|
|
Getting somewhere requires effort, it takes
faith to push on, it's easy to screw up,
|
|
Friday, June 15, 2012
Body building and Spirit building, comparing the two I was reading up on the rules of body building on the internet and musing on how these have similar spiritual parallels. (While these may be a bit contrived it was a fun
exercise...:) ) The body building rules come from a site on the internet (see ref 1)
Body building rule 1: Never go to failure
“This is as
good a place to start as any. A long held tenant of bodybuilding is that you should go to failure (lift until you cannot lift
anymore). Take a turn around your local gym and you’ll see all types of people working out half reps and assisted reps
that help push them into complete muscle failure.
Compare this behavior to the massive size and strength of phenomenal powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters
and know that they never go to failure. Nor does the greatest fighter on the planet Fedor Emelianenko. This is because training
to failure is training to fail”
Spiritual building parallel rule 1: Never go to failure
Some people take themselves past
the point where they can resist temptation by pushing themselves into situations where they are going to be easily tempted.
Can you think of any examples?
We
should never allow ourselves to move from God’s spiritual direction until we fail over into Satan’s sinful spiritual
domain. We stay in Holy Spirits control! To do this when we know we are getting to areas where we are weak and could fail
we should remove ourselves from that area of temptation.
Body Building Rule 2 :No more than five reps per set
Completing no more than five reps per set carries
on from the idea of never going to failure. Figure out what your one rep max for a particular lift is and set yourself to
do 70 to 80 percent it. Use that do low rep sets of one to five reps. There is nothing wrong with doing heavy singles.
Also, while perhaps
counterintuitive, 1 to 5 reps is the safest way to lift. This is because the stabilizing muscles get tired before the prime
movers in high rep sets, which sets you up for an injury.
Spiritual
building parallel rule 2: No more than five reps per set (okay, God always listens… but…)
Repeating a prayer until it is almost meaningless is something
people often do. Any prayers that we may have done like that?
When praying let’s try to not repeat a prayer more than five times unless it’s for forgiveness. The first
time is good since we are connecting with God. The second we may add missing information. The third, we are perhaps focusing
on how we can change ourselves to meet God’s guidelines. The fourth, we can be discussing our failures with God. The
fifth should handing over everything to God and moving on. A sixth prayer on the same thing…why
we are not leaving it to God at this point? Okay, I know of the parable of the whining widow and judge that
says ask continually...so you make up your mind, but I really believe God listens and bugging him continually only bugs me!
Body Building
rule 3: lift heavy
If you want to get strong you have to lift heavy. This is dead simple. Sure, using light weights for high rep sets
may give you some tone but doing so will never make you strong.
Lifting heavy requires a large amount
of tension. You will be forced to recruit muscle fibers in places not normally directly activated by the lift. Tension is
strength. The greater the weight the greater the amount of tension required.
Think of strength as a
skill. The more muscle fibers you can recruit to a movement and the harder the contraction of those muscle fibers the stronger
you are. Lifting with heavy weights should be approached as practice as opposed to working out.
Spiritual rule Rule 3 : Lift heavy
If you want to get spiritually strong you have to take on heavy
spiritual tasks. Sure one odd prayer to God a month may sound good, one little thing to follow God’s guidelines is useful
but doesn’t really get us anywhere does it?
To build spiritual strength inserting ourselves in spiritual warfare and this requires a large
amount of tension. You will be forced to recruit spiritual skills in places not normally directly activated by normal life.
The greater the challenge, the more we learn. Think of building spiritual skills. It takes EFFORT. Getting up to read bible
and pray each morning. Getting your mind and attitude right for each day. Reacting correctly to circumstances during the day.
Forgiving our enemies, loving everyone! How well do we think we do in this area?
Body building rule 4 : Lift often
Many powerlifting and Olympic lifting teams work
out as many as eight times per week or even more.
This
means they are working out more than once a day. They can do this because they are not going to failure and are working low
rep sets.
It has
been found that completing five heavy singles per day for five days in a row is better for strength development than completing
five sets of five reps on a single day.
Spiritual Building rule 4 : Pray often
• Don’t let events go by without exercising spiritual power
over them.
•
This means praying and exercising spiritual
power more than once a day. We can do this because they are not going wasting time and are working low repetition prayer.
