It's All You

Send us Fan MailNote: A lot of the material is inspired by Craig Groeschel's book. Each week, I take concepts from Pastor Craig Groeschel's book, The Power To Change, and apply them to brain health.It’s All You – IntroductionCraig Groeschel opens the section with a story about his friend Paco. The two of them were at the gym doing a chest burnout. After lifting a bunch of very heavy weights, you switch to a lower weight and perform high-rep bench presses until you are worn out. At the end of the workout, the goal was to bench the bar fifty times. Paco was really into this and kept encouraging Craig along the way. He would yell, “Keep going. It’s all you!” Toward the end, Craig saw that Paco had control of the bar, so he let go, and magically the bar kept going up and down. Eventually, Paco realized what was happening, and they both began laughing.“…at the end of my power, I discover God’s power. His power is always there. When I am weak, he is strong.”1“Willpower doesn’t work, but God’s power does, and his power is: “1AvailableAccessibleActiveAbundant“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”Galatians 5:16-17“The ‘Spirit’ is the Holy Spirit; God in us. When you give yourself to God, he gives himself to you. He moves inside of you– like the creme filling in a Twinkie. He lives inside you to empower you to live the life he has for you.”1“Paul also wrote about the ‘flesh.’ The Greek word translated ‘flesh’ is sarx, used 149 times in the New Testament “1“Part of you wants to lead you in a way you really don’t want to go; in a way God doesn’t want you to go. That part of you explains why you keep doing what you don’t want to keep doing, as in: “1“I don’t want to keep gambling.”“I don’t want to keep talking about people behind their backs.”“I don’t want to keep looking at that website.”“I don’t want to keep feeling jealous.”” “I don’t want to keep spending more money than I have on things I don’t even need.”“I don’t want to keep wasting my life scrolling through photos of other people’s lives.”“I don’t want to, but I do.”1“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—”Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬“In other words, we put no confidence in our own willpower.”1“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬“Walking by the Spirit, rather than the flesh, is a decision to live, overcome our self-destructive habits, and pursue our goals not in our power but in God’s. Because we can’t, but he can.”