BUILDING SPIRITUAL MUSCLE

BUILDING MUSCLE
 
It is FASCINATING to watch a wise man work out.
He never… I repeat, NEVER… babies himself.

STEP 4 ~ Beating the Strongman...

The Epiphany of 2009
[ The Epiphany Season continues to the Passover Season on the Christian Calendar ].
The Manifestation of the CHRIST Child to the Gentiles
or, Wise Men Seek HIM+

Beating the Strongman
Step 4

Building Spiritual Muscle

And JESUS said unto them,
Because of your unbelief:
for verily I say unto you,
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.
Matthew 17:20,21

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In Chapter 17 of Matthew, three disciples had been with JESUS on the mountain top and had seen HIS+ Transfiguration. When they returned, the other disciples had had a dilemma: they could not cast out a demon out of a child. Hence, The LORD gave them HIS+ Words in the instructions above.

BELIEF / FAITH / TRUST must involve more than a mental mind-set here, as we can see from the grain of mustard seed. How DOES a mustard seed have faith, seeing that it has no brain, no mind, no heart? Furthermore, it is a tiny, tiny seed.

The mustard seed simply DOES what it is created to do by the MASTER’S Hand. It lies dormant when it is supposed to lie dormant. It cracks open at the appointed time. It sends forth a tiny shoot up and a tiny root down… just like it is created to do. It is 100% “mustard seed.” It has not one whit of other material in it… just mustard seed. In other words, it is unmingled with anything else in this world.

When we become as UNMINGLED as that tiny mustard seed we will see victory in prayer. Becoming single of eye is exactly what spiritual discipline does for our soul.

This is why The LORD JESUS followed up instruction about our faith becoming like the mustard seed with further instructions about how to cast out stubborn demons: by prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting makes us single of eye… or at least, takes us much closer to this goal.

We have flabby spiritual muscles in this age. Many things pit themselves against us to keep us in that state of INEFFECTIVE praying. Most of us need to fast and pray FOR STRENGTH… to fast and pray!

Thus, Step 4 involves putting muscle into our desire to have effective, fervent prayer. Not hyped up with emotion necessarily, but intense and determined to win the victory for CHRIST’S name…. in HIS+ name… and for HIS+ sake. To do this we must root out of us every and any thing that does not agree with CHRIST’S Words. We must lay on the altar any pet values we have carried over from our old man days. We must lay aside any activity which keeps us from giving our energy to this cause. We must train for the fight in singleness of eye.

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How badly do you want to beat the strongman?


Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man
availeth much.
James 5:16


Our LORD JESUS CHRIST gives us the power

to attain spiritual fruits;

it is our part to embrace the labor.

O LORD,

we have walked weakly where we should have had strength.

We have mingled our wine with water.

We have avoided the narrow way.

Help us to embrace Thy call to effective, fervent prayer.

We thank THEE+ for the strength to win, for the strength for victory, for the defeat of the devil and his demons. By Thy Blood we will go forth to battle in Thy Name with these spiritual strongmen. Show us how to complete our obedience to THEE+ for this spiritual warfare.

This we pray in the name of The FATHER Who created us, The SON+ Who delivers us, and The HOLY SPIRIT Who sanctifies us. Amen.

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Building MUSCLE ~ Day 11 of the INCARNATION

Season of the INCARNATION
Day 11
Year of Our LORD,
1.4.2009

Building Muscle
Part 2

It is FASCINATING to watch a wise man work out.
He never… I repeat, NEVER… babies himself.

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This is an eye-witness account of a dear Christian brother. He had been incapacitated for over 20 years due to a car accident and subsequent work on his spine. Although he could move about and “look” normal, he couldn’t even carry a gallon of water (8 pounds) for years. When The LORD touched his body over a year ago, the gift of healing came in this way: he was strengthened in answer to prayer… but strengthened TO WORK OUT. He was strengthened to labor.

That is, his body was healed ONLY to the point needed to ENABLE this brother to do HIS part, i.e, to pick up the iron, to embrace a stronger discipline than he had ever known before, to deny himself. He now has the POWER to do the muscle work-outs which he had tried before. Earlier, they only made him sicker and he could not continue. He now has the power to overcome his previous condition.

However, note this: his atrophied muscles did NOT automatically bulge with strength when The LORD turned his condition; he had to labor to gain that. Well, labor he did and is still doing. His entire body shape has changed. He looks 20 years younger. His youthful appearance and changed physique are the fruits of his labor. He would NOT have either one if he would have stopped AND MADE NO EFFORT at the gift of healing.

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The good fruits were not given to him in the healing;
only the power or ability to attain them was given.

Gifts versus fruits… interesting thought, isn’t it?

