“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8 NLT)
Paul compares physical and spiritual training. The latter being much more beneficial.
But lets take the concept of physical training for a moment to show us how we can be in spiritual training:
– training is best done by routine – it is best to workout for a certain amount of time and for a certain frequency … choose your time and length of time you are going to spend each day in prayer and in the bible
– workout where the gear is – at the gym, at home around your gear, out if you are running … Find your place, where are you going to pray each day? What works for you?
– a good workout should leave you with the memory of it for a day or 2 after. Sometimes a painful stretch but always a rewarding experience. Let the Word go in and shape you, let God take a hold of you in prayer. Make prayer work to build stretch and change you. Take something out of your devotions that carries with you for the day.
– workouts work by repetitions and resistence. You grow spiritually by doing it over and over again and as you go increase the weight. The process of coming to God regularly, going to Church every week, over and over in good seasons and bad, repeating, growing, building is life changing. As you go take others with you, serve, lead, study deeper, increase the weight to stretch the growth. Fight for the Truth when other thinggs come to distract, or dillute – Christ always and only central pursuit. Reaffirming truths of grace, love, forgiveness, hope, power and a prosperous future.
Time, place, routine, encounter, responsibility – spiritual training!
See you in Church.
Great thoughts Steve. Exercise is time set aside. There is order and pace. Variety and sweat ultimately you feel great. Prayer and faith. Standing on the word by faith is the same. Love it