LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK

I found and took a photo of a picture at a thrift store today, “LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK” which, along with pictures of my grandson, became my graphic design for this blog.

It seemed appropriate to the subject.

GODLINESS TRAINING ~ 1 Timothy 4:7-16

 ….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. 

The world is obsessed with bodily training, just like it must have been in Paul’s days when the Colosseum was a lively and oft-times brutal place where strength determined victory. Today we have CrossFit, power-lifting, muscle-training, marathons, triathlons, and on and on. In our town families are stuck at home and churches close their doors because of the inability to get in or out driveways due to tens of thousands of participants in the annual marathon. I don’t, actually quite sadly, participate in any of those things. I say ‘sadly’ because I know that training the body is not only a good thing but can be a righteous pursuit too. My body is the ‘Temple of the Holy Spirit’ after all, and God deserves a fit temple, don’t ya think?

But here’s the thing – if godliness training is not moving the meter of my life, then all the bodily training in the world will not benefit me in the long run.  My view of life does not dictate a here-and-now existence. My life will continue beyond the grave, and I long for and look forward to my God welcoming me home with “well done, good and faithful servant.” So, this begs the question – what is godliness training? I got a very succinct answer as I kept reading. . .

Set an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have….

Conduct – does my behavior reflect the character of God
Love – do I love as Jesus loves – God, myself, others?
Faith – is my faith hidden under a basket, or does it help light dark paths?
Purity – my actions AND my thoughts, are they pure? What is my motivation?
Scripture – lots of books to read! How much do I let God’s revelations in?
Exhortation – when I open my mouth, am I an encouragement to others?
Teaching – how good of a coach am I in teachable moments?
Gifting – do I use God’s gifts so that they flow naturally out of me?

Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

PRACTICE, IMMERSE, PERSIST! Then, just like weight training develops specific muscles, I will develop character muscles. Others will see my progress and as I persist in my pursuit of godliness training I, and others, will reap the benefits now and for all eternity. It’s a pretty good reason to pursue soul/spirit training.

I injured my foot recently. It is healing and I will get back to bodily training because I know it is good for me. I will also let my life speak as I pursue, practice, immerse and persist in godliness training. I do like the idea of temporal and eternal rewards!

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:25

Onward and Upward!

suemccarysargis / 6/22/2019

SEVEN NECESSARY INGREDIENTS IN MY SPIRITUAL PANTRY –

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Seven ingredients - I guess the world would hash-tag these ‘virtues’ and certainly they are, but more than this, they are the most basic ingredients for successful living, for clarity and for our own personal safety!

Through these God gives us His great and precious promises, and through these we actually participate in His divine nature! Possessing these, in increasing measure, guarantees we will be effective and productive in our knowledge of Jesus.

Without them we are unproductive, ineffective, nearsighted, blind and we will easily fall into Satan’s traps of accusation and condemnation, shame and blame.

Possessing these things keeps us from stumbling along life’s pathways, and one day when we stand before our righteous and Holy God we will receive a rich welcome into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Well, that's intriguing enough to want to know WHAT these things are! Here goes…

Begin with FAITH, and
ADD GOODNESS. To this

ADD KNOWLEDGE. To this

ADD SELF-CONTROL. To this

ADD PERSEVERANCE. To this

ADD GODLINESS. To this

ADD MUTUAL AFFECTION. To this

ADD LOVE

Then, keep on adding these in increasing measure. 

If my recipe for life includes these but it is limited, like a recipe for a one-layer cake, then I will quickly be exhausted, and many people God places in my life will not taste His goodness through me because my spiritual pantry will simply be depleted.

My mom made me a 7-tier wedding cake!! It was enough to feed 500 guests with cake left over. When my faith is perpetually growing through God’s own character, His banqueting table  is never depleted, and I and those He brings into my life get to taste and see that He, indeed, is good. (Psalm 34:8)

Abundant life begins with faith, is upheld through love and is sustained by everything in between. Every ingredient must be on hand in my spiritual pantry, so that I get to continually partake of and dish out God’s divine nature. It is how, we are told, we escape the corruptions of this world bent on starving us of God’s goodness, grace, mercy and love. It is through these things that we get to help others escape too.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (vs 3)

Well, I better go check my pantry!
In His Love, 
suemccarysargis 6/10/2019

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:1-2
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