Tag Archives: Training

Exercise?

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US_exercise_1All of us know that we should exercise. Or I guess, we all know that it’s good for us. It’s good and healthy for us to be active and find some sort of exercise routine.

It’s good for our health, our life, our stress, well, in short everything.

And it’s so hard to start, huh? I took a few weeks off from the Y when I was sick and I’m still not back to my routine. It’s really difficult to do this sometimes, even when we know how good it is for us.

Listen to what Paul says today in 1 Timothy 4:7-8:

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.

He says that bodily training, or exercise, is good in some ways, Godliness is of value in every way. So, train yourself in that.

We worry about our bodies, our look, our appearance, everything. We focus so much on our physical bodies in this life.

Do we focus as much on our soul? Do we exercise and train ourselves for Godliness? Do we feed our souls through worship, through reading, through prayer?

Do we exercise our faith by helping others? By giving witness to God’s glory and salvation? By serving each other?

And just like physical exercise it’s hard. We know we should. We know it’s good for us. We know that we should do it. But, we wait. We put it off. We say later.

Don’t wait today. Exercise your faith. Feed your soul. Live in what is good and true. Train for Godliness. And you will find benefits in every way.

So, just start. Today, read. Today, pray. Today, serve. Today, do these things. And you know what you’ll find? You may be a little scared at first. You may feel a little sore afterwards.

But you know what? You’ll feel alive. Your faith will feel alive. You’ll wonder what you’ve been missing.

Today, train for the race that God has in front of us. And exercise your faith. You will see the life there, immediately!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Training

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For some bizarre, odd reason, I enjoy jogging. I’m not sure why. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.

I tell folks it’s a great stress reducer, being out of the road, running. I also tell folks it’s a great time to pray. When I’m out running, I spend a good bit of time praying – mainly, “Please Lord, don’t let me die out here!”

But, for those of us that love to run, it’s tough to miss a day from training. We just don’t feel right. And I guess it’s like that for any task that we enjoy. For those that run, missing a day of training. For many of us, missing a day on Facebook, or texting, or watching your favorite show, or practices for your sport, or, whatever. . .

Listen to what Paul says today in 1 Timothy 4

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.

As important as my physical training is, training for godliness is more important. I hate to miss a day jogging. Do I hate to miss a day of prayer and study as well?

The thing that you hate missing, be it a type of training or just a fun activity, do you hate to miss a time of prayer, or of training for God, as much as you miss that?

The blessing we receive, in this life, and the life to come, is so much greater from the stuff of God, than it is from the stuff of this world – even the good stuff.

Let us not neglect what is most important. Let us not neglect training for what matters most. That’s the stuff God. That’s where true life and true rewards are found. Not in the stuff of this world. In the stuff of God.

May we keep our eyes, and our training, on what matters most.

Training

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Hello.  My name is Andy. (hello Andy). And I’ve got a problem.  I really enjoy running.  Now,while it is not a “problem” per sue, it can be a little crazy. I used to say the only way I’d run would be if Holly was chasing me.  Now, each morning before I leave for work, I try to jog at least 5K.  Yes.  That’s makes me a little off.

As I was reading one of the suggested texts today, I read something out of 1 Timothy that spoke about not just about jogging or training, but about something even more important:

Train yourself in godliness, 8 for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

As a jogger, I hate to miss a day. If I don’t jog, I feel sluggish and just don’t feel right.  Many of us today are starting different training routines – P90X or Couch to 5K, or whatever. These are all good, good things.

But, Paul reminds us today, that while these are good, there is something even better we should be doing.  We should be training out hearts and minds for Jesus Christ. We should be training ourselves in godliness. We should do doing things that strengthen our faith, and our ability to serve.

And, here’s where it can get tough. There are some days I don’t feel like jogging. But I go and make myself. And the feeling of accomplishment I get afterwards make the “making myself” worth it.

There are going to be days when we don’t feel like reading the Word. When we don’t feel like praying. When we don’t feel like serving.  When we just don’t want to.

And we have to, gasp!, make ourselves.  That’s ok. That’s part of training. That’s part of growing. That’s part of being transformed. CS Lewis once said the most powerful prayers we pray are the ones we pray when we don’t feel like praying.

Today, are we training for godliness?  Are we doing the things to help our faith grow? Are we being more faithful? Are we doing our part to allow God’s spirit to work on us?

We train daily for something much more important that a 5K. We train for the Kingdom. May we be faithful today!