It was so nice out that I decided I would take the opportunity to squeeze in a little walk on my lunch break away from the office. The wind was so ferocious though that by time I got to the end of the sidewalk I could feel the burn in my calves from walking against the wind. Needless to say, I quickly changed my mind and canceled my walk. Too windy! On second thought, Maybe I should've taken advantage of the weather to get in better physical shape. After all walking against the wind is great resistance training!
Ugh, Resistance training... Now that's something I really never got into!!!! I mean the mere thought of strenuous exercise just makes this short, pudgy self of mine cringe.
However, I began to think of my spiritual man. What kind of shape is he in? Is he as weighed down, pudgy, fatigued, slow and lazy as my physical one? Am I as lacking in my spiritual exercise regimen as I am in my physical one? Do I even exercise at all?
Wow, those are hard questions to swallow aren't they?
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
I Tim. 4:8
Now we know that everybody needs a bit of physical exercise in order to feel good, to stay healthy and perform well the tasks that life throws at us. In I Timothy 4:8, it stands to reason that bodily exercise "profiteth" us, even if it is only a little BUT....
However, it sounds like our spiritual (godly) physique IS quite a bit MORE IMPORTANT than our natural body; but, how does one exercise their spiritual man and get into shape?
Well, just like in the physical!....Start with TAKING OFF A LITTLE WEIGHT...
...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us...
Heb. 12:1(b)
...you know, all that STUFF that is holding us back and keeping us down. Strongholds in our lives.
They include...
They include...
PHYSICAL WEIGHTS...inanimate objects such as TV shows, types of books/literature you read or music you like to listen to, Social media, etc. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but anything that is a major time stealer and anything that provokes negativity, anger, hatred, immoral thoughts, greed or jealously weighs our spirit down more and more with every bite of them we take.
Think of those things as spiritual carbs and cut back, WAY BACK, on your consumption of them.
MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL WEIGHTS...Things such as unforgiveness, bitterness, dwelling on past hurts, worry, fear and doubt, to name a few. Only you know what your life is full of, but each of us needs to unload this stuff. These are high blood pressure causing, invisible and often unnoticeable, poisonous fats that attach themselves to, attack and destroy every organ in our spiritual body. These are not easy to get rid of, but through MUCH prayer and fasting it is possible to flush them out of our system.
And Jesus said unto them...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you...
HOWBEIT, this kind goeth not out but by PRAYER and FASTING.
Matt. 17:20-21
I'm not gonna lie, unforgiveness and bitterness are really big weights that are super hard to eliminate but with some serious prayer and fasting you can and will get rid of that emotional baggage!!
and finally....
THE WEIGHTS OF SIN...These are the major strongholds in our lives and cause the most damage....DEATH!!!
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23
Sin comes into play when we act upon our temptations.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
James 1:14-15
There are temptations everywhere and they come in every way, shape, form and size, lurking around every corner...from food/beverages, to drugs, alcohol, porn, provocativeness, foul language, foul thoughts...etc. Sin is anything that we indulge in that is not of God, that is not godly and holy or that is in contradiction or rebellion to God's laws and statutes for his people. There are MANY sins but they come in just 3 forms...
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is NOT of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
I John 2:16-17
The main problem with sin is it's kind of like potato chips, you can't eat just one...or partake just one time. It's like the sweets, candies and junk foods in our diet. They grab a hold of you and you just can't stop until you are addicted and you've ate the chips, the cookies and the ice cream...all in one sitting. However, freedom from the weight caused by sin is possible through Jesus Christ's detox program of REPENTANCE and REMISSION OF SINS through baptism in his name.
Then Peter said unto them, REPENT, and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38
So, being baptized in Jesus name is pretty self explanatory but what exactly is repentance? Many people believe it is just saying sorry for the bad they have done, but true repentance is somewhat like this...
I used to have a habit of every morning going through the drive thru at McDonalds and grabbing a fat laden breakfast burrito and eye opening caffeine ridden soda on the way to work. Then I would make a pit stop at the gas station during my lunch break to grab a lemonade...and would always manage to grab a small bag of chips, candy bar or some little "treat" to go with the otherwise "healthy" lunch I had already packed for myself. I did this everyday for quite a long time and my health...and weight...was really starting to be effected in a very bad way. This stuff was killing me....literally!!!
I knew I had to make a change!!!!!
I had to consciously STOP going to McDonalds (or any other fast food restaurant)...period. No drive thru in the mornings, no drive thru on the weekends, not even to get something as harmless as their low fat, low calorie yogurt parfait.
I also had to make a conscious decision to stop frequenting the gas station...so much so that I don't even stop to put gas in the car unless I pay at the pump because the temptation is just to dangerous for me.
I know that sounds silly, but that's how repentance works too. It's not just saying your sorry, and then having another cookie, but it's saying NO to and AVOIDING completely the things that trip you up. It's hard, the hardest in fact! You may have to stop hanging around certain people, going to certain places or any number of things that have a negative, ungodly influence on you in order to purge yourself from and dodge the lusts and temptations of sin.
Now the good news about my efforts to JUST SAY NO to McDonalds and the gas station is my health is improving and I have lost 30 pounds! Yay me!, and the good news about true Repentance by STOPPING what you are doing and saying NO to sin, is you will lose much spiritual pounds and your spiritual health will improve greatly!!!
Okay, now that we have lost all that spiritual weight it's time to get down to some serious muscle building exercises. After all nobody wants to be a weak Christian! That's where RESISTANCE TRAINING comes into play...
So what is resistance training?
Well, according to the internet (Better Health Channel), because I know nothing about physical resistance training, lol, you build muscle by WORKING AGAINST weight or force. There are different forms of resistance training which include using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands and your own body weight. Also, a beginner needs to train two or three times per week to gain the maximum benefit.
But what is spiritual resistance training? Well, it's pretty much the same thing, only we are not working against a natural force like wind or our own weight but against a supernatural one.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (other people/humanity), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph. 6:12
Ahh, it sounds like we will be working against the forces of the Devil!
...Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7(b)
So how exactly does one "resist" the Devil? That same verse above (if we look at it in it's entirety) gives us the formula.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil
and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Yes, we must first submit...commit...our lives and everything we do to the will and the word of God, to his ideas, instructions, guidelines and plans for us. Submission to God IS resistance training! Our flesh (our mind, our body, our spirit) HATES submission because it's work!!! It's no fun and everything about it goes against the grain of our human nature.
Nevertheless, we must submit ourselves to God in order to build up those spiritual muscles to combat the wiles of the Devil but, HOW? What do we do? What equipment do we use?
Prayer, fasting and bible study are the resistance bands that help us resist (or push away) the lusts of the flesh and pull us closer to God, and it is a must that we work out with them on a regular...daily...basis!!!
Pushing away the plate, kneeling in prayer and studying the word takes time, takes discipline and takes dedication...what's more, nobody likes it. NOBODY! It's NOT easy; but, it is essential to building those spiritual muscles we all need to combat the tactics of the Devil and to keep us in good spiritual shape.
To be truthful I find it hard to believe that body builders LOVE working out. It's the results they see from regular workouts that fuel their desire to keep going back for more. Similarly, some good RESISTANCE TRAINING of regular prayer, fasting and bible study will give your spiritual man the results to be the strong, healthy Christian you are looking to be!
No comments:
Post a Comment