The things we do, the lifestyle choices we make the “works”–it’s all fruit on the tree of our spiritual lives. It’s important that we understand fruit…
If I go outside and find a dead tree, carry a basket of apples and clothespins and leaves, I can clip the fruit and leaves on and make it look beautiful. But the tree is still just as dead.
I might can convince others, for a time, that the tree is alive and thriving, but the tree is still dead, and in due time, the fruit will become rotten and reveal the truth.
But if I go and plant a fruit tree in good soil, water it and cultivate it, focusing on its roots, the tree will thrive and fruit will grow–naturally, without any effort. The deeper the roots grow and the stronger the tree’s life source, the more prolific and healthy the fruit.
So it is with us. We can do all the right things, but if we’re only focused on the “things”, we’re clipping fruit onto a dead tree. Our focus must be on the roots–our Power Source–the Lord Jesus.
When we cultivate a deep and abiding love for Him, fruit naturally grows out of that. When we truly “seek first the Kingdom”, the fruit will be added. When we “cry aloud for wisdom so we can understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God”, our lives cannot help but bear “good works”–the real, living kind.
Let us dig deep our roots and cultivate our spiritual lives by the power of the One Who gives life.
18 comments
Amen!
Thanks, Word Warrior!
Needed that today.
Yes!! It is so easy to be distracted by things that don’t really matter. May we be still and know that He is God. He so Faithfully blesses our smallest steps of obedience. And to see the fruit He is bringing forth in the lives of my children makes my heart feel like it will burst!
Jesus IS Lord….
Very good, Kelly! I shared on facebook.
So True. As Nancy Leigh DeMoss said, “We must be tethered to the Word of God.” Great post!
Amen Kelly. I especially liked this part: “I might can convince others, for a time, that the tree is alive and thriving, but the tree is still dead, and in due time, the fruit will become rotten and reveal the truth.”
And you know, I truly didn’t come over here this morning to convince you to visit me, truly I didn’t! but your post seems so closely related to my own this morning, I just have to share (do you mind?) I recently had a friend email me about a concern she had for her daughter, who she felt might not have a “real” faith…. I’m asking for thoughts and input on my blog today. I’d love to hear yours, if you’d care to share♥
Awesome! Awessome! You have such a way with words. Thank you for this.
This was beautiful. Thank you. 🙂
Thank you! I will be sharing this with my kids. Just this morning I had a talk with my son about grades and behavior. I asked him “why” he should be doing better in both. His response was “to get privaledges back”, I said, “No. Because we are to do everything as if we are doing it first for the Lord”. Your post today more elloquintly explains my point!
I love your analogy!
You can’t grow fruits of the Spirit in the flesh, only by clinging to the Lord will they be truly cultivated in your life.
So true, and what a good analogy. I love it. It also makes me think of a quote I recently read:
“God never places us in any position in which we can not grow. We may fancy that He does. We may fear we are so impeded by fretting, petty cares that we are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending any branches upward, we may be sending roots downward. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, when everything seems a failure, we are making the best kind of progress.’
Elizabeth Prentiss,
I was convicted of this idea this very weekend. We were interviewing a candidate for our pulpit and he was talking about Justification and Sanctification. He said that we trust in the grace of God for our Justification, but so many of us rely on our own works to sanctify us and we all know how much our own works are worth…. Anyhow, he really challenged us to live out our sanctification by that same Grace that saved us. I’ve been really studying Psalm 119 in light of that this week “… having my eyes fixed on all y our commandments” (and not on my circumstances, my shortcomings, my feeble attempts at righteousness) and also delighting in the law of the Lord and what that really means!
Please forgive me for my horrible rant on your blog, Kelly. Please erase it!!! Gosh, you’d think I’d listen to myself when I remind my daughter that we are not to be ruled by our emotions. The parable I give the most when hearing people say nasty things is “Even a fool is thought wise when he keeps his mouth closed.”
WOW! Wish I would have remembered that last night. I am embarrassed!
Great post! It gave me goosebumps as I read it.
This was very well said, Kelly. And so important.
Great analogy. Great reminder. Thanks 🙂
<3!!!!
1– Sit on the end of an train bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
Count On expert-backed exercises, nutrition advice, the newest
in energy sports, and an entire lot of motivation heading
your method. Since you want to have a big, robust chest, you’re greatest advised to do both these
workout routines in your workouts. Put Together to maximise
your strength with our exclusive 13-week power coaching program.
If you consider energy curves, the motion is simpler at the high than it’s the backside.
Lifters engage the delts at completely different angles throughout the carry to enhance energy.