Short, to the point, enabling spiritual power into the situation.
•
Regular prayer and applying spiritual
power on consecutive days is better for spiritual development than completing everything on a single day (i.e. God rocks day
or Sunday).
Body building rule 5 : Take longer rest periods between sets
• Many powerlifting and Olympic lifting teams work out as many as eight
times per week or even more.
• This means they are working out more than once
a day. They can do this because they are not going to failure and are working low rep sets.
•
It has been found that
completing five heavy singles per day for five days in a row
Spiritual Building rule 5 : Take longer rest periods between sets
of tough spiritual warfare
If
we continually chase to the next event, the next activity, doing the next thing without taking time out to rest and allow
God’s peace to settle into our spirit, allowing time to meditate on God’s awesomeness and glory, allowing time
to let God’s words settle into our minds…we will not be as effective as Spiritual Warriors!
Body building rule
6 : Focus on compound movements
Powerlifters and Olympic lifters do not train body
parts. As discussed above with regards to tension, your body combined is far stronger than your body broken down by isolation
exercises.
Stick
to lifts such as the deadlift, squat, benchpress, military press and the Olympic lifts – snatch and clean and jerk.
Spiritual Building rule 5 :
Focus on compound movements
• To grow spiritually we need to have a wide area of focus
– the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy
and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful 23 and gentle and having control of oneself.
There is no law against things of that kind.
–
Finally, let the Lord
make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil's evil plans.
Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world. So put on all of God's armor. Evil days will come. But you will
be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing. So stand firm. Put
the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. Wear on your feet what will prepare you to
tell the good news of peace. Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil
one. Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God's word. At all times, pray by
the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God's
people.
• and focus on doing it the right way
Finally,
my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely
and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.
Are we going to be spiritual warriors and how much will we train to become warriors? Thats the
core thought and the above is a light humourous way of considering aspects of this. Have a great day!
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/10/six-rules-of-building-strength.html
Fri, June 15, 2012 | link
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The importance of preparation, and follow through...
“Success always comes
when preparation meets opportunity” ~ Henry Hartman
Successful people are held in esteem by many who never see the careful work, dedication and preparation
that these people put into preparing for their success.
We can learn from them!
Preparation counts!
Opportunities arrive at sporadic times in life
and we need to be able to use them effectively. Prepared we can use them! Unprepared we are likely to falter, run out of resources
or vision, then our focus can falter and we fail.
Not wanting to pass up an opportunity means being ready to spend
some time in preparation for these events.
Consider Jesus! Totally God and totally man!
Jesus had a mission from the time he was born
(perhaps we could say from before the beginning of time). This focus was with him as he grew as a boy.
Did Jesus rush out and start his ministry as soon as
he became a teenager?
No!
Did he start it in his twenties?
No!
He waited until in his thirties to
start doing his Fathers work.
Why?
He was under God the Fathers direction and Holy Spirits inspiration.
He was living life to ensure he fully understood how each of us need to deal with the stresses and strains of life.
Jesus was preparing not only for his life purpose, but for his task as
our defender to his Father. He wanted to be prepared when it comes to the great
judgement that we Christians believe everyone faces after death. He needed to understand and know life as a human in all it’s
complexity, in order to defend us in truth at that future time.
Jesus was
preparing for eternity with us!
Jesus took time! He rested
and prepared!
If God can do this, shouldn’t we? We
need to consider if we take enough time to prepare for our life’s events.
Continually I am faced with young people who regret not having used
time correctly at school, or even looked after their health more(eaten
less and better). Later in life when they cannot take up opportunities as others around them do, claiming that job, that car,
that sports team position, they express regrets.
Let’s not have regrets!
Let’s prepare!
Preparing means knowing what we are preparing for.
Jesus knew his purpose.
When he was questioned by John teh Baptists disciples as to whether he was the messiah, he answers:
“If I testify about myself,
my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
“You
have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.
John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
“I have testimony
weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing —testify
that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice
nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently
because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse
to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your
hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will
accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only
God?
“But
do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses,
you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what
I say?”
He knows God the Father sent him, he points
out John knows what his purpose is, he knows his purpose is more important than Johns, he knows he has the Fathers authority,
that he can give people eternal life.
