Fit2Gether

I originally said I should just do an affiliate of another ministry like Run for God. But none of this is about training for a 5K or marathon. This is something different.

I wanted to shed some pounds and get back to shooting hoops regularly. It’s not too much to ask. This isn’t about building a beach body for the summer. I’m trying to make a lifestyle change. I’m only 55, but I understand that any positive health changes in my life will make a big difference these days.

Movement is one of those basic things that we all can do in one form of the other. We can walk, jog, or run. In essence, it boils down to making the effort and to keep doing it consistently. Otherwise, the results are based on where you didn’t plug in and play your part.

To join us for the Fit2Gether Summer Challenge, simply fill out and submit the form online.

30-Day Prayer Challenge

June represents another shot at our 30-day prayer challenge. Pray More for Others is out theme for this month’s challenge. Join in us praying for our summer fitness challenge participants and praying for the launch of new ministries to reach the streets and beyond.

Anyone who desires to have prayer requests prayed over by Life Path Ministries and its volunteer prayer team, please fill out the prayer request form.

For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.

– Jeremiah 10:21 (ESV)

God spends a great deal of time putting the people of God on blast in Jeremiah chapter 10. It’s like He just thrust verbal body slam upon verbal body slam, one right after another. He takes down their wandering into idolatry, then their refusal to repent. And, He pushes back on the shepherds that they have in place.

Check out this past week’s Bible study discussion on the topic. We hit some key areas throughout the Bible study and made our best effort to continually embark on making matters move swiftly while on live. Once the live stream is over, we can look at it from a different perspective and toss out some other ideas along with our questions.

On this Jeremiah Journey, we take an inductive Bible study approach to the Word of God and dive into the Book of Jeremiah chapter by chapter week by week. We tend to focus heavily on drawing out ideas and concepts from the text. Similar to an expository preaching style, our focus falls into the category of observation and conclusion with a lot of inquiry centered upon our life application. Stick with us throughout this study and keep the faith.

This past week’s study was on chapter 10 and it did not disappoint us. Week by week, we get into discussion about the topic and theme based on the prophecy laid out in the Book of Jeremiah. Yep, I know, it isn’t the usual type of study that you tend to hear many groups dialoguing on YouTube or TikTok. However, this recent chapter had me in stitches because its references to stupid shepherds and scattered sheep. I think that’s why we had so many first-time viewers because of that tantalizing title.

Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. – Jeremiah 7:8 (ESV)

Calling All Who Worship the Lord

Chapter 7 kicks off with Jeremiah being challenged by the word of the Lord to call out to “all you men of Judah who enter the gates of to worship the Lord” (v. 2, ESV). Why would such a challenge seem necessary at this point in the Book of Jeremiah? Idolatry has these people are twisted up in unforgiving knots of confusion. In fact, God points out that Judah and Jerusalem have gotten the false ideas and notions of faith and religion through rituals like burnt offerings and sacrifices (vv. 8-11, 16-17, 21-26)

God Gets No Love for His Offer of Unfailing Love

Imagine that someone who has been faithful to you time and time again, only to have you slip away with another lover. Picture the level of disgust that the person should have built up for your unfaithful response to their unfailing love. They offer you their entire heart and all of the love that they have to give to you no matter what. Yet, you continue to repeat the same pattern.

God repeatedly extends an offer to His people to dwell in peace with Him. His offer in verses 4-7 is believed to be of less value than the “deceptive words” that they trust in dearly. God also states that his persistent and repeated offers remain without any response (v. 13). In addition, God describes that wicked ways of the people and their failure to listen, answer or even accept His offer in verses 27- 29.

Repeatedly, God has shared His love with Israel and Judah by extending His offer of restoration to them. The practice of changing one’s ways and obeying God’s voice are keys to a responsive relationship with God (vv.21-23).

After such foul treatment, when do you expect God to pull away and just say He can’t do it anymore?

Tune in WEDNESDAY at 9 AM PST for Live @ Lunch Bible Study as we continue with Week 7

“. . . You refuse to be ashamed.
Will you not from this time cry to Me,
‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth?
Will He remain angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able.”

Jeremiah 3:3-5 (NKJV)

Answer the Consider This question and more for the third chapter of Jeremiah this week.

Tune in to our weekly Bible study discussion hosted lived on YouTube and Twitch.

” . . you have forsaken the Lord your God.
And the fear of Me is in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 2:19 (NKJV)

When God Galls Out the Sin of the Nation

The had abandoned their covenants with God. They had gone to other gods which the Lord plainly stated are not gods in Jeremiah 2:11. In fact, the Lord is so fed up with Israel that He puts it plainly like this:

“. . . But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water”

– Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NKJV)

This week is the second week of the Jeremiah Journey and we’re using a different format for the questions in the form of the Jeremiah Journey Wk 2 Reflective Responses. Read chapter 2 and answer the questions on the Jeremiah Journey Wk 2 Reflective Responses form. Once we have your responses tallied, we’ll discuss them on the live Bible study discussion via YouTube and Twitch.

Prayer Request Form is Live Now

Life Path Multimedia is pleased to share that it now has its Prayer Request Form live and available online now.

Join us for the Jeremiah Journey Wednesdays at 9 AM PST via YouTube and Twitch as we walk through the Book of Jeremiah chapter by chapter week by week.

