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Good
Monday Mornin!
I love going to the gym, and I especially love to lift weights. It has
become a regular part of my life. One of my favorite body parts to work on
is legs and my favorite leg exercise is squats. When you do squats, you
put
weight on a bar bell, lay it across your shoulders, and squat down and
then
come back up.
The other day we were doing legs and I went to squat down with a
substantial
amount of weight on the bar and stalled at the bottom. I had already done
three with this weight, my goal was four, and here I was at the bottom and
stalled out. Cory was spotting me. A spotter is someone who helps you when
you stall. So he hooked his arms under mine and helped me back up so that
I
could get the weight back on the rack.
It is so hard to work out by yourself. You see if I had been by myself, I
would have never tried a weight that heavy, or if I would have tried it I
would have hurt myself because I would not have been able to get back up.
Having a workout partner is so important because you will never grow
without
pushing yourself to the limit! Also a workout partner keeps you motivated,
I
was having to do leg day by myself for a little while because of schedule
conflicts, and I found myself not even wanting to go because I was going
to
be by myself.
The author of Hebrews wrote. . .
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but
let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day
approaching." Hebrews 10:25
A lot of preachers have used this passage to encourage people to come to
church, and that is certainly what I think it means also, but there is so
much more to it that just being an attendee at church, let me show you a
few
things.
1.The weight of life can be more that we can bear. I hear people say
all of the time, "God will never give you more than you can
stand", but I
can't find that in the Scripture anywhere. It says that we will never be
tempted beyond what we can bear, but I don't know about us having more
than
we can bear. As a matter of fact I think there are times when God does
give
us more than we can bear so that we depend on Him more! I think that God,
in
His infinite wisdom, wants to drive us to Him. And how does He come to us
on
this earth? Through the flesh just like He always has, through His people.
2.We need someone to help up bear the load life gives us. Life was not
meant to live alone. We are relational creatures. We do not like to be
alone. Why do we listen to the radio, talk on cell phones, go over to
friends houses, go to church... the list goes on and on! So why in the
world
when things get so heavy in our lives that we cannot bear them do we keep
it
to ourselves? I can tell you... pride, pride keeps you and I from letting
someone else help us. It is very humbling to have someone help you, just
like in the gym, but when you have come to an end of yourself if you don't
get help you will get hurt worse!
3. We will never grow if we do life by ourselves. You see the only way
that we can ever know if we can bear the weight or not is by going to that
weight and making it. And we cannot make it if we do not have someone
encouraging us, and helping us if we get stalled! God wants to stretch you
to the point of breaking and then see you grow past that point! There is
no
room for comfort in the Kingdom of God! He is constantly taking to where
you
are least comfortable to get you past it to grow you.
4. Left alone we get discouraged and want to quit. I know this is a
touchy subject, but I also think this is where suicide comes from. A
person
gets so depressed and alone that they feel like there is no way out so
they
end their own life. I wonder how many people that commit suicide would not
have committed it if they would have just not been so lonely? Guys we all
need someone who we can tell our deepest darkest secrets, worries and
fears.
This is how God helps us, this is how He comes to us, this is why He does
not want us to give up meeting together.
Just as much as you need that person in your life, you need to be that
person in someone's life. Just as you meet with others so that you can be
helped, you also meet so you can help. See Cory helped me the other day,
but
earlier that same day he had squatted down and needed help back up too.
And
you know what? I was there for him.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those
who
believe and are saved.
Hebrews 10:39
I love you guys, have a great week!
Pastor Jason Lyle
The Open Range Church of Henry County
Many are the plans in a man's
heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
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