P90X meet G90X
Posted on Sunday 16 May 2010 by Greg @ 9:41 am
Filed under: Rants
Okay, so last year I tried out this extreme 90 day work out program called P90X and really enjoyed it. Although I didn’t religiously do the workouts (4-5 times/week vs the normal 6 times/week) and was on and off again with the nutrition program (okay, more off than on) I still managed to lose about ten pounds and improve my strength when it came to push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc. What really excited me was that my standing heart rate went WAY DOWN to 53…not world class, but pretty good for a guy in his mid forties.
Well, I was pretty convicted as I went through this 13 week program that averaged about an hour a day about my spiritual disciplines. Sure I spent time in the Bible, prayer and such but I began to realize that if my spiritual routine were a workout program it would be more like a Richard Simmon’s “Dancing to the Oldies” skip-a-thon than a P90X body bootcamp.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you G90X (“G” is for God by the way.) Starting tomorrow I am going to go on a 90 day extreme spiritual workout. My goal is to:
1. Go through the Bible in 90 Days.
I’m going to read a lot of it and listen to the rest on CD. One of the things things I want to do is to journal my thoughts along the way so that I can write down key insights from the Word of God as I go through it. There is an excellent reading guide on the biblein90days that I have downloaded to use. It gives an easy-to-follow checklist of chapters of the Bible to read and/or listen to so that a person could finish going through the entire Bible in 90 days. Cool. Call this the nutrition program for my soul. There’s no better than God’s Word. Afterall, “man does not live on bread alone…”
2. Spend 90 minutes of concentrated prayer per week
What I mean by this is, not your typical “Good morning Lord” or “thanks for the food” quickie prayers, but concentrated, passionate and intensive worship, supplication and intercession where I spend time in PRAYer (Praising him, Requesting stuff, Admitting sins and Yielding to his Spirit.)
For me, much of it will happen on a walking path by the Dare 2 Share offices. I am officially commandeering it for the kingdom. From now on it will be my prayer path. I’ve tried praying in a closet before and I just kept on falling asleep. I am a big believer in prayer walking for the simple reason that ADD guys like me have a hard time sitting still. Walking and praying iwith the beautiful Rocky Mountains in my direct view (I live in Colorado) brings solitude, worship and focus. I guess if I lived in Nebraska I could prayer walk at my nearest Bass Pro Shop.
3. Memorize 90 Verses.
Yes, that’s right, one verse per day for 90 days. That may sound extreme but when you consider that Jewish boys in Jesus’ day had the first five books of the Bible memorized by the time they were 14. At the bottom of this blog are the verses I’ve chosen to memorize and their categories. Some of these verses I have memorized before in the KJV translation when I was a kid but I am going to re-memorize them in a more up-to-date translation, the NIV. I’m going to use 3×5 cards to write the verse on one side and the reference on the other. The good thing about doing it this way is that you don’t just memorize the words but the reference. This comes in handy in evangelistic and teaching situations (i.e. GOSPEL Journey Maui.)
4. Sin attack
I’ve identified two sins in my life (no, I’m not going to share them with you) that I’m going to attack in the next 90 days. Pray for me as I do. Scripture reminds us to search and destroy those sins that hurt our relationship with God . It’s time to, as the King James Version puts it, to “mortify the deeds of the flesh.” I don’t know exactly what that means but I think it means kicking individual sins’ butts through the finished work of Christ on the cross!
And, by the way, I’m going to re-start the P90X extreme fitness program while I do this. So I will be doing the physical exercise (and the nutritional program this time) as well as G90X, the extreme spiritual fitness program, at the same time. My goal physically is to get to a healthy 185 (from the 200ish range) and to accelerate my spiritual fitness big time over the Summer.
Here’s my key verses for G90X, “…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” 1 Timothy 4:7,8.
I normally keep my physical and spiritual disciplines to myself, so why am I telling you? Because I’m asking you to join me! I’m starting tomorrow but you may choose to start in a week or two or three but I challenge you to start it and do it over the summer with me! Who will do this extreme fitness challenge with me? If you can’t do both the spiritual and the fitness challenge due to time constraints or whatever my challenge would be to do the G90X program. Why? Because “godliness has value for all things” while physical training only helps you here and now. But, if you can, do both.
If you choose to join me, you can come back to this blog and give me updates and I’ll do the same. Invite your friends to join us! I have three other guys at Dare 2 Share committed to start with me tomorrow. It should be fun, challenging and somewhat painful but, as Tony Horton of P90X fame reminds us, “Do your best and forget the rest!”
By the way, let’s not be legalistic with this. G90X is just an intensive spiritual workout to jumpstart our spiritual disciplines.
Remember that those who choose to do it with me are not necessarily more spiritual than those who don’t. You can do all the disciplines in the world and if you are not controlled by the Spirit and fueled through God’s power in your motives it is all wood, hay and stubble.
If you are choosing not to do it (which is totally fine) I challenge you to, at the least, amp up your spiritual disciplines.Maybe this means 9 verses instead of 90, reading through the Bible in a year rather than 90 days, etc. But, whatever you choose to do, do it in the strength that God provides and not the flesh. Some great spiritual pump up advice is found in Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power….”
Why do this? For Christ and his cause, THE Cause, to know Him and to make Him known. Let’s be disciples and make them. But for us to do both effectively we must be energized, disciplined and fueled in our own souls. God has given us the Spirit of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7) so that we can live and give the gospel to everyone around us out of a heart that overflows with divine power (and huge triceps may intimidate some into the kingdom as well!)
Here are the 90 verses I’ve chosen to memorize and the categories they fall under. You can choose these or pick your own.
7 Warm up verses: 1 Timothy 4:7,8 and 1 Corinthians 9:23-27
16 Worship verses: Colossians 3:16,17; Ephesians 5:18-20; Psalm 66:1,2, Psalm 95:6,7; 1 Chronicles 16:23-29
12 Prayer verses: Luke 5:15,16; Matthew 7:7,8; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Psalm 34:15; Psalm 66:18; James 5:16; 2 Thess 3:1
11 Dependence on God verses: Colossians 3:1-4; Galatians 2:20; John 15:1-5; Isaiah 12:2
16 Dive into Scripture verses: Psalm 119:97-104; 1 Timothy 4:13; Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:14-17
16 Sin killing verses: Romans 8:12,13; Psalm 101:1-4; Galatians 5:16-24; 2 Timothy 2:22
12 Fasting verses: Isaiah 58:1-9; Matthew 6:16-18
May these quotes inspire you as you do P90X and G90X with me.
“Do your best. Forget the rest.” Tony Horton.
“Physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things” The Apostle Paul
“Holy crap, we’re doing this thing.” Greg Stier
Also, the Westminster city Jr. Chaplin runs the FRCC,CU:B and CU:D, and soon to be more, campus Bible studies under the name Cross Impact, and he’s wanting me to be the new President at the FRCC campus. This would be perfect too because I’d step into the role at the end of summer. 
Maybe every once in a while you, your friend Jason, and I could meet up for some STWJ’s. (Sunrise Time With Jesus!) Then of course have time for the PTWJ’s. 
greg stier Reply:
May 16th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Prayers answered. Jason and I are doing this. We all can use this blog as our accountability check in. What do you think?
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Brian Ford Reply:
May 16th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Sounds great! Just like the gym, I want and need that extra push to go further.
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