Today marks the beginning of Commit to Live Fit! 40 Day Challenge, and the beginning of Lent.

This Week’s Lenten Focus: Washed in the Water of the Word

What is Lent? Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ – his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection. [1]

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness -1 John 1:9

This Week’s Disciplines
Drink Water
Read the Word

We receive many health benefits when we drink plenty of water. And even more importantly, God changes us from the inside out when we read His Word, believe what He says, and follow His lead. This week we’ll focus on the cleansing aspects of drinking plenty of water and of spending time in God’s Word.

You’ll notice that the disciplines each week are easy to do, but just as easy to let go of. Lean in; engage with God as we take this journey. You carry the treasure of the Spirit of the Living God in you!  Ponder this week the power of God’s cleansing work in your life. He’s made you new! No spot or stain on you! Care for your physical and spiritual health in a way that honors God.

Physical Discipline:  Drink Water
Many experts suggest we need 8-10 glasses of water a day. My husband added this one discipline to his daily routine and lost 10 pounds in one month! Fitness expert, Wendie Pett, suggests we drink the equivalent to half our body weight (in ounces). So if you weigh 200 pounds, you need about 100 ounces of water a day.

Either way, it’s time to up your water intake and here’s why:

• Great for hair and skin
• Helps digestion and metabolism
• Helps muscle function

Dangers of Dehydration:

• Muscle spasms and cramps
• Neurological impairment
• Digestive issues
• Dry skin and hair
• Headaches
• Water retention

When we drink too much soda, we lose our taste for water. I challenge you to find a fun water bottle and raise your water intake starting today!

Spiritual Discipline: Read the Word
If you don’t have a regularly established quiet time, take that first step. Set aside 10-15 minutes each day, open the Word and prayerfully read. If you’re new to reading the Bible, start with the books of Psalms, Proverbs, or the Gospel of John. If you already have an established quiet time, the challenge to you is to extend your time by adding a few extra minutes each day dedicated solely to reading God’s Word. Scripture is living and active and will change your life!

Here’s why God’s Word is so important to us:

• It’s living and active and brings life, strength, and direction to our soul
• It offers us wisdom and reveals God’s heart
• It teaches us how to live and brings clarity where there’s confusion

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. -John 4:13

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ -Matthew 4:4

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. -Ephesians 6:17

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. -Hebrews 12:13-14

Dangers of doing life apart from the Word:

•  We lose our way
• We adjust our theology to match our lives (rather than the other way around)
• We’re easily deceived by the enemy

I’ll be praying for you as you add these healthy yet simple disciplines to your life. May you flourish in health, both physically and spiritually!

Let’s do this!

Jesus, I pause today and remember that You came to earth for me. Thank You for living, for dying, and for defeating sin and death on the Cross. I commit this Lenten journey to You. Increase my capacity to know You, to love You, and to follow You wholeheartedly. Help me to understand what it means to be washed thoroughly clean because of Your victory on the Cross. Draw me close to You and fill me up until I’m spilling over with joy and health and a strong sense of Your goodness. Thank You for loving me like You do. You are everything to me. Amen.