From Executive Director Scott Bowers…

Date: Thursday October 12

From the Desk of Melissa Reinert…

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The above scripture is often read at weddings. It was read during mine and my husband’s wedding ceremony, which was seven years ago last Sunday, Sept. 24! How fitting that I’m writing about marriage this week for our Fridays with FOCAS. I hope that you will enjoy my thoughts on this one.

Marriage is tough to say the least. That’s something I’ve learned well these last seven years. But I’ve also learned that my husband and I love each other deeply and we love the Lord even more. Couples who’ve been married much longer than us have told me that’s how it must be done. So that is the key to a lasting marriage: Love. As 1 Corinthians 13:7 says love “always perseveres.”

Ephesians chapter 5, goes into great detail how wives and husbands should love one another, by submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Oh that’s hard for all of us, I think. Submitting means to accept or yield to the will of another person. It means putting someone else’s desires and needs above your own. It exemplifies the greatest love that can be shown… to lay down your life for another.

Both husband and wife are to submit to each other. And they are to do this in reverence of Christ. Christ is our authority, our Lord. God’s will is always better than our plan. When a husband and wife put the other above their own self, they are a living example of the relationship between Jesus and the church. 

Ephesians 5 continues… “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

In return, husbands are to “love” their wives… “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

RSVP now…

Our staff and a few of our friends will speak to the Lord’s transforming power to change lives at our FREE Community Awareness & Fundraising Events, Sept 27 and Oct. 12. You are invited. Please RSVP: https://bit.ly/SeptComBreakfast or https://bit.ly/OctComBreakfast. 

From the Desk of Melissa Reinert…

“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 

From Mierra…

My name is Mierra Poth and I began a Developmental Representative Internship with Lord’s Gym in June. As a Marketing student at the University of Cincinnati, I was connected to Lord’s Gym Ministries through UC’s Service-Learning Co-op Program.

Prior to embarking on my educational journey at UC, I graduated high school in a small northern-Ohio town, Lexington, and grew up the eldest of four. Post high school graduation, in 2020, I made the decision to join the Ohio Air Force National Guard.

My journey in the Air Force really gave birth to a more intimate relationship with God. I grew up as a Christian and was always in church, but I never understood what it meant to know God and allow him to work through me. Because of the difficulties at basic training, God needed to work through me because I did not have the strength to succeed alone. Once I graduated training and transitioned into a full-time college student role, I found difficulty connecting with peers, and struggled with a lot of loneliness for months. Amidst depression I finally surrendered, and fully gave my life to Jesus Christ.

I got connected with a church, a small women’s group at UC and found most of my time filled with delight in God. During my sophomore year, I was seeking to find my second marketing internship and I spent almost the entire spring semester in pursuit of this, but I never felt at peace with one. Finally, I made the decision to look for a ministry to serve for the summer. Immediately upon looking I came across a “Developmental Representative Intern” role at Lord’s Gym. I had never heard of Lord’s Gym, it sounded like my dream, Jesus and Fitness.

So, I ran to find a website, some proof that this organization was real. This organization is real. The first thing I came across was a 90-second video that made me extremely emotional. For the two years I have lived in Cincinnati, I have only ever been warned of the dangers of certain areas of Cincinnati. I think the word danger is a mask, there are faces and stories behind it. Lord’s Gym (15 seconds into an introduction video) invites everyone to take off the mask and begin listening.

They woke me up, and I knew God wanted to use me in a piece of it. June 19, 2023, CityBeat released, 34 children had been shot so far in 2023, more than triple that of 2022. I pray every day that God will continue to utilize me so that this number is someday 0. These are children, children I have begun to know and love. The children have names, laughs, ambitions, curiosity in Christ, and they are just seeking love.

Our friends of all ages are seeking that. These past two months, I have had the opportunity to see Ricco’s smiling face almost every day, and the pleasure of getting to know the women of Women’s Hour in Covington. I have been able to witness the STORM Bus in action and begin to build relationships with such a God-Fearing team of men and women. I have seen such an impact in my life and I cannot wait to continue to see the fruit of God’s work through me here at Lord’s Gym.

From the Desk of Melissa Reinert…

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.’” Ephesians 6:1-3

The fundamental relationship in our lives is the relationship with our parents. The parent-child relationship typically sets up the course of all relationships in our lives. So it’s an important one, for sure.

God’s word has a lot to say and show about the parent-child relationship. This week, we’re going to focus on the child’s duties in the relationship, which really is to mimic our relationship with God. Paul tells children in chapter six to “obey your parents in the Lord,” simply because it is the right thing to do.

 It is very important that Paul makes note that this obedience must be “in the Lord.” This is because the Lord is our Heavenly Father, and with Him we have the ultimate parent-child relationship, ie. the Lord is No. 1 in our lives. We should not be doing anything outside of His will, even if it’s something someone we trust or should be able to trust most wants us to do.

 He goes on the say that the first commandment with a promise that God gave to Moses is “honor your father and mother.” The promise is so that it may be well with us and that we may live long on earth.

 This is also the first commandment that addresses a human-to-human relationship. The first four focus on our relationship with God. So it’s interesting that the first human-to-human relationship focuses on the parent and child, with a charge to the child to “honor” his or her parents.

 To honor is to regard with great respect. Honoring our parents means more than giving them obedience and respect, however, it’s also about loving them.

 It’s that simple. Or is it? Love in the parent-child relationship can be difficult, especially when the love has not been appropriately reciprocated. In such circumstances, there’s only one place to turn… to the Lord. We can ask the Lord to help us love like Him, when there are strains in our relationship with our earthly mom and dad.