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<(((><

Worldlings can also build their muscles, if they can embrace training, take some additional supplements, and monitor their diet. In reality, however, only a few can see what the body actually needs because that comes through TRUTH. Truth must be embraced at some level or body-killing steroids will tempt them to achieve a “fast fix.” Organ-afflicting foods will be eaten, only to create future surgeries and untold heart-ache.

It is no secret that most of us use food to indulge appetites or appease the emotions. We don’t accept the TRUTH that food is simply a fuel for needed energy for bodily functioning. Most of us will not deny our flesh enough comfort to even embrace a daily health exercise walk of 30 minutes. We all make excuses… good ones, too… revolving around duties and responsibilities. But, we all have been granted the same 24 hours a day.


Entering a new year, many of us make woebegone resolutions to exercise our flabby bodies. Some do to lose weight; some do for lost muscle tone. We all know that a simple exercise like walking enhances circulation, increases oxygen to the brain and body, flushes the lymph system, and massages the internal organs… all of which we desperately need to be healthy. However...

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knowing is NOT doing.

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What is the major hindrance to this good activity?
Adherence.
Routine.
Regularity.
Scheduled Performance of it.
Endurance.
Doing it when we don’t feel like it.
Doing it when something else
“more important” demands our time.
Whining.

<(((><
[ to be continued, with even more Truth]

In the Name of The FATHER,
His Only-begotten SON+,
and His Blessed HOLY SPIRIT,
world without end
Amen.

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Building MUSCLE ~ Day 10 of the INCARNATION

Season of the INCARNATION
Day 10
Year of Our LORD,
1.3.2009

Building Muscle

It is FASCINATING to watch a wise man work out.
He never… I repeat, NEVER… babies himself.

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In all of my 61 years, I have seen exactly ONE MAN close at hand who seriously and intensely works his muscles like Rocky Balboa preparing for “the big fight.”

To the uninitiated, “working out” means to grab a few weights (barbells or dumbbells) and pump that iron up and down a few times before getting on with the important duties of the day. Nothing could be further from the truth. That would injure a person’s body and build more lies in his soul [ i.e., exercise doesn’t work for me].

In reality “working out” is exactly what Rocky did. A person embraces the discipline of training his body before he even looks at a piece of iron (a weight-lifter’s term). But in the end, the fruit of embracing this discipline is that his body trains him ! It not only trains the muscles, but it trains the reflexes, the focus, the thoughts, and ultimately trains the person to deny himself temporarily to achieve the long-term goal set before him.

I watch the meticulousness of each work out exercise he selects. Each one is thought through with great care. The goal is always in his mind and every exercise is tailored to DO A SPECIFIC JOB for that particular muscle group.

For example, his methods are tailored for specific purposes. Working out with weights in bench triceps dips and alternate dumbbell curls (to name only a few), this wise man changes his work out like a recipe.

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· For strength only, he does 5 or 6 sets of 2 or 3 repetitions with the same weights, with 4 to 5 minutes of rest between the sets.

· For adding muscle size only, he does 5 to 6 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions with only 45 to 60 seconds (!) between sets, using the same weights.

· But, to build both strength and size, this wise man does 5 to 6 sets of 5 to 6 reps with 2 to 3 minutes of rest between sets.

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Fascinating, isn’t it? If a man can follow such a well-plotted recipe to make his body build strength, muscle, and size, he must trust there will be a natural response to his work. He trusts because he is following the natural law of how his body works, how human bodies are created. This natural law is so sure, so very certain, that even non-Christians who follow it will reap the same fruits of muscle, size, strength, and endurance.

Furthermore, this Christian brother who works out monitors his diet meticulously. He purposely puts ONLY in him foods that will accomplish his goals: building strength, muscle, size, endurance and ultimately good health. He monitors both the kind and the amounts. He puts “additives” in his body’s fuel tank to boost his high octane food also, keeping ever in mind how he wants his body’s engine to run. He embraces the TOTAL discipline needed to achieve his goal.

Being led by The LORD to work out, he never whines, but rather is thankful that he has a body that can now endure training. He never feels sorry for himself but rather rejoices in The LORD Who+ has granted him another day to do HIS+ Will. He refuses to allow himself to yearn after delicacies because he is intent on Truth… both for the outer man as well as for the inner man. He is delighted to apply himself to the Task Assigned, …unseen and unsung as it is… to show his sincere appreciation to The LORD.

Furthermore, on his one day “off” of the week, he refuses to feed his flesh more indulgently, knowing it will only make the iron harder to pick up again. He walks in Truth.

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[This is a true story to be continued]

Glory be to The FATHER, and to The SON+, and to The HOLY SPIRIT;
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Amen.

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