Truth

Brace yourself! Satan will try to sweep you off your feet with an onslaught of lies. Satan is known as “the deceiver, the father of lies.”(John 8:44) He will invade your thoughts with lies about what is important in life or what is right or wrong, for example. He may deceive you into thinking it’s okay to hold a grudge or misinterpret another person’s motives. Or he could lie and tell you that the work you do has no value, or that you have no value.

To defend yourself against this bombardment of lies and deception, you need to “gird your loins with truth.” (Ephesians 6:14) What are the loins exactly? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines loins as “the upper and lower abdominal regions and the region about the hips, ie., where you would place a belt; the part of the body on either side of the spinal column and between the hip and lower ribs.” This week’s exercise targets the loin area.

Truth is the first protective piece that Paul describes in Ephesians 6. (See Ephesians 6:11 – 17 for the entire list.) Knowing the truth will enable you to recognize Satan’s lies and defend yourself against them. How do we know what the truth is? Jesus said “if you are my disciples you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) The book of John in the New Testament of the Bible describes who Jesus is and what it means to know Him and be His disciple.

“Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) So to know Jesus is to put on truth. Brace yourself against falsehood and gird yourself with the truth!

Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

This week’s exercise involves a muscle in the area of the loins – the transverse abdominis, or TA. It is a deep muscle so it is usually not shown on muscle diagrams. The TA runs from side to side across your belly and is responsible for flattening it. (See the horizontal muscle fibers in the photo at right. creativecommons.org) Learning to contract this muscle will enable you to brace yourself to protect your back when lifting heavy objects. (Fitness professionals call it “abdominal bracing.”) Also, you will contract the TA before executing several other exercises.

So, first let’s locate your transverse abdominis. Stand and place your left hand on your belly below your navel and your right hand on your low back. Now, cough. (Just this once, it is okay to cough without covering your mouth!) Did you feel the tightening of the muscle under your left hand? That’s your TA. Do it again to be sure. (You may have felt the muscles higher up on the front of your waist contracting too, but we are focusing on the lower ones.) Now this time let’s contract the TA muscle again and imagine that you are pulling your navel toward the hand on your back (toward your spine). Keep your hips level. (Click here for the previous post on how to do this.) This is an exercise most people are not familiar with so it takes some conscious practice to perform it effectively. Pull your navel inward and hold for a few seconds (while continuing to breathe) and then release. Repeat five times or as many times as you like. You can do it several times a day.

If you are among the people who are not allowed to do curl-ups or bend your spine due to osteoporosis or a back or spinal condition, this is a way you can safely strengthen your abdominals. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, consult your healthcare provider first.

The advantage of this exercise is that it truly can be done anywhere: standing in line, sitting in a meeting or while preparing a meal or drying your hair, etc. Decide when you might do this one and put up a sticky note as a reminder. You could combine it with deep breathing. Pull your navel inward as you exhale.

Strengthening the transverse abdominis is a fundamental exercise, one of the most important ones you can do. So be sure to include it in your Length and Strength routine!

Deep Breathing

I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Have you noticed that in the Bible, thanksgiving and singing go hand-in-hand? Singing praises to God seems to be a natural out-growth of being thankful. Many verses combine thanks and praise: “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre.” (Psalm 147:7) and “Come before Him with thankful hearts. Let us sing Him psalms (songs) of praise. “(Psalm 95:2, The Living Bible) Singing with thanksgiving was documented by Ezra after the Israelites laid the foundation of the temple in Jerusalem: “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord.” (Ezra 3:11) Jonah, recognizing that God had rescued him from destruction and given him another chance, prayed “I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving.” (Jonah 2:9) Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied “Joy and gladness will be found in her (Israel), thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.” (Isaiah 51:3) and “Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving.“ (Jeremiah 30:19)

Psalm 69:30 states “I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Verse 31 goes on to say that this will please the Lord better than sacrificing an ox or a bull!) It caught my attention that when we give thanks to God, we magnify Him. We are saying how great God is and we exalt Him. Mary did this when she sang the Magnificat in Luke 1:46: “My soul exalts the Lord.” (New American Study Bible) or “My soul magnifies the Lord.” (Revised Standard Version).

