1 Timothy 4:6-10
Be a good servant of Christ Jesus, by letting the Holy
Spirit teach and train you in the Scriptures, about how to apply, to live out
these teachings. That’s a Bob
summary of verse six, and if we choose that, then we will put into action these
doctrines and not be drawn into silly myths, such as seeing Jesus in a taco, or
repeating, as if it were the gospel, the storey about some little three year
old boy that died and went to heaven and now it’s on the best seller list. This is Paul’s counsel; “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way,
as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
So how does one train for anything? Jan and I have a gym membership and
this is what I have observed, that it is easy to fool yourself into believing
that going to the gym equates to training, and it can, but often it does
not. To make the gym into a
vehicle of training requires information on how to use what is in the gym, and then
a plan on accomplishing your goals.
Having a realistic plan, setting time lines, and charting to record your
successes is a must. If the goal
is weight loss, be realistic, a gym cannot remove weight without a change in
your consumption, your intake of calories in sugar, and in the total amount
consumed. In fact, for many it
requires a trainer, and yet a trainer cannot change a person who has not made a
commitment to follow the plan laid out for them.
When it comes to training yourself for godliness, it
requires many of the tools or methods that gave you success in the gym. Many fool themselves into believing
that church membership and regular attendance equates to godliness, much like
the gym membership, it only gets you into a place where you are exposed to some
of the tools that can be used for training. Often, way too often, Christians believe that being part of
a Bible study equates to godliness, and it can help, but it’s similar to the
person wanting to loose weight, but still consumes large amounts of food, and
goes to the gym four times a week, the results will be failure to meet the
desired goal.
So it is going to require more than being a faithful church attendee,
more than being part of a Bible study, it is like the gym, begin at the
beginning with a humble spirit before your Father, and let Him show you the
equipment that is needed to achieve godliness. It is important to understand that your goal is to have
fellowship with the Father. Many
require information without understanding, and knowledge without application,
but knowledge without application will bring about pride, not godliness. Like the trainer at the gym, a life
coach, or mentor can be used to encourage and enhance, but it still comes back
to seeking fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Father, and listening and obeying
the Holy Spirit.
These are some Scriptures that have become tools used in my pursuit
of godliness: “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs
1:7) The bottom line, my knowledge
began when I chose to submit to God’s authority. I also had to get over being stupid, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but one who hates
correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1) One of the pitfalls I often encountered was desire without
knowledge, “It is not good to have zeal without
knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” (Proverbs 19:2)
As one who desires godliness, you must remember the Spirit
is always battling your flesh, and flesh is defined as, the ways you have
learned to suck your needs out of others, it’s like being over weight and going
to the gym everyday with the same results, unless you deal with the issue of
eating too much. The life of
godliness is choosing to submit to the Spirit and reject the desires of the
flesh. It is a choice and it is in
not easy, but it will bring about peace in your heart in the middle of this
present darkness.
Form the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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