The Biking Viking

When I saw that the American Heart Association was having a September 100-mile bike challenge to raise funds for heart research I smiled and said, "Perfect."

God is always amazing but sometimes He is so obviously amazing that I just have to smile.

I have a young friend named Kortney who is, right now, in Madison undergoing five days of testing so that she can get on the national organ wait list. She needs two new lungs and a new heart.

My old 10-speed from college has been on MY "wait list," hanging in my garage, unused, for years. But now it is being used to complete 100 miles in September to fight for my friend.

I have noticed something as I bike around our neighborhood. I am becoming more fit. Strange. At first I was huffin' and puffin' up the smallest of hills. Now, it's like those 'hills' are no longer an obstacle.

Another thing I have noticed is that I am becoming more spiritually fit as well. I am praying more. At first I started praying for just Kortney as I rode, but that has expanded. Now, as I pass neighbor's houses, I pray for them as well. Brenda and Ross, Deb and Steve, Mike and Debbie, Kyle and Brianna, Tammy, Rick and Julie, even the ownets of that stinkin' yippy little dog that barks at me EVERY TIME I go by.

l might recite scripture or sing a worship or VBS song as I ride. My biking has turned into a time of worship. That's a good thing.

Oh, 'The Biking Viking' title for today's story. I graduated from New Berlin High School - the New Berlin Vikings. They had a biking club there led by one of the teachers - Mr. Reinhold. He was a nerdy chemistry teacher, but he LOVED to bike so they called him The Biking Viking.

Well, this nerdy Viking is getting to love biking as well. Why? Because it's good exercise, it's good prayer time, and it's also a good reminder of what's important - God and others.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Mark 12:30-31

[The picture for today's blog was generated by Meta's AI]

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Christian Yoga - An Oxymoron?

Someone at work once asked me if I would like to join a Yoga class. Judging by the expression on their face, I think my answer must have surprised them.

"Yoga? No, thanks. I'm a Christian."

What?? What does one's faith have to do with an exercise class? Well . . . let's find out. Go grab a dictionary and look up the word "yoga." You will be "enlightened" by what you find there. Here's what Merriam-Webster defines yoga as.

"a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation."

A Hindu theistic philosophy? Seriously? I have seen ladies walking into Christian churches with yoga mats. What IS this Hindu philosophy called "yoga" and should we Christians be participating in it if it's part of another religion?

Yoga can be traced back to the fifth or sixth century before Christ but its specific origin is a bit fuzzy. Some say Hindu, others say Buddhist. It was brought to the U.S. in the 10th and 20th centuries but really took off in popularity in the 1980's as a form of exercise.

Yoga is one of the six major "schools" of Hinduism and its ultimate goal is "liberation." Are we as Christians supposed to be liberated?

Another thing yoga teaches is the "emptying of your mind." Hmm. I know we are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 2:12) but not transformed by the emptying of it. That sounds a little dangerous to me.

There is a story in 2nd Kings about a people who unknowingly worshiped other gods. Things did not go well for them.

"11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king." - 2 Kings 22:11-20

Before we participate in anything that is part of another religion we should do our research. Check it out for yourself. There are lots of articles about the subject. Here is one such article plus a discussion by two pastors. What do YOU think? Should Christians participate in yoga?

Yoga - John MacArthur vs. Doug Pagitt

Why Can't Yoga Just Be An Exercise? - SBrinkmann

Fatty

When my wife and I were in Big Bay, MI earlier this month we passed a sign by a long driveway that read "Big Bay Health Camp." I looked at my wife and asked, "Well should I drop you off, fatty?"

Looking back on things now .. . perhaps that was the wrong thing to say. My wife is not fat and she knows I was just teasing her but every time we drove past that sign from then on my wife gave me the evil eye and said, "Fatty, huh?"

I suppose it didn't help that my wife is a dietician and is very conscious about what she eats. She is all about eating healthy. And she gets paid for it!

People come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are tall, some are short, there are wide people and there are skinny ones. The point of what I am writing about today is not about our differences and how we should all just get along and sing Kubiya around the campfire as one, big happy family. No. This is about what we eat . . . spiritually.

I'll start off with two sayings that probably everyone has heard of and I will ask you to think how they might apply to our spiritual lives. The first is "You are what you eat" and the second is "Garbage in, Garbage Out."