As Thanksgiving approaches, think of ways you can thank God for what you have. We are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Have you considered singing a song to God as a way of thanking Him? Be mindful that thanking God is a way to exalt Him.
Those of you who sing in a choir know that the best sound and breath control comes from breathing with your diaphragm. That is the muscle we will exercise this week.

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that separates your chest from the abdominal section of your torso. When you pull air deeply into your lungs, the dome (which is concave downward) contracts and flattens out. When you exhale, it relaxes and resumes its usual dome shape. You might have heard someone say “breathe with your diaphragm.” What they are saying is to breathe deeply, and this gives your diaphragm its own work-out. It is simple to do and can be done anywhere, anytime.

When you first practice deep breathing you will want to wear comfortable, loose clothing, such as pants with an elastic waistband. You can stand, lie or sit. (But make sure your spine is lengthened so you have plenty of room for your lungs to expand.) Slowly breathe in through your nose (This helps warm the air.) while letting your waistline and abdominal area expand outward as air completely fills your lungs. Pretend a balloon is being blown up inside you. To pace yourself, count to five as you inhale. Hold for a moment and then exhale through your mouth to the count of five. As you exhale, you may contract your abdominal muscles (Pull you navel inward toward your spine) to assist in emptying your lungs. If you feel dizzy, take a break. You may continue for a couple of minutes (or longer, if you wish). I sometimes will do deep breathing in bed at night to help me fall asleep.

Deep breathing has its own benefits: More oxygen is delivered to all areas of your body, including your brain. Your heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels will be lowered, and the organs in your torso will get a massage from the gentle movement of your diaphragm. Best of all, deep breathing kicks in the body’s relaxation response so you will feel relaxed –reason enough to get started!

Feet

Having been charged to keep them securely, the jailer put Paul and Silas into the inner prison with their feet in stocks. The other prisoners listened, as midnight rolled around, to Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns to God. Perhaps the jailer also heard these prayers and hymns to a God he had not heard of before drifting off to sleep. Is that why, after the great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison and opened the doors and released the fetters, the jailer came and fell before Paul and Silas, trembling in fear? (Paul and Silas had already assured him that they were all present.) The jailer now wanted a part of this God. “What must I do to be saved?” he desperately wanted to know. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household,” was Paul’s immediate, concise response, and they “spoke the word of the Lord to him, together with all who were in his house.” Without delay the jailer washed his prisoners’ wounds and he and his household were baptized. Then he fed them and rejoiced with all his household that he believed in God. (The entire story is found in Acts 16:22-40.)

God uses His mighty power and the prayers and hymns and words and bodies of His people to draw people to Himself. Seeing who this God is, experiencing God, evokes fear, awe and a desire to belong to Him. And there is rejoicing. The jailer “rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.” (verse 34) Mindful of his duty to keep Paul and Silas safe, the jailer still held them in the jail. Perhaps Paul and Silas were still talking with the jailer about Jesus when the police arrived in the morning with the news that they could be freed. Before leaving Philippi, Paul and Silas visited Lydia and the new church there. I wonder if Paul asked those church members to call on the jailer and his family to encourage them in their young faith.

Ask God to give you an awareness this week of how He may use your words, songs of worship and your prayers and actions to draw unbelievers to Him. The result will be rejoicing and more praises to God.

Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31

Now, let’s take a look at our feet….

At the beginning of the story in Acts 16, Paul and Silas had their feet immobilized in stocks. At the end, they were walking away. Every time you take a step, you are lifting your foot upward from your ankle (also known as dorsiflexion). Today we are going to work the muscles responsible for dorsiflexion, and that’s why this is an important exercise. It’s easy and can be done anywhere.

Sit in a chair with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and your feet flat on the floor. Now just lift the ball of your right foot about two inches off the floor (Your heel stays on the floor.) and then lower it back down. Do you feel the muscles contracting at the front of your lower leg and ankle? Repeat this eight to ten times and then do it with your left foot. Or you can alternate feet for a total of eight to ten on each. This exercise also can be done standing, but you may find that you can only lift your foot up about an inch. That’s okay.

You may do this exercise every day if you wish, but at least three times per week. Practice during car or plane trips or any time you are immobile for long periods of time, as it promotes circulation in your legs (and helps prevent clot formation). If you enjoy listening to music, keep time as you lift your feet! Incorporate dorsiflexion into your length and strength routine. It is one of those small exercises that yields big benefits!

