I have been on a health/exercise kick for the last 8 months. Well, I was on a health/exercise kick through the spring and then took a week ...I mean a month...I mean a season off this summer. I didn't fall off the wagon completely. I guess you could say I "dabbled." I hit the gym every once in a while but I wasn't training like I had been. I had made so much progress during the spring but as I stopped training I just plateaued. And I certainly didn't feel too healthy.
I am back into a good exercise schedule now and I feel so much better. But I realize that it requires discipline and a plan. I know that I can be healthier by training myself to be healthy. I think I see some parallels with my spiritual life.
Paul encourages his young friend, Timothy in the Bible by saying, "Train yourself to be godly" (1 Timothy 4:7). That's good advice. I cannot just be "godly" just like I cannot just be "healthy." I have to train. There have been times in my life when I have just "dabbled" in spiritual exercise. I don't seem to make much progress in my behavior when I have dabbled. I am not really more loving. I can be very selfish and prideful when I don't train to be godly. But when I have a plan for spiritual development I seem to make more progress. I am nicer to my kids. I treat Brandie like she deserves to be treated. I am more loving, more forgiving, more grace-giving. I find myself putting others first more often. But none of those behaviors happens unless I am training myself to be godly.
Daily spiritual exercise - prayer, a Scripture diet - are critical to becoming godly. What's your training plan? What exercises would you share with me that help you be more like Jesus?
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