Jesus knew what he was doing. Do we? Do we spend
enough time with God to know our life’s direction is God inspired and not greed or self-service inspired?
Do we take action based on that knowledge?
Jesus prepared for over thirty years for a
few years of action. Those years were filled with action.
He didn’t waste time, but he didn’t try to cram everything into time either.
That is the skill of living well!
Live at a pace dictated by god and not by our own minds. If we have lives directed and led by god, we will find time for rest,
prayer, peace in the midst of ongoing action and activity. The joys and events of life will color our existence and paint
a wonderful path leading us into our future with God encompassing our every activity.
That’s the way to approach life! That’s the way we want to enter our days!
That’s the way we should be preparing to go today.
Have a great day!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Walking tightropes. . . Is
Nik Wallenda a nut or a heroic daredevil? Is there a difference?
Sometimes I think people get caught into a weave of familial patterns
that enmesh them into a net, out of which they seemingly cannot free themselves.
Nik Wallenda is from a circus family, and has been doing the walking of tight ropes
from the age of two, when he did his first performance. He proposed to his wife while 9.1m high in the air on a rope. It seems
as if his life is locked into his purpose of walking ropes.
In 1963, Wallenda's sister-in-law, Rietta, fell to her death. In 1972, his son-in-law Richard Guzman was killed by
accidentally touching a live electrical wire that was part of the rigging of that high wire. Then in 1978 his grandfather
Karl, at age 73, fell from a high wire and was killed, (so much for experience!) Nik then repeated what his father did, to
show it could be done!
Compulsive behaviour has been a pattern in Nik’s life!
Is he sensible or simply unable to face a compulsion that drives him and many of his family to a near death experience? Is
he perhaps unable to live without the adrenaline rush, of completing the next death-defying stunt?
How many of us in lesser ways, cannot give up our compulsive behaviour?
It can take immense strength, courage and dedication to do so. Can I suggest that Nik would be more courageous and successful,
if he could face his compulsion, conquer it and find another occupation that is perhaps less self-aggrandising and more life
sustaining in the long term.
We
all need to die, so the fact that he does something that can lead to death is not an issue. It’s the compulsiveness
of his behaviour that, to me, seems to be the problem. When we don’t seem to be able to get relief, except by giving
into compulsions, I see the work of Satan in our lives. Selfish, nasty and out to steal our inner peace, he throws waves of
desires and emotions into our path, to try and drown us, pulling us down to repeating that compulsive activity.
Jesus died to give us the way out of compulsion! Yes, people get
out of compulsions without Jesus, but they have to work so much harder to do it. Love of God, if allowed to grow, expands
our lives, replaced the need for the compulsive behavior and cuts us free from the nets of sin. Unhindered, we can move into
true living, with humility and love for God, ourselves, and others.
I trust Nik has, or will find a love of God, himself and others that can take him past these limited adrenaline
highs to the plateau of high living that comes from daily spiritual connection with God.
That’s my prayer for Nik, not that he is successful at crossing
Niagara falls on a rope, although I do hope he doesn’t kill himself(not likely since he is using safety gear). I would
like to see him connect solidly with God’s love and compassion, and broadcast that to millions in whatever way he finds
adequate.
Meanwhile, let us tackle
our days and push back compulsions that drag us down.
Have a good one!
Wed, June 13, 2012 | link
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Are we willing to have our faults brought to our attention? The Kings won! In Canada, the national sport is ice hockey. It’s
a tough sport, exhausting, fast, hard hitting and strategic.
We
follow the victories and defeats with intensity and focus.
People everywhere want to know what happened last night!
This year, the Canadian team in Vancouver was doing well until the Kings came along and took them out.
For many of us, that’s okay, because last night the
Kings won the highest honor, the Stanley cup! It’s okay to loose to the best!
What was interesting for me was what the Captain said of the guy
who motivated and trained them.
He
said...
There's games where I thought I didn't play my
best and he brought attention to it pretty quickly," said Kings captain Dustin Brown. "That goes a long way, whether
you're a young player or older player. When you have a guy that's pushing you to be better, not just you but everyone, it
goes a long way. Maybe helping you look at yourself in the mirror." Dustin was willing to have others point out his inadequacies, and used
that to get better at what he did.
Maybe
the school systems in North America can learn from this?
