
In Christ, Brian 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Have a Good Workout



Philippians 2:10-13 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Having just returned from a Mega-Mid-West vacation visiting family in three states, I’ve gotten kind of out of my workout exercise routine at the local fitness gym. Having lost almost 45 pounds, a couple weeks off the regular practice of pound melting cardio vascular work outs, along with some fine dining and amazing home cooking, surely set me back on my diet & training goals for a healthy lifestyle. But the family ties made it all worth every second. But there is no vacation from being a child of God because it is not what we do, but who we are. It’s vitally important to understand and work out the difference. I read that emphasis on the perfect obedience of Christ is essential to the gospel message. God's standard is perfection, but we are incapable of following God perfectly in our sinful flesh, so we are utterly unable to gain a right standing with the Lord by our works. But another, the Lord Jesus Christ has obeyed God flawlessly, and that our only hope of being set right with our holy Creator is to trust in the person and work of the Savior alone. His record of perfect obedience is reckoned to us when we trust in Him, and we become citizens of the kingdom of Heaven.

The citizens of the kingdom desire to obey the King, their Lord. Christians don’t work for their salvation, but work out their salvation for it is God who works in the Believer. Christians live differently than the citizens of this world, and do so in the power of the Spirit, repenting of sin and thanking the Lord of His great gift of salvation. Seeing the world through Christ and walking in the Spirit with that eternal perspective, following the Spirit’s guidance as He speaks to us in Scripture, seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness to both will and do that which is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.

Ephesians 1:3-8Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Have a good workout.
In Christ, Brian