 Jesus said, in Matthew 22, that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord; the second others. Love God love people. Remember, our parents are under the same human condition as us. We need to show them God’s unconditional love; it’s the only way to follow the Lord’s heartfelt wish that we give honor to our parents.

From Chaplain Lynn…

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16

Diane is always a blessing and encouragement when she comes to the Family Activity Center in Price Hill seeking opportunities to pray and minister to our friends and partners. I captured this moment of Diane in action praying over Megan who was recently given shared custody of her son and on another occasion praying for Alex’s injuries from a motorcycle accident. 

After receiving prayer Alex refused to let motorcycle injuries stop her. She limped her way onto the STORM bus to help our ladies we serve in the community. Alex’s labor was not in vain because one of these ladies shown here went to treatment a few days later! 🙌🏾

God will lead you where He wants you to be, but you have to talk to Him daily to see where He wants you to GO. I thank God for those special leaders that are bold enough to GO out to the highways and byways and remind God’s people how much He loves them and is for them. We pray as we continue to GO to people in need, it will lead to freedom and deliverance, that the lost would be found and discover their identity in Christ!

We’ve been praying for several months that God would send the right people to expand the STORM bus outreach ministry by taking the bus out a few more days a week. Joe and Cathy are faithful Lord’s Gym members at our Covington location and have shown interest in the STORM bus outreach ministry. Please join us in prayer as we continue to discuss the possibilities of Joe and Cathy leading the STORM bus outreach in Covington. 

From the Desk of Melissa Reinert…

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” Genesis 2:18

One of the first dilemmas faced by mankind was loneliness.

In Genesis 2:18, the Lord Himself said it was not good for Adam to be alone. The Lord recognized Adam’s need for companionship, not only with Him, but also with a friend, a help mate, another human being like him. So, God created Eve.

And Adam’s response is so beautiful. He said, according to verse 23 of Genesis 2: “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh…” This was the start of a relationship, not only the companionship between a husband and wife, but also human to human.

Relationships are essential to relational beings, like God’s children. As the old adage says: “Two heads are better than one.” We naturally thrive off each other.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 King Solomon says: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

And in Proverbs 27:17, he writes: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

The early church and today’s church thrive on fellowship. Paul throws out a warning in Hebrews 10:25 to not forsake the assembly of ourselves. Instead, we are to strongly encourage one another. Paul goes on to note that it’s even more important to do this as we see “the Day approaching.” He’s speaking of Christ’s return, which we are closer to than other generation of believers.

Relationship is biblical. It’s practical. It’s necessary. For the next several weeks we are going to embark on a study of relationship, delving into the Word, reviewing the biblical standards for the various types we experience in our lives. Stay tuned.

“Exceptional,” said STORM Chaplain Lynn…

“That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Ricardo. Since day one he has shown up to truly be a blessing to those we serve at the gym. Through volunteering he has now earned his membership and we’re praying that God would continue to send servant leaders like Ricardo to help us fulfill the vision of seeing transformed lives!”

Ricardo, 32, came to Lord’s Gym Ministries in Price Hill by chance. He was walking by and wanted to “check it (The Family Activity Center) out.”

“I was hooked,” he said.

Ricardo started coming over the summer and can’t believe the wonderful friendships he has made so far.

“Lord’s Gym is a great place,” he said. “It’s the safest place in Price Hill. I enjoy most the friends I’ve made. It’s a fun place too. I like to play ping pong here.”

 He said he enjoys volunteering to clean and help however he can because “volunteering is important. It keeps me out of trouble. Also, I like helping out and making a difference.”

 Chaplain Valerie said that she enjoys Ricardo’s company and appreciates his willingness to always “jump in and help.”

“Ricardo is the first to pick up a rag, pick up the broom or mop,” she said. “Ricardo does this daily and without ever being asked if he would. He is an amazing example for all who enter Lord’s Gym Ministries doors. We need more Ricardos in the world.”

From Melissa Reinert…

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

A few weeks ago, Scott and several adult leaders guided a group of four young men, ages 14 to 17, on an eight-day, 353-mile trip from Pittsburg to Washington D.C. The experience is dubbed the Resiliency Ride.

It was an amazing trip, and I had the pleasure of speaking with the kids a few times along the way and report on our blog their thoughts and experiences.

One thing has stuck out in my mind about the trip. That is the reward of rain and resiliency.

Resiliency is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Early in the ride, the Resiliency Riders were met with a downpour. The rain made for some muddy trails which created many challenges. They powered through.

The reward, yes, of course the power of knowing they can do anything they put their minds to. And, of course, knowing that the Lord is with them, seeing them through. But also, some fantastic moments zipping down a natural water slide!

This was one of the top moments for all the boys. They repeatedly slid down with happy smiles, bumping against rocks, and getting bruised, but as one Resiliency Rider said: “It was all worth it.” That slide down was AMAZING!

The thing that strikes me is without the rain, they wouldn’t have had such a great experience. Without the rain there wouldn’t have been enough water to send them shooting down the natural water slide. With the rain came great challenges, but also a great reward.

This is a good reminder that the “rain” that pours into our lives may present us with challenges; but it’s also setting us up for something great. It may be hard to get through the muck and mud, but we must keep going. We must withstand and recover. When we do, we’re going to be prepared for a great reward, something even more amazing than zipping down a natural water slide. So, let it rain!