Warm-a-Rama 17 Seal jacks. I/c 14 Cherry picker. I/c 17 ssh. I/c Capri lap – side shuffle across parking lot, nur to other spaces, side shuffle back across, mosey to start. 14 Windmill. I/c 17 seal waves. I/c 14 MMP. I/c
Mosey to surf bagel
7 burpees mosey around parking lot, 7 merkins mosey around parking lot, 7 squats mosey around parking lot for 3 rounds.
Mosey to library
Toy Soldier set 50 lbcs 25 e2ks 10 big boys Mosey around library, going up and down all steps
3rd F
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:6-10 ESV A good affirmation that you are not alone in your struggles. There is season for everything. God will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Mosey to playground by bridge
25 hanging leg lifts
Mosey back to AO
Number Rama
Name Rama
COT
6 HIM showed today. Semi, Focker, Shutter, Boxcar, Ruxpin, Dory
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Moroccan Night Clubs – 51 IC
Windmills – 15 IC
Hydraulic Squats – 10 IC
The Thang
The Super 21 Cycle on a Hill starting from Strawberry Alley to Mill Street on Chestnut Street. 1 Merkin to 1 Big Boy Sit up. Nur up the Hill. 21 Merkins to 21 Big Boy Sit ups. Run down the Hill. 2 Merkins to 2 Big Boy Sit ups, Nur up the Hill. 20 Merkins to 20 Big Boy Sit ups. Run Down the Hill 3 merkins to 3 Big Boy Sit ups. Nur up the Hill 19 Merkins to 19 Big Boy Sit ups. You Get the pattern..!! Pax completed the evolution down from 15 Merkins to 15 Big Boy Sit ups on top of the hill and to 8 Merkins and 8 Big Boy Sit ups at the bottom of the hill. A break was taken for the F3 message. Pax finished strong with 1 burpee at the bottom of the hill and a Nur up the hill to complete 21 Burpees before the Circle of Trust.
F3 Message
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
Chimney Mountain! I had to get to the top of it. Why? Because it was there! Of course, I had to drag my young family into this obsession with me. One vacation day, I made that “Daddy’s Great Adventure for the Day.” Now it wasn’t a steep hike; a trail through the woods that gradually took you to the top of the mountain. As we walked along, my wife and the kids kept noticing little things – like chipmunks and squirrels and flowers and interesting rocks. Of course, whenever we noticed one of those little things, we had to stop; which was not my favorite thing to do. I had a goal, folks, and chipmunks and interesting rocks didn’t help me get to it. At one point, they stopped us just to listen to the wind blowing through the tall pine trees. That’s nice, you know, but not if you wanted to see the top of Chimney Mountain before sunset. Finally, my frustration made it to my mouth, “Honey, the reason for this hike is to get to the top. Don’t you understand?” To which she said something like this: “Oh, I thought we came to enjoy the hike.” Great! I was interested in the result; she was interested in the process!
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Pushing the Goal, Missing the Process.”
Later, my wife and I were reflecting on our different perspectives about our Chimney Mountain expedition (and we did finally get to the top, by the way). My wife said, “I wonder if this was a little like God and us. We are more interested in getting the result we want, and He’s more interested in the process.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Samuel 22:31, “As for God, His way is perfect.” I think when the Bible talks about God’s way, it isn’t just talking about where we end up. It’s talking about the road He takes us on; the methods He uses. OK, I’ll have to agree with my wife – the process. And His process is always perfect, but certainly not predictable.
In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says, and God is speaking here, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.'” God’s ways, God’s means of getting us to the answer are unpredictable: “beyond finding out” in the words of Romans 11.
Which brings us to whatever mountain you’re working on right now. If you’re like me, you’re focused on the result you need: the money, the life partner, the healing, the place to live, the job, the change, the answer! You’re in a hurry to get to the top of the mountain. But God, the God whose ways are perfect, is asking you to slow down and enjoy the hike, let the process be beautiful, not just the destination.
The easy part for God is giving you your answer; showing you the top of the mountain. The hard part for God is you – getting you to be the man or woman He redeemed you to be. And He’s using this climb to develop faith in you, or deeper personal holiness, or humility, or to move you from trusting in yourself to totally trusting in Him. He wants you to become a better you on the way to the answer that you want so much.
