When I was a boy I was introduced to a little chorus that went something like this, "Practice makes perfect, practice makes perfect. I guess if I practice the better I'll be."
In this age of video, they communicate it a lot better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-RztsGDEw
This truth is not Christian per say, but a hard reality. For anything that we do in life, which we want to do with excellence, we must practice. In practicing we are training. Thus to be excellent, we must commit to training.
I hated that season as an athlete. I loved the game. I loved to run and move for the prize of winning the game, but I hated the practice because I could not see the goal. My coaches could. My body did.
I could not and did not because I wanted quick satisfaction. I fear I never became the athlete I could have been for my lack of drive to practice. I fear that I developed bad habits that God, failures and life have had to break. The truth here is simple, if we want to excel, we have to put in the time to train.
Do you realize this same principal applies spiritually as well. I offer you this text that gave me pause:
1 Tim 4:7b - 8 "Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 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.
Paul wrote to Timothy of the errors that would infiltrate the church. These were not errors per say in practice, but instead serious problematic teaching which would steer men away from Christ. Paul holds nothing back as he urges Timothy to prepare to confront such heresy. The interesting idea he presents is that Timothy should 'train' himself spiritually, likening it to an athletes training.
So how is that done? I propose to you that what we do to train spiritually is to put into smaller bites the aspects of the 'game' that we must utilize on game day. Think about it this way, what do you need proficiency in to be ready to confront the enemy.
1. Faith - As I study faith, I am becoming convinced that faith is meant to be an ever-growing resource used to seed the need of the moment. When we exercise faith, we ultimately reap a harvest of more faith. Just as more seed is needed for ever expanding opportunities to yield a greater crop, more faith is needed to see God do greater things through us. Thus everything we do to get faith's seed into the ground is only going to amount in us having the greatest store of faith in the time of crisis. We can then see the crisis, know that our faith is more than enough, and act. Thus we must train in faith, must train our faith and must utilize faith for greater success.
2. Recollection of the Word - David wrote that hiding the Word in his heart kept him from sin (Psalm 119:11). If we define sin as, 'My attempt to handle the circumstances of my life apart from God", we should see the need for us to know the teachings and stories of the Bible. They often contrast selfishness with selflessness. In selflessness we want God's direction and way for our lives. It would make sense that if we take in the victories of Scripture, we should mirror those victories in response. So when the time of trials come, our knowledge of the Word arms us with wisdom on how to act. Thus we must train by getting more knowledge, and by learning how those before us converted knowledge to wisdom and success.
3. Investment in worship - People are critical for training. While it's true that you can train alone, there is a reason for the 'corner man' the 'coach' or the 'trainer'. These people typically have experiences and can present a different view of your game day readiness. We do a serious disservice to the body of Christ by assuming that our relationship with God is personal and private. We need people, and people need us. The body of Christ is meant to be a team, working together toward the common goal of battering Hell's gates into dust. Thats a group effort, one you can not invest in or know unless you participate in 'team building'. Thus we must train around people, with people, because only with people can the church be triumphant.
Every athlete wants the trophy. Every Christian should want the prize. Be careful that you do not compartmentalize your life so much that you relegate your Christian walk to 'Jesus moments', failing to understand that every part of life is meant to be a 'Jesus moment.' To have Jesus in every moment requires a great deal of confidence, a confidence earned by training.
Don't get left behind...
Grace and peace.
So how is that done? I propose to you that what we do to train spiritually is to put into smaller bites the aspects of the 'game' that we must utilize on game day. Think about it this way, what do you need proficiency in to be ready to confront the enemy.
1. Faith - As I study faith, I am becoming convinced that faith is meant to be an ever-growing resource used to seed the need of the moment. When we exercise faith, we ultimately reap a harvest of more faith. Just as more seed is needed for ever expanding opportunities to yield a greater crop, more faith is needed to see God do greater things through us. Thus everything we do to get faith's seed into the ground is only going to amount in us having the greatest store of faith in the time of crisis. We can then see the crisis, know that our faith is more than enough, and act. Thus we must train in faith, must train our faith and must utilize faith for greater success.
2. Recollection of the Word - David wrote that hiding the Word in his heart kept him from sin (Psalm 119:11). If we define sin as, 'My attempt to handle the circumstances of my life apart from God", we should see the need for us to know the teachings and stories of the Bible. They often contrast selfishness with selflessness. In selflessness we want God's direction and way for our lives. It would make sense that if we take in the victories of Scripture, we should mirror those victories in response. So when the time of trials come, our knowledge of the Word arms us with wisdom on how to act. Thus we must train by getting more knowledge, and by learning how those before us converted knowledge to wisdom and success.
3. Investment in worship - People are critical for training. While it's true that you can train alone, there is a reason for the 'corner man' the 'coach' or the 'trainer'. These people typically have experiences and can present a different view of your game day readiness. We do a serious disservice to the body of Christ by assuming that our relationship with God is personal and private. We need people, and people need us. The body of Christ is meant to be a team, working together toward the common goal of battering Hell's gates into dust. Thats a group effort, one you can not invest in or know unless you participate in 'team building'. Thus we must train around people, with people, because only with people can the church be triumphant.
Every athlete wants the trophy. Every Christian should want the prize. Be careful that you do not compartmentalize your life so much that you relegate your Christian walk to 'Jesus moments', failing to understand that every part of life is meant to be a 'Jesus moment.' To have Jesus in every moment requires a great deal of confidence, a confidence earned by training.
Don't get left behind...
Grace and peace.
Very inciteful. I am afraid that the lack of training in believers lives is what helps many of today's Christian's become the team's bench warmers.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could see the effects of listlessness before the consequences came. Truthfully though, if we just looked at others stories, and not accepted lack of training as the norm, we might just be able to break out.
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