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maxximumforce
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Name: Lonnie
Country: United States
State: Arkansas
Metro: Pine Bluff
Birthday: 8/1/1964
Gender: Male
Interests: My name is Lonnie Watson. I am an evangelist to youth and young adults, teacher, author, and motivational speaker. I am leader and founder of MaXXimum Force, a group of athletes (powerlifters and strongmen) who use their talents to communicate a gospel and motivational message. I spent 20 years in the US Army; 5 and a half years as a paratrooper and 5 years in the the Cavalry. I'm a 3 time AAU Military Powerlifting Champion. My lovely wife of 21 years, Lisa and my son Jonathan aka "Jay", are my partners in this endevor. Some of my favorite things are worshiping my Lord, Lifting heavy things, reading, spending time with family and of course eating a truck load of nutritious food! This is my personal page but, check out the MaXXimum Force website. Click the link is on this page. God Bless!
Expertise: Strength Training; Martial Arts; Making people bigger, faster, and stronger. Hooah stuff! All things military (Airborne and Cavalry are my favorites).
Occupation: Education/training
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
1/10/2006
 True
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| This is a message I preached at Revolution Student Ministries back in February 2009. Please listen carefully to it....enjoy!!!! | | |
| Wow! Its been so long....I forgot how to use Xanga. I'm in Afghanistan....have been since September. I got turned on to Facebook, then I didn't have a computer. Now I do. Hey people, sorry I didn't respond to your messages.....all 96 to 100 of them. My e-mail never alerted me to them. Well Paige, Audrey, Derek....and the rest. I'm on again. Lonnie | | |
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Well my friends, this may be my last chance to speak to you for a while as I begin my 21st year of military service Sunday morning. I have been retired for 6 years, and on Sunday I return to the job love.....soldiering. I have been laid off since June 5th and since that time my family has not wanted for a thing. Sure we could have gotten the car fixed or the land bush hogged. But all of our NEEDS, and some of our wants, were supplied by my good loving God. He has got us through this trial! He has ONCE AGAIN shown Himself faithful. Now we move into another area of faith and challenges.....Army life....and combat operations in Afghanistan. Unbelievably I am not afraid. The bad guys don't scare me. God is on my side! A little apprehensive that I can do a good enough job and scared I am a bit old for this?....sure. I ran a pretty fast mile this morning and didn't die afterward so that's cool. I squated 315 for a set of 8 yesterday. Now some of my powerlifer friends might say that's nothing, but anytime you squat for 8 reps, and I don't care if its light weight, YOU FEEL IT! Then I took 315 and did speed pulls with it.....which was kinda cool. But I digress. I am so excited and honored to be able to do this again. The war on terror is being won and we will soon have victory. God is recompensing me for all I have lost. My military career was a bit unsatisfying the first time. I suffered some awful disappointments. So what is reconpense? That's God paying you back for a loss, failure, or disappointment that has damaged your life. Its God restoring what the satan, and you yourself, did to your life. Right before July 4th weekend in 1998 I was in drill sergeant school and we were on a 5 mile run. I finished that run, I even carried the guidon (platoon flag) and called the cadence songs. But at the finish I started to feel really awful. I was hurting during the last part of the run and didn't know why. I collapsed unconcious......I had suffered a massive heat stroke! I was dying, my core body temp was 107.5! They rushed me to the hospital by ambulance and by a miracle of God I survived. I was almost discharged and did not get to be a drill sergeant because I was dropped from the course. Fast forward to 2008. Do you know that I was laid of one month short of 10 years to the day of my stroke? And got my new Army career one month to the day of that stroke. In July of one year I lose everything career wise, In June 10 years later I get it all back. Also in Sep of 1985 I washed out of RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program) due to extreme personal problems I was going through at the time. Now fast forward 23 years later, I will be at Fort Benning Georgia, getting a new lease on a new start in my military career in the same time period as when I lost my dream 23 years ago. It has always bothered me I never got to serve in the Ranger Regiment. Even though I',m not going to the Rangers, God has given me a job I can be proud of and it starts at the same base where I went to RIP. My point is this: some of my greatest disappointments have been suffered at Ft Benning, but God is sending me to that installation to get it ALL back. God told David in 1Samuel after he and his men's wives, children and posessions had been carried of, He said "Go, pursue, and recover all!" That's what I'm doing. God has blessed me with a second chance to work at a job that did not end with a bang the first time. Sure I served 20 years, I retired, I got a pension. But I had a lot of failure and disappointment in that career. Remember when you played games as a kid and you didn't like the outcome of a time at bat, a football play, or a game of dodge ball? You call for a "Do Over". Sometimes.....not always......we get a do over. And its marvelous when God does that. Perhaps you need a do over. Perhaps there is something you feel is not finished in your life. Perhaps there is a disappointment in your life and you want to try again. Ask God to show you His will, and ask Him if His will includes a do over. You never know, maybe He will show you a do over like you've never seen. It will be better than the first time you did it. Or perhaps He won't give a do over, but He will give you a "Do Instead". In other words, He will give you something better than the thing you lost. Something so awesome you don't even miss or feel the pain of the first loss or failure. God is the God of second chances. Call on Him today.....seek His power of restoration and recompense. Please watch the motivating video I have posted below....its awesome!!!! 