I’m by nature a goal-oriented person. Just ask my fellow hikers. But in recent years, God’s teaching me an exciting new way to pray: “Lord, I ask You for this answer we need, but please do it in Your time and in the way that will bring You the most glory and us the most growth.” Surrender to your Lord is more than just, “God, give us what You think is best.” It’s a total surrender to whatever timetable He wants, whatever process He wants to use, and whatever He wants to make you go through on your climb up the mountain.
We want to scale the mountain. God wants to change the mountain climber, and He’s using the trail to show you what you need to be. You are His goal. So, enjoy the process.
Warm-a-Rama 15 seal jacks i/c 15 mountain man pooper i/c 15 Imperial walkers i/c Capri lap Side shuffle across parking lot, nur to next parking spaces, side shuffle across parking lot, mosey back to start 15 plank jacks i/c 15 seal waves i/c 15 mountain climbers i/c
The Thang
Farmer carry endurance lap Grab 2 coupons and only using your hands on the coupon (no arms through the coupon) wosey around perimeter of the parking lot. When a HIM puts the coupons down for rest, leave coupons and mosey around till you get back to the coupons. Continue until lap is completed.
Halfway complete 10 Curls for the girls and 9 blockes
We completed 5 moseys equaling about a mile, and about a 3 tenths of a mile farmer carry.
Protect Your Temple: Day 1 • Devotional Take Care of Your Body If you are over 30, you may recall an early ad campaign from the sportswear company Under Armor in which a football player gives a motivational speech to his teammates. Towards the end, he states, “We must protect this house! Will you protect this house!” When I think about my house, I typically think about my family and physical home. What about your physical body? Don’t we dwell within our bodies? In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul writes, “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” Later, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?” Our bodies are temples where the Holy Spirit dwells. God gave us only one body in this life. Our families, friends, and livelihood depend on our physical bodies functioning at a high level. Taking care of our bodies is our responsibility. Like many things in life, we have a choice. Do you do things to take care of your body or not? Do you treat your body with respect? Do you get proper nourishment? Do you get enough exercise? Do you get enough rest? This plan will encourage you to take better care of your body and physical health. We must protect this house!
Number Rama Name Rama COT
5 HIM showed today: Semi, Ruxpin, Shutter, Boxcar, Dory
Pax: Chattahoochee, Deez, Fireplex, Probe, Streudel, Toy Soldier, TRex, and Welcome FNG (Punch List)
QIC: Fireplex
Warm up
SSH – 30 IC
Windmills – 20 IC
Cherry Pickers – 20 IC
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Hydraulic Squats -10 IC
The Thang All Pax grabbed a block and ran to the intersection at Mill Street. Pax completed 20 Merkins each side with one hand on the block. Pax utilized the block and the curb to complete 20 abyss merkins. Pax completed a Lt Dan with the block down Mill Street to Federal Street. All Pax completed 20 double count American Hammers with the blocks as well as 20 Big Boy Sit-ups with the blocks. Leaving that pain station each Pax completed a 50 Yard bear crawl with the block before moseying to the M&T Bank parking lot. At that station each Pax completed a Bolt 45 set in cadence with the block. All Pax moseyed around the bank parking lot with the block before returning to CHOP to complete a murder bunny evolution across the Fire department parking lot before completing the final pain station. Each Pax completed 10 Alabama Ass Kickers using the block as a base and finally 10 Blockees.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
In high school, our teenage son lived a very, very busy life which I think might go with having this last name. And I could sometimes find him finally ending up on the couch for just kind of a collapse, you know, and he deserved it. He would set up this little comfort zone there. He’d have his New York Giants mug, and his school books, and his TV guide, in case he had time to watch. And most important, he had his phone. Unfortunately, the phone hooked up two rooms away. That means the cord was stretched to the max to get it to the couch, and I could tell when he had the phone there, because I kept hearing people muttering through the house after they tripped over the cord. It was right where everybody had to walk to get to the living room or to the kitchen. And I’d say, “Son, you’ve got to do something about this thing that people keep tripping over.” Well, so do you!
