How Faith Works

Your commitment to Christ is the starting point for everything.

As with the rest of Creation, the human body has a rhythm and cycles of its own. Anyone with a good body consciousness can tell it, but it shows up vividly in fitness training. A good solid workout routine will go stale within 3-4 months. Your body will begin to beg for a fresh challenge. My previous heavy workout routine at the local park has hit that wall. It’s time to turn a corner and do something different. I’m going to test out some ideas for building power without triggering arthritis. In a week or two I’ll report back here on my experiments.

Today was a shorter, harder ride over some hills. This time it was up Midwest Boulevard to Wilshire, west to Kelly Avenue, south past the Western Heritage Museum to the Katy Trail, then back home via the NE 4th corridor. For once, I didn’t feel that tug to stop and pray somewhere, so I just stayed on it fairly hard until I got back within 4 miles out from home and backed off a bit.

To be honest, I’m just marking time. I’m way out on a limb here with faith. I teach what I believe and practice; I am utterly certain by faith that I am called to one more mission adventure. What I’ve said about it so far remains strong in my convictions — indeed, stronger than ever. But in the flesh, I see nothing at all so far to match what I’m praying. Yet my heart knows it’s out there, coming my way. Thus, it’s an exercise in discerning my heart and my prophetic gift. Further, I suspect God is helping me pull it out because He’s inclined to grant what my faith says should be. Some of what I’ve said is less prediction and more faith seeking.

On a human level, I’m fully prepared to find I’m just a fool with overwrought fantasies. When it comes down to it, this path is truly the best I can do. No other way brings me such peace and confidence to keep living day to day. The only difference it makes is that, if all of this fails to arrive in my life, I’ll just have to figure out how to live my final years as a deluded nut-case. I’m ready for that, too.

So, for example, my attempts to get fit and stay fit began as a simple command from God for its own sake. That was several years ago. During that time I started with a lot of dumb ideas popular with folks who think they know so much about the human body and what’s best for everyone. I’m no longer following their advice. It’s more a question of learning to listen to my body and take it where it wants to go. You can’t really do fitness as science; fitness research can help, but it cannot know what’s morally proper.

Now that command to stay fit has a target. Aside from simply doing what seems best with what God has given me, I’m also aware that my calling includes an element of bodyguard work. I did some of that as a Military Policeman, reading and listening to what more experienced people could tell me about it. The truth is that 95% of personnel security is intimidation. If you look like an abusive ogre with a sharp attention, most threats back off. That means within the limits of my body, I need to look somewhat like a dangerous thug. Fortunately, I’m half-way there because of my DNA. Of course, there are other things I have to train for, but that’s a significant element.

And I’m training my head, too, making sure I can handle a wide range of Linux systems administration. I’m not referring to the school stuff for certification; Linux won’t be the bulk of what I’ll be doing. It’s just an important core competency along with all the other administrative stuff I’m likely to do. Whatever crisis is coming our way, it will include a major problem with computer security, with new headaches for everyone. God has shown me in no uncertain terms that, whatever anyone else does, He’s going to prosper me most in using Linux (Xubuntu in particular).

These are examples of how faith works.