The Kingdom Fit

By Robert Cruz

This book gives the reader a comprehensive foundational understanding of the disciplines that are germane to bodybuilding and faith building. On the face of it, it would seem that these two interests would have nothing in common, but the author reveals just how interconnected they are. In order to succeed in either pursuit, the mindset and determination that is necessary to accomplish the tasks of either goal run parallel.

The author provides an understanding of body mechanics and nutrition that gives the reader all the information to understand the best ways to build muscle in whatever capacity they desire.

The same can be said for the individual who is seeking to build their faith. The author also provides an understanding of the Christian faith, and he weaves the truths found in the Word of God into both areas.

The reader will be amazed at how the application of these truths can transform not only his spirit but also his physical body.

The Kingdom Fit is full of solid information, truth, and encouragement, which is a great place to start for anyone who has decided to get real with their decision to pursue fitness, whether in body or spirit.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639611980

Book preview

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The Kingdom Fit

Robert Cruz

ISBN 978-1-63961-197-3 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63961-198-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Robert Cruz

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Back Cover Summary by Kerri Cimino

Cover Art Work by Pastor Jerry Camacho

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Motivation

Chapter 2

Counting the Cost

Chapter 3

Self-Evaluation

Chapter 4

Partnership

Chapter 5

Nutrition

Chapter 6

Consistency

Chapter 7

Maintaining

Chapter 8

The Change

Chapter 9

The Realm of Recovery

Chapter 10

The Few That Make It

Chapter 11

24 Words

That's All, Folks

About the Author

This book is dedicated to my mom Antonia.

It is through her example and love for the Lord that I discovered

the difference between religion and a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am eternally grateful for her persistent prayers through my rebellious

years. I believe that for every believer there was a person praying for them

to come to repentance and a true conversion. That person for me, was my mom.

Introduction

It is interesting to note, at least to me, that I'm writing this introduction after all the chapters and most of my concluding thoughts have been written. This book took me on a four-year (and still counting) journey I never expected. There were numerous times when I wanted to quit, and there were moments I took an overextended break, only to realize that God was not going to let me off that easy. I could not escape the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit, relentlessly encouraging me to keep going.

When I started, I had a basic idea of the content. I had chapters I wanted to write about, and it seemed simple, but God had other ideas in mind.

Basically, this book is a parallel comparison of the physical aspects of muscle growth and the spiritual growth of a Holy Spirit–led believer in Jesus Christ. It will provide the methods and similarities with respect to building the physical body and building the spiritual body that is born again.

The similarities came from years of observation as a weight lifter and born-again believer. The purpose is to gain insight of what the Creator of our physical and spiritual bodies requires of us and what it takes to grow.

There is one thing to keep in mind as you embark on this epic journey. The content of this book is directed to those who are new to bodybuilding and the Christian faith. It covers the basics—the building blocks for muscle growth and spiritual maturity.

There is so much content written about each of these aspects of growth. It would be quite demanding to definitively cover everything you need to know.

With that said, I believe and pray that there is enough information to facilitate muscular and spiritual growth if you apply and commit to the content of this book.

Chapter 1

Motivation

Motivation is an interesting word with regard to behavior. There have been a multitude of books written regarding the subject and motivational speakers that get paid well to encourage and convince their hearers to change a portion of their lives for a specific gain. Let's take a look at a brief definition and see how this fits into being kingdom fit.

Motivation is a theoretical construct used to explain behavior. It represents the reasons for people's actions, desires, and needs. Motivation can also be defined as one's direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior and vice versa. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior. (basicknowledge101.com)

Simply stated, motivation is the reason we do what we do. Why do we go to work every day? In the most basic sense, we need to provide for food, clothing, and shelter for ourselves and for our families. It provides the necessities to sustain life.

Motivation to exercise comes from many areas of our lives. There are a multitude of factors that would direct our focus toward fitness when it isn't a natural or desired activity for a majority of people. For example, our children, grandchildren can motivate us to reexamine our lifestyle. We want to see them grow up. We want to be active with them, not just on the sidelines. Or you may get a diagnosis from your doctor that states if you don't control your eating habits and start exercising, you will have a heart attack and die. Avoiding death can be a very strong motivator. It seems like if the situation is not extreme enough, getting someone to change their standard behavior can be almost impossible.

