Grease the Groove: Spiritual Strength Training for Extreme Times (Ep 364)

Extreme times demand spiritual strength training. Discover how elite athletes "grease the groove"—training their central nervous system through frequent sub-maximal exercises—and how this same principle can be applied to training your spirit. Brian Del Turco reveals how micro spiritual workouts build resilient, responsive faith.Learn the power of prayer bursts throughout your day, why gratitude becomes magnetic when practiced consistently, and how small acts of obedience compound into kingdom impact. This isn't about exhausting yourself—it's about training your spirit through short, frequent practices that optimize spiritual efficiency and maximize power.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/364👉 Support the podcast (use the Smart Edit BMAC page): buymeacoffee.com/SmartEdit👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Sign up at JesusSmart.com/smartedit.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Grease the Groove: Training Your Spirit for Extreme TimesI don't think anybody is going to disagree with me that we live in extreme times right now. Do you sense that? I think most people sense that. Extreme times that demand real strength and impact.The same principle that elite athletes use to build efficient power—we can really learn something about how we can train our spirit to meet this hour. Welcome to Jesus Smart X, the podcast. I'm Brian Del Turco. Thanks for connecting with me today.I think you're going to enjoy this and be inspired by it, and I think it's something that's timely for us. Before we dive in, don't miss the Smart Edit newsletter. I'd really love to have you on the list—elevate your faith, how to live smart, making an impact in our personal world. We're all questing on these edges. It's free, it's weekly, five minutes to grow. You can simply subscribe at jesussmart.com/smartedit.If you missed our last episode with Terry Hoggard on building a pathway to your preferred future, even as you relate in covenant relationship with God, go back and catch that powerful set of ideas and content.Jesus Dynamics: Psalm 110 and the Reigning KingBefore we get into this quick episode today, let's dive into today's Jesus Dynamic. I actually have a rather long article that's in the oven baking, and this Jesus Dynamic is taken from that article. It's unlike many things I've written. I think it's going to be unusual and unique. It's a lens through which we can view our experience with Christ in our times.Most Christians picture Jesus in heaven doing primarily one thing right now—interceding for us. We know the New Testament Scriptures tell us that, and we appreciate and value that. And we imagine Him patiently waiting for the day when the Father says, "Go get Your bride," and He takes up His role as a king on the earth during the millennium and then the new heavens and new earth to follow.What if this understanding is incomplete? I don't want to say it's fundamentally wrong, but incomplete.There is one Psalm that shatters comfortable categories—Psalm 110. It's the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, and the early church treated it as the Master Key that unlocked what happened for Jesus after the resurrection, meaning His ascension, His session in terms of His enthronement as king, and His current role.I'll read just the first verse of the seven verses in Psalm 110: "The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool."Now this isn't symbolic language. This is what we could call throne language, governmental language. Peter actually quotes this Psalm in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the newly born church. He quotes this Psalm to explain what just happened. He doesn't say that Jesus will sit there someday. He says that Jesus is sitting there now, and that's why everything has changed. He's ascended, He's been enthroned. He's waiting for all things to be put under His feet, and He has now poured out His Holy Spirit.Paul uses this language: "He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet"—alluding to Psalm 110 in 1 Corinthians 15.Now here's what's startling. Not only the most oft-quoted Psalm in the New Testament, but the most often quoted Old Testament passage, period. So this should speak to us. We should be paying attention to this.Psalm 110 describes a king who rules while His enemies still exist and are even actively resisting. You see, the Father says in Psalm 110, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies." That sounds, does it not, exactly like the world that we're living in? ...