Interval Training and "The Roaring Lion"

It's an awesome feeling to see myself progress weekly both physically and spiritually! I look back to what I was two years ago and it's like I've become this whole new person. Thanks to crossfit, I'm faster, stronger, and have trained my body to keep going when my mind so badly wants to stop. But the biggest change came when I got saved and turned away from the sinful, worldly lifestyle I used to live. I thank God every day that he gave me 27 years to open my eyes and realize my eternal destiny was in hell and I needed a savior. I've been saved for almost two years now and it's amazing how I've gradually been transformed into who I am today.

WOD:
Strict Press 5x2

Buy in: 30 ring dips, 30 GHD situps

10x 100m row with 10 seconds rest in between (keeping each 100m within 5 seconds of your first row)

Cashout: 200 double unders


Bible WOD:

1 Peter 5:8
⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour

God created us with the ability to choose... He could have made us like robots but he wants us to choose to love, serve, and worship Him. This life is full of choices we have to make but we have to be careful when making them.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you're making a decision and it's for sure the right one, but from out of nowhere this little voice inside your head tells you to do something different? Well I can tell you I've been in this situation many times! I think we all have. We often use the humorous version of this situation and go back to the cartoons where the little devil is sitting on one shoulder and an angel is sitting on the other. The humorous side of the situation isn't far from the truth at all.

Satan and his army of demons are out to destroy us and we need to be aware of this. There is a battle going on in the unseen spiritual realm and we are in the middle of it. As a christian, Satan wants to make us ignorant of God's will and wants us to question God to keep us from fully serving Him. As an unbeliever, Satan is out to make sure they never seek God and turn to Christ. He attacks our minds and bodies to gain control of our will. Satan knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our weaknesses and uses those weaknesses to tempt us into sin and away from Christ.

Satan will try to make us question God's will, deceive us, and lead us into sin. If Satan gets into our mind and controls what we think then he will control our body. If Satan controls both mind and body then he will control our will. If Satan controls our will then we will be lead away from God's will. We can't let him be successful in making us useless servants of God.

How do we fight Satan?
I can tell you no matter how big and strong you are, you're no match for Satan. He is a spiritual being and we are in mortal bodies... who's going to win? We can't win on our own so we need Christ to prevail. What did Jesus do to fight against Satan's temptations in the wilderness? That's right, he quoted scripture and Satan fled. (see, Mathew 4:1-11) This is why its important to read the Bible, study it and memorize scripture. The more scripture we have in our mind the bigger our sword is when fighting Satan. The problem is, unbelievers do not read nor understand the Bible.

How does unbelievers fight against Satan?
As you can see... they can't. They are always following the desires of the flesh and want nothing to do with the things of God. That's why its up to a Christian to lead them to Christ. If we never witness to these people then how will they be saved? We have to take these people by the hand and lead them down the road of salvation. If they CHOOSE to reject Christ then that's what they choose. We can't make them accept Christ but we can show them how. Our pride keeps us from witnessing to people because we are afraid of what they'll think. This shouldn't stop us, but it does! (I'm guilty) I had to realize people are going to hell and if I didn't share the gospel with them then they may never hear it.

How are Christians attacked by Satan?
Christians are always going to be tempted by Satan but we have to stand firm in our faith to defeat him. He will whisper things into our mind like..."God won't care, its just one time." "Nobody will find out if you did that." "Did God really say not to do that?"... if he can't get you to fall into sin that way then he will kick you when you're down. Our lives aren't always a big bowl of peaches; we have troublesome times of suffering and it seems like nothing will go our way. This is when Satan gets us thinking... "If God really loved me then he wouldn't make me go through this." (I'm guilty of this one.) The thing is, I know God loves me but Satan almost had me convinced otherwise. I had to become stronger in my faith so I turned to the Bible for comfort and spiritual growth. I now have a very large sword I fight Satan with on a daily basis and I'm determined to fulfill what God's will is for me. Yes, I will fall down at times but i will pick myself up and keep seeking the will of God.

If you're going through a tough time and under attack by Satan, I urge you to not believe his lies and do not turn your back on God. Find comfort in God's word (the Bible) and ask Him for help. If God allows it into your life, then it's part of God's ultimate plan. It's how we react to these things and the choices we make that will determine the outcome. You have to yield yourself to God and put your total faith and trust in Him. Don't let Satan win.... Put on the full armor of God and prevail!

The Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-18
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.