People who go to "health camp" are told they must watch what they eat if they are going to lose weight and get healthy. It is the same with us and the things we intake spiritually. If we simply believe everything we hear without questioning it or comparing it with scripture, how do we know if it's true or not?

The things we take in spiritually can be deceiving, kind of like junk food. It tastes really good but it is not very good for us. Instead, we must examine all spiritual food to see whether it is true or not . . . to see if it is good for us.

A few weeks ago in church I heard a pastor speaking about the woman caught in adultery in John 8(1-11). After all the Pharisees had left Jesus said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" To that the woman replied "No one." Then the pastor told us that Jesus said, "Go, your sins are forgiven."

That sounds right, doesn't it? It sounds like something Jesus would say . . . and a pastor told us this is what Jesus said, so it must be true, right?

No, it is not. Jesus did not say, "Go, your sins are forgiven." What Jesus actually said was "Neither do I condemn you." And then Jesus said something else . . . AFTER that. Something the pastor never told the congregation, "Go, and sin no more."

It is often things left unsaid that speak the loudest.

The next time you are reading a book, listening to sermon or just in general conversation, listen closely as the Bereans did, to determine whether of not what they heard in the synagogue was true.

"11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." - Acts 17:11

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Trust only what you read in the Bible. There is no others source of truth, only opinion. Opinion doesn't save. Only Jesus can do that. A real, truthful accurate Jesus, not the watered-down, needy Jesus that is preached in many of our churches today.

"In the beginning was The Word (Jesus), and The Word was with God and The Word was God." - John 1:1

God doesn't sin. God doesn't make mistakes. God doesn't have an opinion on things. He is right, never wrong. And so it is with His Word that still speaks to us today. Compare everything to his Word and don't be eating any of the junk food being served out there. And there is a lot of it.

Many of us with appetites for warm fuzzy sermons and the absence of any "meat" or "healthy choices" in our spiritual diet are getting rather obese these days. We should only be eating the things that Jesus offered us. Only then can we spiritually healthy and able to descern what things are good for us to eat, and what things are not. If we don't do that, we will end up being The Biggest Loser.

And now, to help you in your spiritual exercise, here's a little Christian workout music for you this morning. Have an amazing day!

Move - MercyMe

Walk

Do you like to walk? I sure do. I spend a lot of time walking. I walk at work, I walk at home and I walk on the weekends. I have walked in the hot sun and in the middle of winter. I have walked through valleys and over mountains. I have walked with a bunch of people and I have walked all by myself. I have even walked on water! . . . in the winter . . . on a frozen lake.

In the evenings and on weekends I walk with my wife. We always walk hand-in-hand wherever we go. Even though she is shorter than me we walk and fit pretty good together. All the practice I guess. :)

At work I walk with my friend. We have amazing conversations about God and our mutual love for Jesus. The highlight of our walks together was when she led me to the door of Jesus Christ.I knocked. He opened. And the rest is history. :)

Do you think the Israelites liked to walk? They must have. They did so for 40 years! And on hot sand too!

We all spend lots of time walking in this life. Sometimes we can walk with a tremendous sense of purpose and determination. We have a focus and a specific destination in mind. Other times we can walk in circles for days and days and not really get any place at all.

Walking with Jesus is a lot like that. There are days when we are certain of our destination. We walk confidently with Him, boldly taking on anything that might come our way. Then there are times when we can feel as if we are walking all by ourselves - totally alone. Those are difficult and lonely times to be sure.

However, I have found a way to go walking without EVER having to be alone. Take your Bible with you. :)

When I am walking on a flat stretch of pavement, like a sidewalk or a path, I am able to read my Bible by being mindful of the trail's edge. I try to keep the edge of the path lined up with the right side of my Bible. It works well. The only problems I have encountered is the occasional dog pile . . . and rain puddles.

Have you ever tried praying with your eyes open? It is also possible to pray as you walk, eyes open. You will find yourself staring, not blinking, a lot, but you will be focusing on Jesus. Praying and / or reading as I walk always brings me closer to Jesus. It's like He's right there! And . .  He actually is. :)

The important thing is to walk with Jesus everyday. Always seek out those moments to spend with Him and talk with Him. Doing so will keep you from wandering in the desert year after year after year. Walk with Him and talk with Him. That's the only way you can get to know this great God we serve.

"4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." - 1 John 2:4-6

In The Garden - Alan Jackson