1 Timothy 4:6-8
If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Physical training is taking on importance these days, some people care about food nutrition, and some people care about physical exercises. We try our best to care and protect our bodies, but no matter how much we care, it's inevitable that the bodies will age. So they say the body is just an old skin, and it will expire one day. It is not my intent to suggest not caring for the physical health, rather it is to know there is a limit to caring for the body, as at the end our bodies will perish. Thus Paul said in verse 8, "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things." What is godliness? That is to make us more like God; training for godliness is all the things that can help us more like God. What type of training can make us more like God?
First, read the word of God every day. The bible tells us that word of God is a lamp for the feet, a light on the path; our spiritual life is impossible to grow if we do not value the word of God. How is your bible reading? Even if you are very busy, you should still at least spend some time listening to the Devotion Hotline, read some devotion articles, such that the life is often in union with the Lord.
Second, you need to spend time in prayer. Some say prayer is the spiritual breathing; can you spend an entire day without breathing? You will not make it beyond two to three minutes! Likewise for spiritual life, it requires breathing more than once, it must always breathe. Do you often pray to God? Many Christians neither do devotion nor pray, and I worry their spiritual lives may have already died from starvation or suffocation without their knowing! We need to train these things, just like we train our own bodies.
Then Paul also says this training holds promise for both the present life and the life to come. The promise for the present life is to make our life more abundant, because having the likeness of Jesus, God's joy and peace will fill us; the promise for the life to come will enable us to enter the kingdom of God richly, receiving God's reward. Lastly, godliness needs training, it won't happen naturally. We need to spend time and pay the price for the training; the spiritual life can then grow and mature, meeting the likeness of God. Are you willing?
Pray with Pastor Tong
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