While the pectorals deal with the lion’s share of the work, lifters depend
on the triceps to provide stability all through the carry and to complete the lockout.
With dumbbells, it’s attainable to change the grip, which engages the
triceps extra to enhance definition. The anterior deltoids are situated on the front facet
of your shoulder. They work with the pectoralis main to flex and rotate your shoulders.
The pectoralis major is a big muscle that covers the chest from the clavicle, the entire length of the sternum and the cartliages of the primary
six ribs near the sternum. The fibers converge and attach to the humerus nearly
in the identical place as the deltoid. In the shoulder girdle, the pectoralis minor and serratus anterior are the main muscle tissue involved.
The pectoralis minor is a small muscle positioned on the higher chest and is roofed by
the pectoralis main. The serratus anterior lies on the outer floor of the ribs at the sides (just beneath the armpits) and is covered by
the scapula on the rear and the pectoralis major in front.
In the elbow joint, the triceps brachii, a big muscle which covers the whole again side of the arm, is the one main muscle
involved. It has three sections, the lateral head on the outer
floor on the again of the higher arm, the medial head on the inside facet of the back of the upper arm,
and the long head in the rear of the upper arm.
Convey the weights to your knees in order that the dumbbell ends rest
on the knees and sit back onto the bench in order that the bells are planted in your knees and you’ve got a “hammer” grip.
Include these workout routines 1-3 instances weekly, depending
on your workout split. Ensure sufficient rest between sessions for
muscle restoration and progress. Outcomes depend upon consistency, correct form,
and vitamin, quite than the type of press.
For example, a narrower grip bench press will put extra emphasis on the
triceps and forearms. A bench press is an exercise that can be utilized to strengthen the muscles of the higher physique, together
with the pectorals, arms, and shoulders.
The pectoralis major is the primary purpose athletes use the dumbbell bench
press. This muscle group is situated within the center of your chest and
is considered one of the most visible mirror muscular
tissues. The primary operate of the pectoralis major
is the rotation and flexion of the shoulder joint. Whether
Or Not you’re a beginner or a seasoned lifter,
the flat dumbbell press offers endless opportunities for development.
The chest fly is a superb exercise to make use of if you need to substitute the dumbbell bench press as a result of it affects your chest as well as other physique components.
It is a compound lift and works your whole upper physique, together with your
pectoral muscles. If you comply with these steps, you will shortly
master the proper form of the dumbbell bench press. Incorporating this train into your exercises will assist you to rapidly
build a robust and outlined upper physique. Like all weightlifting workout routines, an athlete should
carry out the dumbbell bench press with proper
kind and technique. The good type ensures that the athlete gets
probably the most out of the movement, keeping them protected from
potential damage. Sure, the flat bench press may be performed by newbies; however, it’s important to begin with lighter weights
and give attention to proper form.
The reverse grip barbell bench press can be done utilizing a flat or incline bench.
Both means, the purpose of the reverse grip bench press is to take stress and work off the shoulders.
The reverse grip locations emphasis on the upper chest and
the triceps.
After the athlete is seated on the bench, they want to firmly
grasp the dumbbells and lift them onto their knees separately.
As the athlete lays down, they should “kick” the dumbbells
up above their chest. If you might have shoulder accidents, it’s important to seek
the guidance of with a healthcare professional or a professional fitness coach for exercises which may
be suitable in your specific condition. Taking the time to heat up properly enhances performance and
reduces the risk of pressure or damage.
If the angle is more than 45-degrees, the dumbbells will hit too high on their
chest. If the angle is less than 45-degrees, the dumbbells will
hit too lengthy on their chest. When an athlete is on the point of perform a dumbbell bench press, they should
know their grip power and factors of contact.
This train can turn out to be harmful if the dumbbells are too heavy and surpass
their grip strength.
Add weight once you presumably can carry
out this exercise safely and with good kind. If you have issues about shoulder joint stability, do not decrease the weight thus far that the
highest of the arms falls beneath parallel. While you may not benefit from the complete range of motion, this modification places much less stress on the shoulder.
It’s not necessary to do all of those variations in the same exercise.
For those athletes hoping to construct sculpted shoulders, this train is a must.
Whereas the delts serve more as an adjunct muscle, they stabilize the shoulders all through the motion.
In my teaching opinion, it’s a good suggestion to familiarize yourself with
all the barbell bench press variations. Each variation can be
useful at totally different deadlines relying on your targets and understanding the “when” to make use of every is essential.
After I was fighting a shoulder tweak from college cheerleading, I got super into decline benching, and when I wanted larger delts I was programming
incline all the time. Then, of course, you could have
flat, which is my constant rock for constructing horizontal pressing energy.
