Day: August 12, 2016

“The Race”

Re Spiritual Discipline:

Handtools
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritence among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 24 Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives a prize? 25 Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as beating the air. 27 I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself be disqualified ESV
..27b so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified HCSB

sometimes “life is good” we may be tempted to forget our need for him.” But there are times in our lives when we are acutely aware of our need for God
C S Lewis A Grief Observed

9:27 a But I discipline my body and keep it under control…SPIRITUAL FITNESS comes about through the “Committing” to train, tone, and push through our limitations. Committing to do what it takes to be ready in All Seasons, and circumstance. Spiritual fitness is the willingness to cause a paradigm shift (Change direction), in the way we live and think.

First things first. Effective training and conditioning demands us to be completely stripped down, and purged of all excess weight. OKANA (Hawaiian) Baggage,”Stuff” We all have it. It might look like Unresolved Conflict with a loved one/acquaintance, Un-forgiveness- Bearing the cross of a past trespass, maybe having not forgiven yourself? It might look like Un-repented sin-The ghost of past mis-deed? Whatever it may be, its weighing us down, and caused us to be distanced from God *Caveat: We have been pardoned from all sins, Past,Present and Future (. ) tells us so. It is the consequences of the sin we must deal with.2 But your iniquities have made separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so He does not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

9:24 Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize..

REMEMBER THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT-“The reason you Signed Up”

9:26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. *Hitting the punching bag was not enough, Rocky went into the slaughterhouse to hammer at slabs of refrigerated meat. He identified his pain thresholds, pushed through them-He tasted victory.

We get so wrapped up in “doing life” that we actually drift away from God, and it becomes obvious when we notice ourselves in unfamiliar territory, or, Maybe a Familiar place we were once at? *SUBMARINES Primary function: Carry out missions deep beneath the surface of the ocean, often for extended periods of time, and do so with pin-point accuracy. 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:1-2)

Finally, APPEARANCES DO MATTER

We are lights unto Him (Job 22:28), reflections of His greatness. We are under constant scrutiny of the world, A world ready to pounce on the moment we slip up. Waiting for that perfect opportunity to crucify us (Genesis 4:7)-Case and point, The present presidential campaign. The world forms theirs opinions by the way we conduct and present ourselves. How we conduct ourselves speaks volumes about the level of our spiritual maturity and to the character of God: Therefore, let us too, with such a crowd of witnesses about us, throw off every impediment and the entanglement of sin, and run with determination the race for which we entered (Romans12:1)