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| Lately God has used a book to show what one of the greatest problems in the church today is. The book is called Honor's Reward by John Bevere. John is in my facebook and myspace friends. So check him out if you have never seen him. This NOT a cheap plug for a guy's book, and he is NOT paying me to say all this. The book is awesome.
I believe John is a prolific reformer of the Charismatic Church today. If he were a pastor I would join his church! Not that I don't love my own, but if I had no church home and he started one across town, I'd be there.
His book Under Cover is required reading for all leaders at our church. When Honor's Reward came out our church bought them by the case and every life group aka homegroup is supposed to be studying them.
Honor is huge! Honor is so foundational to the Christian faith I don't believe you can be a successful believer without it. In fact I will make a bold statement: You show me a Christian who does not honor people to include parents, pastors, civil government, and social leaders, and I'll show you a phony. Any Christian who cannot be under authority is not saved....period.
When Jesus was approached by the Centurion who needed his servant healed he demonstrated a profound understanding of authority. He recognized that he was a man under authority as well as a man in authority. He understood how honor operated. See for yourself in Matthew chapter 8.
But in the church today people are losing sight of honor. We wonder why signs and wonders are not seen here in America. People explain it away as cessation doctrine. They say "God doesn't heal in America like he does in India because we have doctors and they don't. And God uses physicians to heal over here." A brother who was heavily educated in the Word told me that once.
They just say "well God did that durning the times of the apostles to establish His kingdom. He's not doing miracles today." To that I say HOGWASH! In foreign countries people recieve leaders as messengers of God. Here in America we take this attitude with God's leaders, "He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like I do." Well the differance is my friend, once his pants are on he is called by God.....are you?
I lived in Korea for over two years and I also pastored in a Korean church here in the states. I can tell you a Korean would never treat their leaders with the dishonor we demonstrate in the U.S. Then we wonder why our churches are either not full or like my own, are full but have a small nucleous that does all the serving. Its honor my friend....or the lack thereof.
I ran into a close friend the other day, and like I always do when I'm excited about something, I ask everyone I meet if they've heard about it. Its an annoying thing about me my friends just accept....but I digress. I asked him if he and the life group he is in are studying Honor's Reward? I'll never forget his answer.
He said "they are, I'm not." I was like "say what?" He says "I read the first chapter and I just can't get into it." I was puzzled. This is a guy who leads and people follow. This was a guy who talks and people listen. But he is also a guy who has told me on occasion he is frustrated with our church. He is a guy who disagrees with leader's decisions, and has told me so.
He didn't know it, but he was right then an object lesson FOR the book. He would not have been a better analogy if John Bevere had shot a DVD of this guy and put it in the back sleeve of the book.
I was stunned! A leader who was in open rebellion to the entire pastoral staff by not joining in with his group and getting on board with what God is doing in our church. Notice I didn't say "what our pastor is doing" but I said "What God is doing." That's right when you buck authority in the church, you are sinning against God.
Even if that leadership is dead wrong or just out of touch, you are wrong to take it upon yourself to disobey. Its not like he was being asked to participate in human sacrifices or something that was sin, he was being asked to study a book with his life group.....and he wouldn't do it. That's right! I said wouldn't.
If you go to Family Church, you know we use our large sanctuary for everything. Dinners, concerts, services, VBS.....everything. Well we have chairs that must be picked up and stacked after services when a special event is going to happen that day or the next. Pastor will say at the end of a service "I need everyone to stack all the chairs (about 500 of them) 5 high."
Do you realize that when you walk straight to your car without helping that is rebellion? You have just disobeyed your pastor. Now I understand some people have to leave.....things happen. You have an early moring and chaiir stacking takes a while. I understand that. But some people have nothing going on....except the desire to NOT stack chairs. Guess what? You dishonor your pastor when you do that. I have been guilty of this sin and had to repent I'm sorry to say.
And then there's civil and government leaders. Do you reallize when you forward that pic of Barak Obama in muslim attire with the funny caption that is dishonor? That man is a United States Senator and therefore is authority instituted by God.
Sure I love to listen to Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram too, after all I'm a republican. But lately God has been convicting me through this book about some of what I hear on conservative talk radio. Some of it is corrections based on the facts. Hannity points out Mr Obama's views on a certain issue because an election is coming....I get it. But sometimes conservative talk radio crosses the line into dishonor.
