The Righteous Advocate

He (Jesus), having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:12

Hebrews 10:12 above says it clearly. By way of His agonizing death on a cross, Jesus was the do-all, end-all sacrifice for every sin on earth for all time. No more slaughtering perfect, first- born goats or bulls, or striving to do good deeds to gain entrance to heaven. Eternal life is a free gift given to those who believe in Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Having completed His assigned task - to die on the cross - God made Jesus come alive again and He was “received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19) Jesus sat down. What this tells me is that He has a fully-resurrected, real body. (Wouldn’t a spirit just hover or float around?) And, Jesus is sitting at a place of highest honor and dignity: at God’s right hand. (This is stated also in Ephesians 1:20, Luke 22:69 and Colossians 3:1.) To the people of Biblical times, sitting at the right hand signified might and great power. In this position at God’s right hand, Jesus is reigning until all enemies have been subjected to Him. (1 Corinthians 15:25)

But there’s more. In heaven Jesus is also our advocate before God. Hebrews 7:25 says “therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” When someone who believes in Jesus confesses a wrongdoing, it’s as if Jesus says to God “I died for him or her. I’ve paid the penalty.” No charge can be brought against you in heaven once you’ve been forgiven. (This is not to say that there aren’t earthly consequences for wrongdoings, such as punishment for a crime, etc.)

We do not need to bring sacrifices as the Old Testament people did, because Jesus was the sacrifice for all of us, for all time. Now He is our advocate. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John2:1) Jesus Christ is your righteous advocate sitting in heaven at God’s right hand. His death and resurrection have put you in good standing with God. May this give you peace and hope.

Now let’s talk about sitting down…

Strength training exercises should prepare you for normal, everyday activities, and this is definitely the case for this week’s move: the squat. Every time you lower yourself into or rise up from a chair, you are doing a squat. The muscles used are your gluts (last week’s exercise – click here to review) as well as the front and back of your thighs. Proper technique is essential for safety and to get the most benefit, so pay close attention to the instructions. If you are unsure if an exercise is appropriate for you, check with your healthcare provider first! These instructions are for beginners, but in the future, I will explain how to modify them to make the squat more challenging.

Stand facing a table, counter or wall that you can hold onto. Place a sturdy chair behind you.(This is your safety net!) Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and your weight evenly divided between your feet. Check to make sure your ears, shoulders and hips are lined up on a straight line. (No curling forward. Click here to learn about checking your alignment.) Your knees should be slightly bent, with your knees and toes pointing straight ahead. Keep your heels on the floor the whole time.

Here’s the downward action: Hold onto the table for safety and bend your knees as you start to lower your hips downward and backward, as if you were going to sit down in the chair. If this is the first time you’ve ever done a squat, just bend your knees slightly but stop if you have any pain. You may bend your knees until your thighs are at a 45 degree angle to the floor (a half squat), or you could lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. (But do not go lower than this!) Keep your navel pulled inward toward your spine and your chest lifted. To protect your knees, it is very important that you keep your knees behind your toes, so glance down to check whether you can see your toes.

And now for the upward phase: Squeeze your gluts (buttocks) and rise to the starting position, as though you were getting out of a chair. Exhale as you come up and make your legs do the work. At the end point, your knees are slightly bent and your pelvis is neutral.

One or two squats are fine to start with. It is normal to feel your leg muscles working, but you should not have pain while doing the squats. (If you do have pain, stop!) You can gradually increase the number of “reps” to ten or twelve, or more if you wish. As your confidence grows, you may not need to hold onto the wall or table, but you can keep your hands out for balance. (Later you may hold some hand weights while doing your squats.) Squats can be done every other day. In the future I will teach you how to build other moves onto the basic squat to add more challenge.

This seems like a lot of detail, but squats do employ several joints and muscle groups – an example of how all our body parts work together! Concentrate on each step of the exercise and soon you will notice the Length and Strength in your daily activities!