Faith Gym

Workout Routines:

31 Bible Stories Everyone Should Know – Genesis

Welcome to the Workout Room.  Just as with building muscle in the body one must work every day on flexibility, strength training, and cardio, so we must do to grow strong in Christ.  But our flexibility training is reading the Word of God.  Our strength training is memorization, our cardio is prayer and reflection.  If you are just beginning and don’t have much strength, choose a 5-minute workout or, with the longer workouts, just do part 1 and look at the other parts as you have time.  The important thing is to get started.  As you grow stronger, you can add to your training routine.

Part 1 – Flexibility Training – read God’s Word and pay attention to what He is saying.  He uses a variety of ways to talk with us – stories, poems, interesting sayings, top-10 lists.  Each time He speaks, He is going to show you more and more of Himself.  You may be wondering why I call reading the Bible Flexibility Training.  When I’m not reading the Bible, I find I get set in my ways.  I become convinced that I know all the answers and I don’t need to change.  But every time I read the Bible, no matter how short or long the time spent, no matter how many times I’ve read that particular section, God teaches me something new about Him, something new about what I need to work on, some problem I have that I need to admit is a problem.  That new insight requires me to change, to be flexible to move the way God wants me to move.  When you read, ask God to help you become more flexible so you can move the way He shows you to move.

Part 2 – Strength Training – memorization is good for the brain.  It keeps it strong and working well.  Memorizing parts of the Bible will help you be strong when you encounter trouble.  God will bring the different sections you’ve memorized to mind so you can say no to that temptation that always drags you down, or to tell you how to behave when people are ugly to you, or to comfort you when you are sad/depressed/lonely…  Along with memorization, spend some time in reflection, going in an pondering the deeper meaning of the verse.

In the longer workouts, you’ll find the verse for memory in Part 2.  In the shorter workouts, you’ll find the verse at the beginning of each week.  Commit the verse to memory.  Then, with that verse, look up the definition of words to help you get a deeper meaning of each and every sentence.  Ponder the order of the phrases in each sentence – why did the author say it that way?  Go to BibleHub.com and look up that verse.  Click on “COM” in the white strip below the menu – read the different commentaries about that verse and get a feel for how different Bible scholars understand it.  (These are also good ways to memorize verses.)

Part 3 – Cardio Training – Doctors tell us that we need a good cardio workout to maintain a healthy body.  God is also concerned about the shape of your heart.  He wants it to be strong and sound, courageous and loving; and most of all, He wants it devoted to Him.  Time spent praying about His Words you just read is well spent.  Ask Him the questions that you have about what you read.  Ask Him the questions you have just from living your life.  Ask Him to open your eyes to show you the amazing things He has written to you in the Bible.

Part 4 – Endurance Training – Finally, think of your workouts in the Bible as training for a marathon.  This is a process that will take great patience and your workouts will require perseverance.  Some days will be easy and you’ll run like the wind.  Some days will be hard and uphill all the way.  Some days you’ll find people and things keep getting in your way, trying to stop you from achieving the goal.  But like Paul said, the goal is absolutely worth the pain of enduring:   “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3, ESV) *

An Extra Lap – If you ever had an extra few minutes, this section goes deeper in reflecting on the verses, has you write, or tells you something more about what you read that day.  This is for those who have time and energy to go just one more lap.

In each of the daily workout, you’ll find things to do under each category.  If it takes too long to do each part in one day, on the next day pick up where you left off.  Or you can take three days to move through each part of the main workout.
So pick a workout and get going!

Workout Routines:

31 Bible Stories Everyone Should Know – Genesis

*Here are some other verses about how the Christian life requires endurance, like training for a marathon:

1 Corinthians 9:25-27, ESV  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Philippians 3:13-14, ESV  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.