Strong Legs

“Hmm,” you think to yourself, “there’s someone carrying a pallet down the street. Hey, wait a minute. He’s the same guy who was paralyzed before! Four men were carrying him on that pallet a little while ago!” Sure enough, the formerly paralyzed man was now walking with an energetic, joyful step, holding the pallet (a light bed or mattress) in his arms with ease, as he shifted it to avoid bumping into people on the streets of Capernaum. (Or maybe he carried it on top of his head as was the custom in that day?) Moments earlier, Jesus had proclaimed to the paralytic and the crowd that the man’s sins were forgiven. (Mark 2:5) This was an inner healing and cleansing that was instant and complete. Then Jesus told the man to “get up, pick up your pallet and go home,” an outer healing to verify that Jesus indeed had the authority to forgive sins. (Mark 2:10-11) This forgiveness is available to everyone in our day if a person believes that Jesus is the Son of God sent to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all sins. (John 3:16)

In this story (and in a similar one in John 5:2-15) I wondered why Jesus said “pick up your pallet and walk.” Why not just tell man to get up and walk away? (Was Jesus teaching that we should pick up after ourselves? Maybe! ) The people who were not witness to the miracle could now at least see the outward signs of redemption and new life. If the former paralytic had simply exited the house and walked down the street empty-handed, possibly no one would have noticed him. But carrying that bed would catch someone’s attention. (In John 5:10 that healed man got the wrong kind of attention - getting into trouble for carrying his pallet on the Sabbath day.)

Okay, so it’s not necessary to carry a bed around. But is there some outward evidence about you of the inner miracle of being forgiven, cleansed of the guilt of sin and given new, eternal life? This would not be something you are trying to show off or be prideful about, but something different about you that another person might see. Maybe it is compassion for someone less fortunate, patience or humility you didn’t have before, a willingness to go the extra mile, or love. Mark 2:12 says the healed man went out of the house “in the sight of everyone.” Their reaction? “They were all amazed and were glorifying God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’ " Whatever Jesus has told you to “pick up,” whatever change has occurred on the inside and the outside of you when your sins were forgiven, may it all be for the glory of God!

To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Walking, one of the basic activities of daily life, requires strong legs. Last time we worked the quadriceps on the front of the thigh (Click here if you missed that one.) and this week we will focus on the “hamstrings” muscles which run down the back of your thigh. The hamstrings are actually three sets of muscles responsible for pulling you leg backward (at the hip) and for flexing your knee (pulling your heel up toward your buttocks).

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. (You also want your knees slightly bent when you are standing in line or while standing and working, not “locked” in a straight position because this can throw off your alignment.) If your balance is a little unsteady, you should hold onto a counter top or the back of a sturdy chair. Now bend one knee and lift your heel toward your fanny, counting to three as you do this. Then lower to the count of three. (Keep your thighs parallel to each other.) You will feel your hamstrings contract as you lift your heel. Lift your heel again for a total of eight to 12 repetitions, or alternate legs (8 to 12 “reps” for each leg). Only bend your knee as far as it is comfortable for you. In other words, no pain! If you have any concerns about your legs, contact your physician before trying this exercise.

If you do not want to bend your knees, try this seated version: Sit in a sturdy chair with your heels on the floor a few inches in front of the chair. Put a heavy book or other object behind your heels. Pull your navel toward your spine to support your back. Now try to drag your heels along the floor toward you. The books will prevent them from moving but your hamstrings will still get a workout.

Here is another one. Stand facing and holding onto a wall. Your feet are again shoulder-width apart and knees are slightly bent. Now lift one leg just a little ways toward the back. Pretend there is a ball behind your heel and you want to kick it gently away from you. Note here that your entire leg is lifting (as opposed to just the lower leg that we just did), so the action is from the hip. These are little kicks to the back, not big ones! Take special care to keep your hips level. (Click keep pelvis in neutral if you forgot that exercise.) Perform eight to 12 on each leg. An alternative for this one is to lie face down on a mat or carpet and lift one leg about three inches from the floor. Repeat with the other leg so you do eight to 12 on each leg.

Do these hamstring exercises at least twice a week. If you are not sore, you may do them every day if you wish. In future posts you will learn other exercises to help with strengthening your legs and hips. Keeping your legs strong will allow you to continue your normal activities and live independently. This is part of the purpose of “Length and Strength from the Inside Out!”