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Tripper Upper.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 2:24. It’s a sobering indictment of first-century Jewish believers. Listen to these words, “As it is written, God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” “The Gentiles” really means the unreached people, and basically the Jews were the reached people. And He is saying, “You believers, you know, because of you, the unreached people are blaspheming God.” He talks a little bit about why, for example in chapter 2, verse 21. He says, “You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” Then He says, “God’s name is blasphemed because of you. You’re not living what you say you believe, and people are tripping over the contradictions.” It’s like my son’s telephone cord. It’s in the way. You’ve got to ask, what is there in my life that may be keeping someone from Jesus and from heaven?
It’s a terrible thought to think that someone might end up in hell forever because I turned them off to Jesus by my inconsistency. Maybe your temper is canceling out your message about a loving Savior. Maybe the humor that you use is contradicting the purity that you say Jesus stands for. Maybe your sarcasm is a little hard to reconcile with the compassion of Jesus. Maybe your gossip and your backstabbing is confusing people. Maybe it’s the fact that you tend to be so negative. Maybe it’s your laziness at school, or your complaining attitude, or your laziness at work. You know, a Christian ought to be the best employee that an employer’s got, so that they give credit to the name of Jesus.
You ought to be the hardest-working student in that class whether you get the best grades or not. You’re an advertisement for your Savior. I know you’d hate to be a reason for someone to reject Christ, all because you never dealt with your “tripper upper.”
Actually, if you would let Jesus change that part of you; that part that is out of control, that’s inconsistent, that’s confusing to an unbeliever, it might just create the curiosity they need to start investigating a life-changing Christ. It might give you the best opening you’ve ever had to share Christ. They’re going to say, “Man, what happened to you,” because it will be in an area where they never saw you this way before. And that is a powerful testimony.
My son and I had to solve that cord problem before someone got hurt, and he had to do something about the thing that kept tripping people up. I hope you’ll do that in your spiritual life. I believe that you can provide an uncluttered path to the Jesus who your friends so desperately need if you’ll just get rid of that “tripper upper.”
Warm-a-Rama 15 seal jack i/c 20 mountain man pooper i/c 15 plank jack i/c Capri laps around circle Side shuffle, switch directions half way Nur, switch to mosey half way 20 windmills i/c 15 seal waves i/c 10 hip circles each direction oyo 20 shoulder taps i/c
The Thang
Mosey to coupons Everyone grabs 2 coupons, 2.0 grab one Farmers carry/blockee Mosey The long way around circle, to behind the courthouse If you set the blockes down, 2 blockes Add 2 blockes ever time they are set down
Timer is sled going the length of the parking lot and back
Murder bunnies across parking lot Overhead press across parking lot Man makers Abyss merkins Sledge hammer side of tire American hammers Curls Block swings Rows Navy seal burpee
Engage to Impact Think about your everyday interactions. Are you engaging people to make an impact?
Flutter kick Gas pumpers w/coupon in the air Superman Banana Not so easy lazyboy
Return coupons Return to AO
Number Rama Name Rama COT
15 HIM showed today: Semi, Probe, Chauffer, Toy Soldier, Quattro, Bunt, Fireplex, Sink-O, Doodle, Pickles, B Side, C Side, Squirm, Hideous, Chattahoochee
Warm-a-Rama All i/c 21 seal jacks 21 Windmills 21 seal waves 21 Cherry pickers 21 plank Jacks
Capri lap through parking lot Side shuffle, nur, side shuffle, mosey
The Thang
1 pax pushes sled across parking lot as timer
Rest of pax do the following exercises during sled push
Round 1 Navy Seal Burpee Coupon row Gas pumpers Coupon curl Bear crawl coupon drag
3rd F Rest your Body There is a classic video in which a brother and his younger sister are having a snack. The sister is irrationally crying. The brother quickly asks, “Did you have a nap today?” The sister responds, “I didn’t.” The brother cutely follows with, “You need one.” In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to overlook the importance of physical rest. We often push ourselves to the limit, believing constant activity equates to productivity and success. However, the Bible reminds us of the necessity of rest and its role in our spiritual and physical well-being. In Matthew 11: 28-29, we read, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus invites us to come to Him when we are weary and burdened. This invitation is not just for spiritual rest but also physical rest. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and caring for them is a form of worship. When we neglect rest, we can become physically and spiritually depleted, making it harder to serve God and others effectively. Here are a few practical applications to think about. First, prioritize sleep. Ensure you get adequate sleep each night. Aim for 7-9 hours to allow your body to repair and rejuvenate. Second, think about a Sabbath rest each week. Set aside one day a week to rest from your usual work and activities. Use this time to focus on God, family, and activities that refresh your spirit. Third, listen to your body. Pay attention to signs of fatigue and take breaks when needed. It’s okay to rest and recharge. Remember, taking time to rest is not a sign of weakness but a recognition of our need for God’s sustaining grace. Embrace rest as a divine gift and a necessary part of your spiritual journey.