Maybe we as
Christians can learn from this? Knowing we screw up and
having someone confirm it, but then come alongside to help us improve, is critical to success.
If everyone only said good things, we would never get to our optimal
state. We need to be willing to hear things about ourselves we don’t really like.
Some people criticise Christianity for talking of sin. Those selfish, nasty, and ignorant things we do should be left unsaid, many would
like to propose. Dustin’s attitude and the fact the Kings won, indicates those dissenters are perhaps wrong.
We need to face our inadequacies!
Truthfully!
Yet, for the
Kings to win, they couldn’t only focus on the negative. No!
They also had to deeply desire and focus on the positive.
It’s the same with us as Christians.
We should be aiming for “sanctification”!
Now “sanctification” is
a big word! A word we don’t use in everyday life! So why use it?
Well it combines all those deep spiritual truths that we need to have in one word.
The online dictionary defines it as
1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.
2. To make holy; purify.
3. To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow: sanctify a marriage.
4. To give social
or moral sanction to.
5. To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.
We need to aim at holiness! Purity!
Again, difficult words to understand. What
is holiness?
We
need to know where we are in relation to God, and the world. We need to know that Jesus has established a state in which we
can live in the excesses, stresses and strain of the hard, difficult world, while being separated and having a spiritual state
that overcomes our circumstances daily.
We can take the knocks of life, the pain of life, and still be euphoric. Maybe a little like the kings took
the knocks and pain of the final game, but with the euphoric knowledge they were winning the championship.
It makes all the difference! To be part of
the winning team!
Jesus led us, coached us, and left Holy Spirit to inspire and lead us in life. We need to face our failures, but rise above them to claim our
victory.
Let’s
have a victorious day today!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sanctification
Tue, June 12, 2012 | link
Monday, June 11, 2012
Myth and truth, which is our culture? “Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human
experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description.”
~ D.H. Lawrence
Which describes our culture? A myth or truth based culture.
Yesterday, I started a course of lectures on archaic Greek literature and life. It
re-emphasised something that had been percolating in my thoughts for a few years.
This is the fact that cultures fundamentally differ when
it comes to how they think or consider their stories.
Think about it. . .
If you are Greek in origin, the great stories
of Holmer will be fundamental to establishing your identity. From young, you will be hearing stories and in some ways considering
them in part truth. If English, from Britain, Robin Hood and King Arthur would have pervaded the young brain and in some ways
influenced that early play in childhood. Yet, my guess is these stories have probably been less influential in building a
British national identity, than Holmer is for building Greek identity.
Our eastern Chinese and Japanese friends have many stories that fill that comfortable
place between myth and truth, and definitely weigh in more on the myth side as the gods and goddesses of yesteryear
influence and move each other. Indian religions have so many god’s that stories have little relationship to reality
as exposed by science, but none the less, are very significant in driving national identity and thinking.
Whoever and whatever we are, we are
products of our environment, our context, and this influences how we think and live doesn’t it?
When we come to the bible, we get told by
historians and modern bible scholars (don’t you love how they claim the word “modern” as a right?) that
those great books of the Torah or old testament supposedly written by Moses, could not be
written by him. (They have some good points to make, consider the words “Moses,
the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab, just as the Lord had said. The Lord buried the body of Moses in Moab. His grave
is in the valley across from Beth Peor. But to this day no one knows where it is. Moses was 120 years old when he died. But
his eyes were not weak. He was still very strong.” These words could hardly have been written by him could they?)
So, I guess in part what these people say is true. However, there arguments that his
words are written over many years, by many people. These can be put a little bit too strong. If someone had to take a look
at the blogs I have been writing for a few years, and compare my original blogs with my later ones, they could say a different
person was writing them. Now, if I re-organized then to form themes or promote concepts, these would read as inconsistent
in style. I could see some wag in a few years claiming there were multiple authors. Being alive, I could tell him he is talking
nonsense and that would be that!
Moses
isn’t alive, and he lived for 120 years. Things, thoughts and ways of addressing things
changed considerably in his lifetime, and during the Exodus a nation was re-inventing itself, so I want to
punt in the idea that Moses perhaps did write it all. That maybe he re-wrote it, (scrolls don’t last well), perhaps
even got a few people to re-write it for him, (he was a busy man) and so the apparent different authors may just be figments
of the “modern” mind.
