[cs_content][cs_section bg_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 13%)” parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”4_4″ class=”x-hide-xs x-hide-sm x-hide-md” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_gap size=”150px”][cs_text _bp_base=”4_4″ class=”cs-ta-center”]
WEEK 29 – BUILDING YOUR NO MUSCLE
[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section bg_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 13%)” parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”4_4″ class=”x-hide-lg x-hide-xl” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_gap size=”100px”][cs_text _bp_base=”4_4″ class=”cs-ta-center”]
WEEK 29 – BUILDING YOUR NO MUSCLE
[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”] [/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”3/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_video_embed no_container=”true” type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][x_gap size=”25px”][x_button size=”global” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://join.slack.com/t/lcacademy/shared_invite/enQtMjkzMzY5ODIxNDQ3LWMxMGM2MWU4NGIxYmZjZGJiYjFkNzZjYTE4MGE4NDk1OGZmNDk1NWExZTBhMzk0Y2E0ZDc4YTMxZWY0YmI3NzQ” title=”” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_icon type=”external-link” class=”mvn mln mrs”]JOIN WEEKLY DEVO SLACK CONVO[/x_button][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”] [/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section bg_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 21%)” parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 10px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-left” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-left man” style=”color: #fff;”]WEEKLY DEVOS[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”4_4″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”4_4″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text _bp_base=”4_4″]
WEEK 29 – Building Your No Muscle
So we’ve been in this NO SUGAR NOVEMBER fast for 13 days now, and I bet if our life is anything like mine, it’s already been a challenge for you to stick to the fast of having no sugar haha.
Fasting is just hard, no matter how you slice it.
We have physical cravings, even physical needs. But we also have spiritual cravings, and spiritual needs.
And often our physical cravings & needs almost completely drown out our spiritual ones, and we suffer for it.
Our intimacy with God suffers, our ability to hear & see Him suffers, even our bodies, our peace, our relationships… pretty much everything in our lives suffers because our bodies & lives are spiritual WAY more than we know or think sometimes.
That’s why we fast, and that’s why we marry physical & spiritual disciplines here in LCA.
Because when you are fasting, you aren’t just going without food or a certain type of food, in this case sugar.
You’re actually TRAINING YOUR NO MUSCLE!
And let me tell you, it’s one of the most crucial muscles you have!
Unfortunately it’s usually one of our weakest muscles.
But you will NEED your no muscle in great measure through out the entirety of your life.
Saying no to sugar now, when someone makes pumpkin bars or peach cobbler, or chocolate chip cookies, or whatever it might be, saying no to sugar in a month long fast today trains your ability to say no to temptation tomorrow.
When times get hard in your marriage and you’re tempted to give up, or you’re tempted towards an affair, you KNOW how to say no to that temptation, no matter how string it is.
When times get hard with your business & the temptation comes to cut corners or do something illegal or ungodly & “hide” it, you KNOW how to say NO to that temptation because you’ve trained up that NO muscle!
When times get hard with your kids or when temptation comes in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM, YOU KNOW ALREADY HOW TO SAY NO TO THAT THING because you’ve been there before, and you’re prepared.
You are NOT a slave to your every craving. In fact, you can be the master over your life. Obviously we as Christians give that mastery over to Jesus, but you can’t give Jesus the mastery over your life if you don’t have it to begin with.
I can’t say that Jesus is the master of my life if I am actually mastered by my cravings.
So here we are in a simple little one month NO SUGAR NOVEMBER fast. But it’s actually a big deal isn’t it.
You are training up your no muscle.
That same muscle that the Holy Spirit talks about in Titus chapter 2, one of our LCA Scripture Memory verses.
TITUS 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
And so we see that by surrendering to this little fast, it is actually JESUS who is training up & purifying us to be His very own, not dreading it, but EAGER to do what is good.
It is His GRACE (like at the very beginning of the verse) that goes beyond just forgiveness, and actually TRAINS, EQUIPS, & EMPOWERS us to be able to live His strong way instead of our weak & powerless way.
His grace empowers us to live His LIFESTYLE & be blessed by it.
So keep up the good work you guys.
If you’ve given in already and had sugar, then forgive yourself, jump back on the train, and allow God’s grace to empower you & to train up your NO MUSCLE with intentionality.
You are not a slave to your every craving. I know it feels like a strong urge. But don’t let your mind talk you into it!
Take charge! You tell your mind, you tell your stomach, you tell those cravings that “JESUS is the boss here, not you! And HE says no sugar this month, haha, so you are gonna obey!”
The big idea here is that God is always developing & preparing us, so take the seemingly small things seriously in the mean time.
The consequences for giving in on a little fast can seem small, but eventually the consequences for giving into temptation will be a LOT bigger. And THIS is how you train up to be capable in this difficult moments.
So train NOW!. Prepare while it’s easier. Build that muscle while you can, so that when you NEED it to be strong, it IS, because you spent time intentionally building up in advance.
Love you guys!
***(if you want a reminder of the details of the fast just because we’re talking about it, the video is RIGHT HERE. but this message goes for ANY fast & ANY moment really.)
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
- What are some common temptations in your life that are hard to overcome? (sugar, overeating, lying, exaggerating, worrying, comparing, disobeying, purity issues, overspending, etc. etc. etc.)
- What are some of the ways that those things could ruin your life if you don’t overcome them? (it’s important to get really clear on this)
- Spend some time in prayer surrendering them to the Lord & ask Him to help you overcome them for good.
- Make a list of things you will do instead when those things come up (call a friend, tell a mentor or accountability partner, eat an apple, go for a run, etc…)
SCRIPTURE
Titus 2:11-14
WEEKLY FOCUS
This week, read through these Scriptures each morning.
Think about this idea of BUILDING YOUR NO MUSCLE.
Ask God if there are any areas you need to surrender or change in order to DEVELOP YOUR RESISTANCE TO EVIL & TEMPTATION.
Let this theme guide your God time all week, and even your thoughts and conversation with Him through out your days, all week long.
Let Him speak to you about this idea of USING FASTING TO DEVELOP YOUR NO MUSCLE, and see what He says.
We’d love to hear your feedback, so hop into the devos conversation thread in SLACK & we’re excited to see what the Lord speaks to you this week.
BLESSINGS!
[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]