If your arms, particularly forearms, are long relative to your physique, touching your chest in the incline bench press would possibly turn out to be difficult or even impossible.
In this article, I break down 5 of the most important differences between the incline
bench press in comparability with the classic flat
bench press.
Management the tempo of the movement (e.g., three seconds to decrease, 1
second to press up) to extend time underneath pressure. When lifting heavy, at all times use a spotter or security pins on the
bench rack for added security. No matter which one you do, make certain to good the shape before stacking on the load.
Skilled coaches advocate for 7-9 hours of sleep for athletes to ensure recovery and
improvement in urgent exercises. As A Substitute of overlifting, reduce the burden you
would possibly be lifting till you’ll have the ability to full the exercise without any bouncing.
Choosing a weight that’s too heavy typically results in different widespread errors, which
might undercut your efforts or lead to harm. If you begin with
the proper weight for you, you may be much less prone to encounter the opposite points mentioned under.
Sure, performing the dumbbell bench press can affect your mood—the dumbbell bench press and exercise in general affects your mind.
Exercise causes your brain to launch endorphins which
may positively influence your temper. Moreover, train can improve your sleep, and
getting higher-quality sleep can put you in a greater temper.
Moving the load too rapidly could cause injury, and also you won’t
maximize your features.
If you don’t have access to a bench, it doesn’t imply you can’t
do chest presses! The ground press is a good different that targets the identical muscular tissues because the bench press, albeit with
a lesser range of motion. Regardless of the bench press variation you’re performing, you’ll
be bettering your urgent energy to various degrees.
If your objective is building well-rounded pressing power, then using all three variations could be useful.
When clients ask me in regards to the “why” behind each of those
bench press variations of their exercise packages, I’ll usually listing three advantages
of performing every variation.
You will see rapid gains as a beginner and there may be no
need for fluff as just maximizing one carry and progressing
in it goes to be more than enough to see the improvements you
want. Once you get more advanced, you’ll want to start out adding
in variety. Below is an instance of how one
can add the variations into your routine. That said, the floor press isn’t just used
for these who don’t have a bench. In fact, it’s extra widespread,
a minimum of when it comes to barbell ground presses, to
use them to work on growing lock out power and tricep and shoulder
development.
Maybe you have upgraded your home health club went from simply having dumbbells to a power rack, olympic weights and olympic barbell which is nice.
As you rock again try to concurrently retract your scapula
and depress them. In other words, pinch your shoulder blades collectively
and down bringing your elbows alongside your torso and the dumbells into urgent
place.
Since the incline bench press continues to be a demanding exercise, it’s
ideal to perform it near the start of the workout.
For most compound actions, an excellent period of time to rest between sets is wherever from 2-3 minutes, relying on how heavy you’re lifting.
The broad grip barbell bench press shifts
emphasis to your pectoralis major, specifically the decrease, middle
and outer area of your pec major.
The hammer chest press takes slightly stress off the shoulders while emphasizing the
inner and decrease pec major. The motion is quite
similar as an everyday db bench press besides your palms will be held in a hammer grip (neutral grip with palms
dealing with in) and you will have your arms at about 90˚.
With hammer grip chest presses, you’ll have a good higher ROM as a result of you
presumably can deliver your hands closer collectively at the prime of the
motion. This is a standard bench press in phrases of type and
physique positioning and every thing. The only distinction is you’ll use bands to hang weights off the ends of both sleeves of the barbell.
By doing this, you may be fully changing the
dynamics of stability.
This may be an necessary difference to suppose about for newbies and intermediate lifters.
When thinking about coaching the pecs, I break them into three totally
different divisions and these embrace the sternal
pec fibers, clavicular pec fibers, and costal pec fibers.
Every of these bench press variations will train these divisions of pec fibers to totally different levels.
If you practice each the flat and the incline bench press equally hard and
consistently, you’ll with time develop the power ratio that’s “correct” for you.
Lower the dumbbells in path of your chest, keeping your elbows flared
out.four. The selection between neutral grip and parallel grip bench press is dependent upon your
particular person fitness objectives and physical capabilities.
With that in thoughts, there, there are right and mistaken methods to get your self
into place for the dumbbell bench press. First I will
clarify the correct setup in a step-by-step process.
But setting up the exercise may be tough when you’re on your own. As
the dumbells required turn out to be very heavy it
gets to be increasingly more troublesome. The heavier the dumbbells get the
tougher it is to get them up into a place from which to press them, let alone truly do
the train.
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