love prays
3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2.” (NASB1995)
At a critical time in my life a Christian movie about love and godly marriage was produced and made it into theaters. The Kendrick brothers’ Fireproof movie of 2008 spoke to me, and I was ‘all in’ with their accompanying book, The Love Dare. The film’s main character journeys through this 40-day challenge as his marriage is dissolving. God changes his heart and saves his marriage! Better than Hallmark!
I have re-visited my “Love Dare” book repeatedly over the past 15 years and each time I am reminded of the kind of love God wants me to have toward others. While this devotional is geared toward marriages, it encourages me to show God’s unconditional, generous, and self-sacrificing to everyone.
Relationships often struggle because we want others to change and we’re not able to mold them into what we want them to be. The Love Dare book reminds me that relationships are like farming. A wise farmer cannot make a seed grow into a fruitful crop. But he can plant in fertile soil, water, and nourish the plants and protect them from weeds. Then, the farmer must turn his plants and their success over to God. For many years farmers have followed this routine, knowing that not every seed will sprout and not every plant will bear fruit, but most will when planted in proper soil and given what they need. Similarly, we cannot make others with whom we are in relationship change but we can do our part by planning for success. We can get the weeds (our own baggage) out of our relationship, nurture the soil of others’ hearts by praying for them and depend on God for the results.*
Reflection: Who in your life needs the soil of his/her heart nurtured through your prayers?
Lord God, you are the author of loving relationships. Conform mine to Your will, to Your glory. Amen.
*The Love Dare, Stephen & Alex Kendrick, Day #16
by Shawn Maassel
Huntingtown, MD
Shawn began taking Body & Soul® classes as a student in 1990 after her first child was born. Years later, after a move and transition to full-time church work, she became a Body & Soul® instructor in order to bring the ministry and classes to her new church. She has been leading classes since 2003 in Huntingtown, Maryland and enjoys being part of Body & Soul’s® Spiritual Impact Team. Shawn and her husband have three grown children and two grandsons across the country.
Body and Soul® Fitness is an international Christian fitness organization that trains and equips instructors to lead a variety of group fitness programs including choreographed aerobics-style Cardio Strength & Flexibility™, cardio dance style Dance Blast™, free-weights-focused Power Strength™, boot camp style FIT360™ and Longevity FIT360™, and GOLD™ - lower impact programming for participants that are pregnant, have weight challenges, injuries, or other medical conditions. These exercise classes meet in church gyms, community centers, gymnasiums, parking lots, schools, etc. across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In-person and virtual fitness classes are available.
Key words: Christian fitness, women's exercise classes, group fitness, dance aerobics classes, Christian group fitness, Christian fitness app, FitTV, Body & Soul, Body and Soul, fitness instuctor training, low impact exercise