Matthew 11:28-29 ESV [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.11.28-29.ESV
Round 2 Abyss merkins Blockee Plank Overhead press with coupon Man makers
Round 3 was timer call out Navy seal burpee Gas pump Bear crawl coupon drag Curls Coupon row
Round of Mary Hello dolly E2K Big boys 4 count Freddie Hip stars? Ask Shutter
5 HIM showed – Semi, Ruxpin, Shutter, Boxcar, Woodstock
PAX: Chattahoochee, Drago, Fireplex, Toy Soldier, Ruxpin, Streudel, Whirlybird
QIC: Fireplex
Warm up
SSH – 25 IC
Cherry Pickers – 20 IC
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 20 IC
Hip Circles – 10 Each Direction OYO
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Mosey around Mill Street and congregate back at the Flag Pole at the Firehouse – @.25 miles
The Thang
The Super Sheldon Cooper on Chestnut Street. Complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. Nur up the hill and run down and complete 9 Burpees, 9 Squats, 9 Merkins, & 9 Big Boys. Rinse and repeat in descending order until reaching 1 of each exercise.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
I’ve checked into many a hotel over the years, but I’ve never before experienced what I did just a little while back. See, when I arrived, I went to the desk – yes, they had my reservation – and they gave me my room number and my key – so far, we’re good – and I went to my room. Then I put the key in the door, opened the door and stopped in my tracks. First hint of trouble was the clothes I saw hanging up on the rack near the door. Then I noticed the TV was on, and there were feet propped on a footrest – feet that were probably attached to someone who was watching that TV. Well, I quickly and quietly closed the door, turned to my associate and said, “What do you know! Someone’s in my room!”
I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “Someone’s In My Room!”
Now, it’s not a nice feeling to find someone already in a room that you thought was reserved for you. Jesus knows that feeling – and that occupied room just might be your life right now.
It happened to our Lord before. The Book of Revelation makes it clear that it happened, for example, among some believers at a place called Laodicea. In chapter 3, we learn that they thought they were doing pretty well. They said they were rich and they didn’t need a thing. But Jesus said they were lukewarm spiritually, a temperature that He said He would spew out of His mouth.
Then, in our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 3:20, Jesus gives unforgettable – and actually heartbreaking – word pictures of how He had been shut out of lives that were supposed to belong to Him. Jesus says to them, and maybe to us, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” Here is this awful picture of the Savior locked out of lives He paid for with His life. And He’s talking to Christians here!
Could it be that Jesus is feeling closed out of your life, closed out of your priorities right now? It’s not that you’ve stopped believing in Him, or giving money to Him, or going to His meetings or doing His work. It’s just that someone or something has taken over that room of your life – the best of your time, the best of your affections, the best of your energy, the best of your resources – they’re going somewhere else. In essence, Jesus has come to the door of your life right now and He’s saying what I said that day at the hotel, “Someone is in the room that I thought was reserved for Me.”