People honor or the lack thereof will make you or break you as a Christian. If you can't honor authority you are in for a looooonnnnngggg eternity in heaven, if you get there at all. Because let's face it, some people don't act in honor out of ignorance, but some don't act in honor because they are NOT saved in the first place.
If you call yourself a Biblical believer, you will plug yourself into a local church and be under its covering. I am friends with a couple who got offended at a church and have stopped going to church. They think their family meeting together is church....its not.
If you are a Christian and can't submit to a body of believers and let them speak into your life, you have a serious heart problem. Get the book, read the book.
I'm thinking of starting an Honor's Reward facebook group......if John doesn't object. After all it is his book and I honor that. John what do you think? | | |
| I walked into the gym today about 7:30 AM to do an upper body workout. That consists of chest, shoulders, triceps...the muscles involved in bench pressing and overhead pressing. Okay okay! This is not a strength article. So I get to the gym and weigh myself on the electronic scale they have because its really accurate. I woke up feeling like poop, which happens more frequently than I care to admit since I've been laid off from my job. I guess I let things get me. No matter how strong and full faith and dependant on God I am...I still let stuff (life stuff) get to me. So when I step on the scale I weigh 243 pounds. Good grief! I haven't been that light in over a year! What's happening? I go to the gym to do my annual birthday feat of strength and nearly tear my bicep. I don't make my goal, and now this! For some of you who don't know me, my weight is a hot bed issue for me. Why? because a powerlifter 6 feet 2 inches should weigh at least 250. Now follow me here, my weight is more than an ego or vanity thing. When my weight is way down 5-7 pounds or more off of what it should be, something is very wrong. I use this as an indicator of my emotional and physical health. Lonnie + Skinny = bad! Very bad. So I am going to share some of what's going on my life while sharing my resolution to put a stop to it. If fact I'm not even going into details, I'm just going to wage a little war right now.....will you indulge me for a few minutes? 1. No More Worrying About Finances
I am sick and tired of being nervous about every nickel I spend. Yes God wants us to be thrifty, but He doesn't want us condemning ourselves if we have a Cheeseburger at Burger King when it wasn't "absolutely necessary." He's not going to withhold blessings because I ate meal out while I'm unemployed. That's how bad it has gotten. In my zeal to be thrifty in this lean time, I have stressed myself out over what I spend and driven everyone in my family nuts. No more! I give my finances to God, He owns it all anyway. I believe when Jesus said in Matthew 6 don't worry and that God would feed and clothe us like the "grass and lilies of the field" He meant it. I am not going to worry about how Jay's car is getting fixed. I'm not going to worry about the septic system getting pumped. I'm going to do my part, and give the rest to God. I'm going to be a responsible proactive adult, but worrying isn't part of the equation....not any more! 2. No More Stressing About What People Think
I am not going to run around wondering if people think I'm a bum because I'm going on 3 months unemployed. I have, and continue to apply for jobs. People who know me well, know exactly what my plans are. I'll keep on keeping on. God has just the right job for me. I got time, there is absolutely no need to panic....and I have been. So for me the panic stops....today! 3. No More Letting Depression and Anxiety Eat My Lunch
That fits in any category of worry I haven't already mentioned. I wake up every day with "terrible feelings of foreboding" as Joyce Myer calls them. The feeling that things are "not okay". The feeling that something bad is going to happen, that I may not have enough, or that something is always wrong are from the enemy, read that....Satan. I don't have an appetite, so I don't discipline myself to eat. I don't have an appetite because the emotions have killed it. Then there's the days I don't feel like leaving the house. Its hot outside, the grass is high and I just can't get motivated to cut it. I feel exhausted mentally and emotionally....No more! I'm not taking it anymore. Its war! I can't live like this. That's the crux of my sickening weight loss...."body by depression and anxiety!" Enough! I choose joy! I choose joy unspeakable and full of glory like the Bible teaches. 4. No More Getting Freaked Out When Stuff Breaks or Runs Out.
This includes tools, vehicles, appliances, food in the cupboard....all of it! No more stressing about the gas tank and how full or empty it is. No more eating teeny portions because I don't want to spend a lot at the store. God provides for my needs....period! No more worry, my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. 5. No More Letting My Emotions Kill My Workouts
This overlaps with the paragraph on anxiety above, but bears repeating. No more letting my stress over my situation deplete my energy and strength to the point I don't train, or just train badly. My birthday feat debacle was due to stress. Stressing over stuff had my central nervous system (CNS) in shreds, and CNS is a main component to lifting successfully. If your CNS is fried you either don't lift heavy or you get injured....I almost did both. People I'm serious! I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I sick of being satan's soccer ball. ...I set before you life and death, blessing or cursing, therefore choose life... Deut 30:19 I choose life! How about you? | | |
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