Just perhaps!
Why even
address this? (Particularly since few people have even heard these great modern historians comments and arguments)
Well, to get back to the myth based and truth
based cultures. . .
The Jewish and
Christian faiths, focus on truth to the exclusion of myth. This is not normal in our world!
Most of the world holds to its stories as core to it’s identity,
and powerful men even use these myths to build themselves in stature and importance, by aligning with aspects of these thoughts.
Yet,
when we come to Christian and Jewish based thinking, truth overrides myth.
Even the creation story closely resembles what we have discovered
from science and are still discovering. I am willing to say there is NO other creation story on this earth that so closely
aligns with the known scientific facts of creation.
This means that from young, children of these faiths, are asked to believe stories that are considered true. They
are based on strong archeology of places and times where much (not all) of the facts can be checked out.
I chuckled when the scientific world got so annoyed with Eilat
Mazar, who used the bible to find David’s palace. Many archeologists considered this in some way “cheating”.
Why?
Because they so want our bible to be considered myth that when she used it for what
it is, an ancient factual source, they got annoyed. Particularly when she was proved right by the facts under her feet!
Christian and Jewish kids,
get told amazing stories.
Yet most of these stories are
based in a historical and geographical context, that is true!
No matter what culture these Christian and Jewish kids grow up in, fundamentally they
consider the cultural stories through the lens of “truth” or “fiction”.
Let us not forget that for more than 90% of the world, the “norm”
is otherwise.
Greatness is not
necessary linked to truth but probably to a large extent linked to myth. In such cases, myth can grow to the extent it can
exert almost as much influence, as truth.
No wonder 90% of investigators of history are more willing to consider the bible myth than truth. They are after
all simply giving into their origins. Captive by their culture and values!
Truly modern people try to limit this influence!
Let’s look for truth in a pure form!
I find
it most significant that Jesus is no myth and can be proved not to be a myth.
He said, “‘I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Let’s never lose sight of the fact, that we as Christians demand truth, even when it seems to disturb our cultural
setting and identity. Truth is our desire and aim, and we should look for it today with intensity.
Have a great day!
Mon, June 11, 2012 | link
|
|
If you want to see a short blog describing a perspective on what I believe click here
 |
Rift in Evil
By Ken
X Briggs - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size:
6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. |
Credit cards are acceptable on sites having Ken's books: 
:)
 |
|
Click
on XML Click here =>  to be told of new blogs
| Ken's book covers are displayed below. . . | |  This
suspense thriller centers on Kiara, a beautiful young woman pursued by a murderous group of people, who relentlessly and ruthlessly
hunt her and her sisters. Kiara has no idea why she is being targeted! When Kiara and her family turn to the law for help,
this fails. Her pursuers’ powers reach deeply into the political and law enforcement world. Family support for her dwindles
when they too have to flee her pursuers. Can Kiara escape the clutches of both the law and dishonest big business? With the
media broadcasting that Kiara and friends are dangerous and subversive, can Kiara clear her name and bring her pursuers to
justice?
| | | | | To purchase Kiara's Pursuer ebook
@ $1.99 kindle version click here, To contact the author contact Author@KenXBriggs.com | | | | | | | | The town of Zinaville is dropped into a spiral of evil causing a young man and a beautiful but abused woman
to launch into an investigation that unveils an evil conspiracy. A horrific mining accident results in Joshua
Robyn's father being killed. Joshua struggles both with himself and his townsfolk as he tries to make sense of an incomprehensible
situation. Is it an accident or a murder? Why is there a seeming link to evil? Why is his work environment suddenly threatening?
What is the conspiracy about and what are they trying to do? As action moves dramatically from exotic African grasslands to
the heart of North America's cities, the plot unfolds and the pace quickens. Will there be time? Why is a beautiful abused
young woman in the center of this plot? Evil tendrils tighten on their lives and the interplay between the visible
and invisible world shows opposing forces at work. Will there be a rift in evil? Will they be able to stop the
evil in time? | | - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect
Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size: 6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available
from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. Chapters | | | | |
| Frugal Eating Advice |
|
| Good advice for students living on limited $'s. Click on the image! |
May you be blessed today!
|
|