It could be that, like the Laodicea believers, you have the illusion that everything’s fine. You may be relatively prosperous right now, experiencing some success. Your Christianity is going great – but your relationship with Christ is a mess in His eyes. And you’re feeling this unexplainable loneliness in your spirit right now. You know what? You’re lonely for Jesus. You’re just not close like you used to be. Somehow, in the business of your life, the One who died for you has been crowded to the edge. And now His room is filled with your career, your family, that friend, that person you’re dating, or your personal pursuits.
The old hymn writer described it pretty well, “Room for business, room for pleasure; but for Christ the crucified, not a place that He can enter in the heart for which He died.” But you’re missing Jesus, aren’t you? That closeness, that power, the reality you once had when the room He paid for was totally reserved for Him.
Maybe these words from another old hymn express the way you can move out the intruder and welcome back Jesus to His rightful place. “The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be, help me to tear it from Thy throne and worship only Thee.”
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Mountain Climbers – 20 IC
Hydraulic Squats – 10 IC (6 Count)
Mosey to “Oh Hill No”.
1st round – All Pax Nur up the hill and mosey back down and completed clock merkins on the incline. Each Pax completed 2 reps of 5 merkins at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, & 9 o’clock. All PAX planked until the 6 was in.
2nd round – All Pax crawl bear up the hill and mosey back down and then completed the same 2 evolutions of clock merkins as described in Round 1. All Pax planked until the 6 was in.
3rd round – All Pax completed the boo boo Bear crawl up the hill and mosey back down and then completed the same evolutions of clock merkins as described in Round 1. All Pax planked until the 6 was in.
Pause/Break for the F3 message.
Final round – All Pax completed the inch worm up the hill and mosey back down and then completed the same evolutions of clock merkins as described in Round 1. All PAX planked until the 6 was in.
Mosey back to CHOP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
America runs on coffee! Yeah, let’s face it! Now, you might object to that, but I don’t know on what grounds. You know, there are people who drink coffee, and then there are some who mainline coffee. I have friends who do that, and it keeps people like the makers of those little quickie coffee units very busy. In fact, those little units are a good example of the importance of something called the filter.
Now, when you pour into those filters, the hot water goes straight through and enough coffee gets through to taste good, but the grounds don’t get through the filter and you don’t want them to. I mean, the reason being that most people I know aren’t fans of chewing their coffee, and what makes the difference is the filter. Of course, there’s a much larger filter around your life that makes all the difference in your quality of life.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Got the Pain? Get the Point!”
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 Corinthians 10. I’m reading from verse 13. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Did you notice those words “God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear”? “Not let you.” In other words, everything has to get past God before it gets to you. It’s got to have His permission. So, God is reviewing every test and every trial that comes into your life before it gets to you. Otherwise the Bible wouldn’t say that He “let it come to you.” Every problem you’re facing right now has been, according to the Word of God, Father filtered. Wow! It can’t get past your Heavenly Father before it gets to you.
Of course we know that from the book of Job don’t we? The devil wanted to bring all kinds of turmoil and anguish into Job’s life. But before he could do that, he had to check with God. He couldn’t just go do it on his own. And God, knowing that it would build Job’s life, and that ultimately he would double the blessing on his life, said, “Yes, that’s okay. You can do it.”
The pain that we have in our lives, the struggles that we have, some of it God sends and some of it God allows, but all of it has to get past Him. Now, I find the hard times in my life much less terrifying when I know that God, if He hasn’t sent it, has at least allowed it. And He will never allow something to come into your life that can break you; only what will build you.
It’s like a weight lifter who, even though he has to strain and push and it hurts to lift more than he’s ever lifted before, he’s stronger as a result of lifting greater weight. God may allow greater weight to come into your life – not to crush you, but enough to make you stronger.
So, look for the Lord and look for the lesson in that tough time you’re going through. And if you’re going to get the pain, get the point. Your Father loves you very deeply; He’s allowed that to come into your life. Don’t say, “Is this from the devil or is this from the Lord?” I don’t think we’ll ever figure that out. But you can say, “How can God use this?” Because He wouldn’t have sent it if He couldn’t use it.
What are you facing right now? I’ll tell you this, It has been Father filtered. And the filter makes all the difference, because the Father loves you very much.