You know what motivates a lot of people to work out? Seeing the success of other's accomplishments, which in turn gives us hope that we can have the same results. Every infomercial on television is based on success stories of their product and that success is available to you.

Here's another motivating force—money. If you knew there was buried treasure in your backyard, how motivated would you be to find it? Hello, Home Depot, how much does it cost to rent a backhoe?

Money is a tremendous motivating force in the world, as it has been for thousands of years. In a physical sense, you would think that reducing costs related to medical conditions that are completely avoidable would motivate more people to eat better and exercise regularly. But judging by the obesity rate in our country, that is not enough of a motivating factor to induce change in our lifestyles.

Reaching short-term goals can be a strong motivating factor. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, which in turn keeps us motivated to continue when we can actually see results. It's quite frustrating to put in so much time, effort, pain, sacrifice, and money and have nothing to show for it. We are a results-based society. For me, I like to see something tangible at the end of my effort, whatever it may be.

Good intentions will not produce any long-term accomplishments. So then, what's going to motivate you to want to work out? Why would you even start? Besides the obvious reason of death as stated above, what benefits are there for us really? With regard to the physical advantages of regular exercise, here is a brief listing of some good reasons to start.

Exercise controls weight.

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss.

Exercise combats health conditions and diseases.

Being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. These two things keep your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Exercise improves mood.

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. It is a great natural antidepressant.

Exercise boosts energy.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently.

Exercise promotes better sleep.

Regular physical exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep, as long as you don't exercise too close to bedtime.

These are just a few of the benefits. There are many more. With so many benefits, why isn't everyone engaged in some form of exercise?

So let's take a look at some spiritual aspects related to motivation and exercising.

In Philippians 3:13–14, the apostle Paul wrote:

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul uses the words reaching forward and press toward to describe his motivation for continuing to follow wholeheartedly, with reckless abandon, the calling that Christ put on his life. He knows that there is a prize awaiting him when he dies that far exceeds any hardship or temporary struggle in this life. It goes way beyond any monetary, social, or physical benefit this world has to offer.

We have all seen a group of runners in the Olympics, going toward the finish line and reaching, straining, and striving forward in order to gain a slight advantage over the others and win the race. That should be our attitude in our quest for a kingdom-fit body and spirit. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we advancing in life spiritually or physically?

In the physical sense, when we're striving for something, we are "devoting serious effort or energy" (Merriam-Webster's) to attain a goal. Therefore, you have to define what your goal is. Ask yourself the question, what do I really want to accomplish? Lose weight? Gain muscle? Tone certain parts of your body? Do you want to look like a certain person in a magazine? Fit into the nice clothes you spent a lot of money on but now don't fit? Or simply just to feel better about yourself? The clearer the goal, the better we can strive toward it and accomplish it.

Let me mention one important factor before we get into how to set a proper goal for yourself. The secret to attaining anything worthwhile is simply making whatever you want to do a part of your life and not just a means to an end. Physical exercise is something that should be a part of your everyday activities, like eating, sleeping, working, and playing. Its saying to yourself, "I have to go work out today." There is a mindset change that needs to happen. Our natural tendencies is to avoid anything that brings us discomfort, and let's face it, working out is supposed to be uncomfortable—otherwise, you're not doing something right.

In the spiritual sense, it goes a lot deeper. When a person is born again, Jesus Christ becomes everything. Jesus is not just a means to an end. He is the beginning, middle, and end of all that we are or will become. He becomes our life and our sufficiency.

Let's explore what should motivate us as believers to engage in physical activities besides the obvious ones we just listed above.

The Bible says there is profit in it.

In 1 Timothy 4:8, the Bible states:

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

The apostle Paul only acknowledges the fact that there is little profit in bodily exercise because he wants to emphasize that in light of the eternal soul and spirit, for those who are born again, the body, which is temporary and decaying, is of much less importance than the profit which is attained by pursuing godliness. With that said, the apostle Paul uses this analogy to emphasize that bodily exercise has some value.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

First Corinthians 6:19–20 states:

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

The temple, in the time of Christ, represented the dwelling place of God. As Christ said when He overturned the tables of the money changers:

My house shall be called the house of prayer. (Matthew 21:13)

The temple was where God dwelled, so to speak. We all should know He is omnipresent and not confined to any one location. Yet this is how the Lord chose to hang out with His people. It is the intimate and personal way God chose