July Newsletter
Happy Fourth of July to all!
Summer grilling
and ice-cold lemonade, diet of
course, and
all the fun things that summer
brings. There
are family outings and get-togethers
with
friends, picnics, fishing and
camping. Gotta
keep on training and make sure
you keep taking
in adequate amounts of protein,
carbs, fats
and especially water on those
hot days when
you really sweat! Although we
all travel
in different circles and even
different parts
of the world, we have common
bonds: Our love
for God and our love for lifting
and fitness.
One of the things those two loves
are tied
together with is the importance
of accountability.
“Come on Cal, one more rep, you
can do it!
I know you can!” Calvin digs
his feet into
the mat and braces himself as
he lowers the
bar one last time to his chest
and with teeth
clenched powers the bar up and
racks it.
Brad steps off the spotters stand
and slaps
Calvin on the back as he says,
“I knew you
had it in you, I had faith you
could do it!
I didn‘t even touch the bar!”
When we are
in the gym, we are brothers in
iron pushing
each other to be the best we
can be. That’s
what a good training partner
can do for you.
When you don’t think you have
it in you to
get out those last two reps,
he’s there to
help, to push, pull, prod, poke
and whatever
means he finds necessary to get
those last
two out of you. Years ago I had
this training
partner who would always say
“and two to
grow on” to finish off a set.
Some days I
would be too tired and feign
that I was done
with the set so the last two
reps wouldn’t
be torture only to hear “and
four to grow
on since you quit on me!” That’s
a good partner
my friends, although to be honest,
I really
hated him during those moments!
Find somebody
who is willing to know you, know
your limitations
and how far he can stretch them.
I don’t
train with a partner now, but
there are days
when I know I could use one.
You know those
days. You get up and everything
aches and
you really don’t feel like training,
but
you go any way because you don’t
want to
let your partner down. Ahh -
accountability.
Finally the cat is out of the
bag. Webster’s
New World Dictionary defines
accountable
as responsible, liable, and explainable.
Isn’t that what occurs when you
take on a
training partner? You silently
say to one
another, “I will be here at such
and such
a time each day and we will train
this body
part together. I will push you
and you will
push me and we will get the best
out of each
other that we possible can. You
can count
on me! I can remember many times
I would
go to the gym and see a guy pacing
the floor
because of a no show/no call
training partner.
It can ruin a workout. Don’t
be like that
my friends. If you commit to
being a training
partner, then do it and be accountable.
Be
there for your partner, he relies
on you.
My brothers in Christ at my place
of work
inspired this month’s newsletter.
I am accountable
to them in my walk with Christ
and they to
me as the Bible says to be. (Confess your trespasses to one to one another,
and pray for one another, that
you may be
healed. The effective, fervent
prayer of
a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16) We can also look to the Proverbs as well.
(As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens
the countenance of his friend.
Proverbs 27:17) We are brothers in Christ, living our lives
striving for the same goal. If
one of you
slips up somewhere along the
line, run to
your brother in Christ and confess
so they
can pray for you! You will be
amazed at the
feeling this gives you. I have
gone to my
brothers and told them I have
done this or
that and I am confessing my sin
and we pray
as I ask forgiveness from God.
The brewing
feelings I carried around with
me dissipate
as we pray and I rejoice. As
Christians we
also try to win souls for the
kingdom of
heaven as ordered in the Great
Commission
(Then the eleven disciples went away into
Galilee, Then the eleven disciples
went away
into Galilee, to the mountain
which Jesus
had appointed for them. When
they saw Him,
they worshiped Him; but some
doubted. And
Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, "All
authority has been given to Me
in heaven
and on earth. Go therefore and
make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing
them in the
name of the Father and of the
Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe
all things that I have commanded
you; and
lo, I am with you always, even
to the end
of the age." Amen. Matthew
28:16-20) Once we win these souls, we shouldn’t turn
them out, but rather we should
gather them
in and include them in our accountability
ring. Don’t be afraid to become
accountable
to one another my friends, it
is a wonderful
thing to confess your sins to
a brother in
Christ and not be judged but
prayed for.
This is truly a wonderful gift
from God!
In turn, you too be receptive
to those in
need of confessing and be ready
with prayer.
This is, after all, what a good
partner is
all about. Whether in the gym,
on the factory
floor or in church. Be there
for your partners
in Christ. Be accountable to
one another,
they rely on you!
Thank you Calvin and Brad for
being my brothers
in Christ and wonderful examples
of accountability!
And now our prayer. God, many
of your children,
having accepted Jesus as their
Savior, don’t
know where to turn after they
have done so.
We ask that you please bring
into their lives
those people who can help them
and be a brother
or sister in Christ to them.
We ask that
you open our hearts to be those
people and
bring them into our lives. Help
us become
accountable to one another. In
Jesus name
we pray. Amen.
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