Spiritual Exercise

I Cor.9

Jesus warned that not many will experience life the way God intended it to be: “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (7:13f) All of us are confronted with a gate and a road. The gate is our door to God’s kingdom. All who have become Christians have made it through that gate. But our journey isn’t complete when we have walked through that gate. The Christian has the task of walking the “narrow road” of the Christian life. Christ’s implication is that few will find the gate and even fewer will remain on the road.

Similarly, the apostle Paul believed that all Christians were running a race that has eternal prizes at stake. He feared that he might “be disqualified for the prize.” He knew that faithful service to Christ would result in receiving “a crown that will last forever.” It was his focused aim to run “in such a way as to get the prize.”

And what is that way? The only way to receive these rewards is by developing the self-discipline (“strict training”) that is demonstrated by athletes. Paul claimed that he would beat his body and make it his slave so that he wouldn’t be disqualified from the race. We can’t let tired, lazy, sick, aging, aching bodies control our actions. Our bodies must become slaves to our God-directed and God-empowered wills. Many Christians discipline other areas of their lives but not their spiritual lives. Author Donald Whitney has observed: "I’ve seen Christians who are faithful to the church of God, who frequently demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the things of God, and who dearly love the Word of God, trivialize their effectiveness for the kingdom of God through lack of discipline. Spiritually they are a mile wide and an inch deep. "

Is your spiritual life flabby and out of shape? Start slowly possibly ten minutes of Bible reading and five minutes of prayer each day.

Does your spiritual training need to go to the next level? You may need to increase your commitment to God’s word, start regularly reading Christian books, or set aside an extended block of time in your week to more seriously pray, meditate, seek God.

January 29: Next prayer/potluck. Any volunteers to host?

Remember: the choices we make have eternal consequences.