Be sure to check out the weekly discussion questions and the daily devotional.

Why I Study Jeremiah: A Reflection on the Weeping Prophet’s Influence

During my return to college to finish my undergraduate degree, we were assigned to analyze “5 Examples of Perseverance in the Bible.” In doing so, I wrote about Jeremiah as the example of perseverance that stood out for me. Here is a a few paragraphs about what I wrote:

Jeremiah resonates with me not simply because the Old Testament major prophet commonly known as the “weeping prophet.” My reasoning would have to include that Jeremiah was called as a young man and was given instructions along with a warning to him to not fear and recognize God’s presence with him (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Jeremiah 1:8). Beyond that, I would also have to say that Jeremiah stands out because, as the author of “5 Examples of Perseverance in the Bible” clearly stated: “He is an example of perseverance by continually preaching and teaching God’s word, despite all that was done to him.”

Aside from everything else, I would say that Jeremiah’s example of perseverance is rooted in a single word that has been part of my mantra recently: consistency. Even in leading a weekly online Bible study of the Book of Jeremiah via YouTube livestream throughout this year, I have found that Jeremiah remained consistent with the preaching the message of what God wants for us along with what God wants for us. As I have learned along what we call our #JeremiahJourney Bible study, I have seen how Jeremiah showed up consistently with a message that remained uncompromised. Despite his own times of personal struggle with the alienation that he experienced, Jeremiah pushed through and persevered as he continued to offer the truth of God’s Word to Israel and Judah about the price to be paid for their sins of idolatry by turning away from God to other gods and breaking their covenant with the God of Israel. If nothing else could be said about him, Jeremiah remained consistent as he persevered to carry God’s message to God’s people.

Through Life Path Multimedia, I’ve been able to cross into various areas of life that might not have readily received a Baptist preacher’s perspective and input. One of those areas includes personal finance. However, beyond personal experience and interest, I have studied the Word of God and what it says about both faith and finances.

How do we see this playing out through Life Path Multimedia both now and in the future?

Wealth On Wednesdays: S & P 500 Dividend Stocks

Wealth On Wednesdays (W.O.W.) featured back-to-back weekly sessions on S & P 500 Stocks Paying 5% or More in Dividends. This list of stocks include multiple REITs, a well-known tobacco stock, utility stocks, a Dow Dog, and more. One of the stocks featured in these 2 videos was Realty Income ($O) known as the Monthly Dividend Company which currently trades at $57.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.63% paid out monthly. Realty Income has a history of 666 consecutive monthly payouts and has increased its dividend over 30 years, making it a Dividend Aristocrat.

Be sure to tune in for personal finance information and tips for building wealth via Wealth On Wednesdays (W.O.W.) live at 10:30 AM PST on Wednesdays on Twitch.tv and YouTube.

Live @ Lunch Bible Study: Giving & Godliness

Godliness is all about becoming God-like believers. Our focus should be on us becoming more like God. as we give more without any hang-ups and expectations of anything in particular in return, we become more godly because we imitate the the traits and characteristics of God.

Jump into our current Bible study series Giving & Godliness on Wednesdays at 9 AM PST. We cover all sorts of aspects about giving and growing more like God. You can join the conversation via YouTube and Twitch.tv for Live @ Lunch Bible Study at 9 AM PST on Wednesdays.

Do you know what makes a cheerful giver?

Even if we don’t know what makes someone a cheerful giver, we can garner one thing from this Bible verse. We can come to the conclusion that God loves a cheerful giver. That is as plain as day according to the Scriptures.

On Sunday at 7 AM PST, we dive into what makes a “cheerful giver” live on YouTube. It is also available live at 7 AM PST via my channel on Twitch.tv.

Check out Live @ Lunch Bible Study on Wednesdays at 9 AM PST

Week by week, we dig into the depth of the Holy Bible and seek to discover more about God’s Word. My favorite series has always been the Jeremiah Journey. Pastor Powell and I took that entire Book of Jeremiah apart week by week for a year, and then did a follow-up short study series on the Book of Lamentations.

Every week we take on another aspect of the Word of God, seeking to dig deeper and discover more. Join us weekly at 9 AM PST on Wednesdays for Live @ Lunch Bible Study.

Why are we on Twitch.tv?

Geeks and gamers deserve our attention just like anyone else. I’ve been known to share about my comic book fandom online every now and then. In fact, my gaming has fallen off and suffered since we returned to the work site post-pandemic. Being on mandatory shutdown had me engaging in Minecraft, Mario Kart, GTA and so much more. I’m not really a big fan of Among Us or Fortnite, but I can hold my own, especially when it came to leading Girls Who Code and eSports after school clubs.

Why Twitch?

Gamers are streaming on Twitch. Guys who want streaming content about the latest release of GTA or the discovery of a lost comic book are on Twitch. Even the fans who want to get a sneak peak at that content leak of the latest upcoming release from Marvel Studios are searching for it on Twitch.

I want to be there to somehow connect with those who might feel they’re the least connected with the church. I want to speak and share about an example of a Jesus who cares about outsiders and outcasts. I want to connect gamers and geeks with a Savior who specializes in reaching out to the ones who might get passed over by the religious elite.

I want to be there for those who feel unwelcome, unwanted and unworthy.

I want to reach them for Christ, and I think that I can do that on Twitch.

https://www.twitch.tv/revbrucej