15 seal jacks i/c 15 mountain man pooper i/c 15 seal waves i/c Side shuffle around circle, switch directions half way 15 plank jacks i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c
The Thang Mosey to grass area north of church on n. Bradford str.
Disintegrating frisbee golf Team up and alternate throwers. Count throws to called out “holes”. Complete excercises called out at completion of hole. Excercises that were called out: Monkey humpers Merkins Squats Curls Burpees Lt. Dan Navy seal Burpees Mosey Nur
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO
Windmills – 15 IC
Cardio Warm-up – Partial Spartan Run Routine at CHOP parking lot – Run/sprint @40 yards and drop and do 15 merkins. Wosey back to the start. Run/sprint @40 yards and drop and do 15 merkins. Pax completed 5 reps for 75 merkins for the exercise.
The Thang
The Super 21 Cycle. 1 Merkin to 1 Big Boy Sit up. 2 Merkins to 2 Big Boy Situps. 3 Merkins to 3 Big Boy Situps, etc., etc., etc. But wait there is a twist….after each completed set of #1 though #5 PAX will complete 21 Imperial Walkers and then Bear Crawl @ 40 ft. After each completed set of #6 through #10 PAX will complete 21 Mountain Climbers and then Bear Crawl @ 40 ft. After each completed set of # 11 through #15, PAX will complete 21 Monkey Humpers and then Bear crawl @ 40 ft. After each completed set of #16 through #21 PAX will complete 21 Prisoner Squats and then Bear Crawl @ 60 ft. to complete the Cycle.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
When our kids were growing up we occasionally had our own personal emergency room at our house! Our youngest son dislocated his ankle in football, so the doctor put an air cast on his ankle for about six weeks for support. Oh, and then the oldest son, yeah he had surgery for a knee injury that he got in sports. So they recommended that he wear a knee brace whenever he played a game where he had to pivot much. So, let’s see. You’ve got your ankle cast; you’ve got your knee brace. It’s all based on a simple principle that prevents further injury.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fortifying Your Weak Spot.”
Okay, our word for today from the Word of God is from Luke 4 where Jesus is in the desert. “He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written, man does not live on bread alone.'” And at that point He is quoting a Scripture that He has obviously memorized from Deuteronomy 8:3.
Okay, where was Jesus’ weak spot there in the wilderness? Well, obviously after 40 days, it was His need for food. Where did the Devil aim his temptation? Well, at Jesus’ need for food, of course. And you notice Jesus’ response – a verse that directly addresses the point where He was vulnerable. It’s about bread. It’s about food. Basically a verse that says, “Life is bigger than food.” Okay, I’ve got a feeling that wasn’t the first time Jesus said that verse. I have a feeling that during those days of fasting, He’d been drawing strength from that verse frequently. It’s like a brace on a weakened knee – He applied Scripture to the area where He would tend to be weak.
Now, unlike what the four spiritual laws say about God, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” the Devil hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. He’s sized up that vulnerable spot, and he’s going to try to bring you down with that. So it’s pretty important that you size it up, or you’re going to be easy prey. Jesus knew his vulnerable spot, and He braced it with Scripture; specific Scripture that dealt with that specific issue. If the Devil is going to bring you down, what weakness do you think he’ll use? Oh, you probably know. He’s pushed that button many times. It’s worked all too often. See, it’s important for you to find Scripture that gives you God’s view on your weak spot. Memorize it; repeat it to yourself frequently, not just when you’re under attack. I think that’s what Jesus did.
Re-program yourself by thinking Scripture where you usually think sin, and then hammer the Devil with God’s Word and a response that is biblical whenever temptation comes. Temptation comes to the door, God’s Word answers it. The Devil can’t stand a biblical response.
So, where is the hole in your armor; that weak spot? Is it an old bitterness, maybe the tendency to think you’re worthless, your sexual desires, maybe your thought life, tending to worry a lot, tending to run ahead of God. The need to be in control all the time. You know what it is. You’ve lived with that weakness for a long time; now it’s time to cover it, fortify it with Scripture.
You’re ready for the Devil when you keep covering your weak spot with God’s Word about it. That’s a strong spiritual brace that will help you avoid any further injury. So, support that weak spot with the strength of words from God.
