Spiritual Basic Training

By Chris Benjamin

There are guides to reaching physical fitness and those for reaching mental fitnessbut there are very few books intended to help you reach spiritual fitness.

In Spiritual Basic Training, author Chris Benjamin does just that, offering a motivating spark to ignite righteous living for Gods glory. Benjamin provides a positive message full of the Holy Scriptures, so every thought comes from the Bible. New believers will find guidance on how to start building a spiritual relationship with God. To those who have already been believers, Spiritual Basic Training will get you back to center with God and push you to step out in conquering faith in Him. Creative missions will help everyone move in the direction of achieving a Spirit-filled, spiritually fit life. By the completion of Spiritual Basic Training, you will be building a quality life, with God at the center.
If you believe in God, the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, and the power of the Holy Spirit in each of us, then without a doubt you must center yourself in the Lord for your salvation. Spiritual Basic Training can help lead the way. Remember, it is not only ourselves we can help to save by our faith and actions, but our families, our friends, and all of Gods children of the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490899275

Chris Benjamin

Chris Benjamin serves in the US Army Infantry as a Noncommissioned officer. His blending of core Christian values and motivational techniques, refined in the army, has inspired a new type of spiritual basic training. Chris lives with his wife and three sons in the Kansas City area.

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Copyright © 2016 Chris Benjamin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9926-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9928-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9927-5 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/28/2015

To our Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit be all the glory, honor, praise, worship, and power forever!

To my wonderful wife, Shannon, this is for you. It is truly amazing how we have made it through so many trials of life together. Thank you for always being there for me and our sons in times of trouble and joy. Jacob, Carson, and Connor, you all have given me a reason to be a better man. Thank you all for being a part of my life. I love you all very much.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1   Call to Arms

Chapter 2   Reception Brief

Chapter 3   Turning to God in Faithful Prayer

MISSION: Accept Jesus Christ our Savior into our hearts

MISSION: Identify and dedicate time every day for quiet, honest prayer

MISSION: Begin each day with the Lord’s Prayer

MISSION: Ask God for his will first

MISSION: Give thanks for our daily bread

MISSION: Repent, repent, repent

MISSION: The sweet release of sin

MISSION: Fight back temptation vigorously

MISSION: Protection assurance

MISSION: The best of the best for God

MISSION: Keep our egos in check

MISSION: Recognize opportunities to pray

MISSION: Relationship building

Chapter 4   Know God’s Truth

MISSION: Delightfully dive into God’s Word

MISSION: Compass check

MISSION: Revisit and reflect

MISSION: Seek guidance

MISSION: Surround the day with God’s truth

MISSION: Reach out and save someone today

MISSION: What did Jesus do?

Chapter 5   Turn Me into We

MISSION: Bare our souls to God

MISSION: Defend and counterattack

MISSION: Call on God confidently

MISSION: Steadfast perseverance.

Chapter 6   Enlist Our Spiritual Battle Buddies

MISSION: Spiritual team recruiting

MISSION: We need our spiritual cheerleaders

MISSION: Family time

MISSION: Welcome friends

MISSION: Faith at work

MISSION: Fellowship members

MISSION: Stay connected

MISSION: Join or start a spiritual discussion group

Chapter 7   Take Care of His Sheep

MISSION: Acknowledge our brothers and sisters

MISSION: Study our families

MISSION: Give back to our brothers and sisters of the world

MISSION: Choose our spiritual team’s mission

MISSION: Support a ministry

MISSION: Donate, donate, donate

MISSION: God’s plan for our time

MISSION: Money well spent

MISSION: Uncontainable love

Chapter 8   Be Resilient

MISSION: Take care of God’s temple

MISSION: Gain and maintain God’s temple

MISSION: R & R time

MISSION: Adapt and overcome

MISSION: Temperance in everything

MISSION: Recharge daily

MISSION: Confidently confident

MISSION: Flex our spiritual muscles

Chapter 9   Victory!

Chapter 10 For the Fathers

Preface

I write this introduction to show where I have come from in my sinful past, to give hope for the redemption of each one of us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to prove that the words I speak are not my own but of those who have called me into his service. May God grant his children of faith the wisdom to see his truth and the grace to accept it into their hearts.

I have been an infantry soldier my entire career in the army. It has afforded me the opportunity to learn many important life lessons over my twelve years of service. The first and most important is where I place my priorities. My priorities are always first to the mission and my soldiers before my own needs. This is how I prioritize my spiritual walk of life as well. My mission is to do God’s will and his good works always first above all. Second, I strive to place the needs of all God’s children before my own. The army has also taught me the power of perseverance, so that I may be able to survive in all conditions of life. Whether in blistering heat, blowing rain, across the seas, or at home with my family, I have learned to be content with my place in life by God’s grace. The most important attribute I have learned from the army is that of discipline. Without discipline I would never be able to put the mission and my soldiers first in all situations. Discipline has also enabled me to stay focused in times of stress and to persevere in all occasions of life.

My service in the army has given me the chance to experience many different cultures and religions around the world. I have been blessed to have lived in North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe during my career as a soldier. My experience is that each country has distinct differences in cultural and religion. The one common theme in all of them is that every culture has a type of religion. I have noticed that the whole world has a strong desire to worship and connect with our Maker. Religion is worldwide, and there is a reason for it. There is a God in heaven, and he is reaching out to all his children of the world. The interpretation of who God is, is where the religions differ and this causes friction.

Through my travels I have been truly humbled by seeing many unfortunate circumstances. I have been witness to the tragic poverty that some of God’s children are forced to live in every day. I have seen starving children abandoned with no family to take them in. They truly long to just be a part of a loving family like each one of us. I have talked with a woman who had been pushed into prostitution by her family. The pain in her eyes told the truth of the hurt still in her heart. Tears streamed down her face as she wondered out loud how she would feed her children the next day. I have seen the devastation that drugs and alcohol can do to a person’s health and family bond. Once vibrant and hope-filled people are now resigned to live for their next mind-numbing fix. These stories are all too common and real. They are painfully real, my brothers and sisters.

Lastly, the army has taught me the art of motivation. I learned how to motivate myself and those around me to accomplish any given mission. As a result of my experiences, I know now I have been given a new mission. God has chosen me to share my life’s experiences with all his children and to motivate them to