Spiritual Reps

 We as human beings were created to be strong. We have the choice to decide how strong we want to become. Reps and discipline create strength physically. We were also created to be spiritually strong, and the only way to do this is through Spiritual Reps.

Jesus tells us in scripture to lay down our fears and our burdens at his feet. First of all, this sentence tells me that we will actually have fears and burdens. If we didn't even have fears or burdens we would not be able to lay them down.

Secondly, to lay down fears and burdens it requires spiritual muscles to lay them down and to do spiritual reps. We have to choose to let those things go. 

We can't deny we have the fears and burdens, because that is absolutely insanity. Assuming you won't ever have problems is foolish.

We also can't living in our fears and our burdens. We need to feel our fears and burdens, and then lay them down at the feet of Jesus. When we do this we get stronger. 

You will get plagued with problems for ever. It is insanity to think you won't every face problems again. Just because you meet Jesus doesn't mean you won't face difficulties. Most of the time your problems increase, sadly. I get plagued with anxiety in my mind. That is probably my most attacked area, my mind. But as I mature and get stronger spiritually, the anxiety doesn't lessen in power, but I have gotten stronger so it doesn't hold power over me. I get to lay my anxiety down. As I have done more spiritual reps, and have gotten the chance to lay down the anxiety in front of him, the strong I have gotten. 

Now anxiety is just like an annoying fly around me, not this all consuming power inside of me. The reason that anxiety has less of a power over me, is because I have decided to keep giving it over to God. Sometimes I have to visually lay it down. So I will take my hands and physically put the anxiety down. 

I have beef with the current generation of youth. You are indeed the Greatest Generation on the planet. I believe that firmly. Along with that though, it seems like people now-a-days are so aware of their problems - which is good - but the problem I have with the new self-awareness is the unwillingness to DO anything with it! It seems like people know their pain and anxieties, and then craft that into their identity! Like, I have anxiety so I am going to live in that and accept that as my only reality and my only identity. 

I see a bunch of people seeking and looking for comfort from their anxieties, and instead of getting healing and having true freedom and comfort, they just find other people with the same problems and have a wound licking party. When you have a wound licking party, it just means you never heal and all you do is sit in your unhealth and keep the other people around you unhealthy without any steps toward full health! I want people to feel the comfort of understanding and validation of their pain and emotional problems. Yes. But I also don't' want you all to just stay in your emotional pain and problems, I want you to walk forward and be healed and set free!

The way to freedom is not instantaneous unfortunately. We are instantly saved and justified to Jesus when we accept him. So our salvation is instant, but our freedom is sometimes a grueling process. Which is why we get to do spiritual reps together. 

In small group you are going to walk through Romans 5:1-11, and it talks about all of the spiritual muscles that you get to gain when you chose to do spiritual reps: perseverance, character, and hope.