God has promised Abram great things including great numbers of descendants. Abram sets for the first mention of the tithe with Melchedidek and Abram and Sarai jumped ahead of God and instead of standing on faith chose to move ahead of God.
This week we look at Abraham from his call from the call of God to the separation of Abraham and Lot. God may call us and not give us a clear destination, but when we are called He gives us promises. Step ut on faith and hold on to the promise. The journey may be more impactful than the destination.
God chose Noah for a ministry, just as he has chosen you. Noah’s life and witness illustrate the importance of maintaining a consistent witness in the face of abounding scorn and ridicule, and never giving up even though one’s message seems to be falling on deaf ears.
God found favor in Noah in wicked times. He can also find favor in us during these wicked times. This week we look at the story of Noah’s life and faith up to the flood. We discover if God has put a calling in our hearts, He has already factored in our weaknesses.
Studying Adam and Eve’s children, Cain and Abel can allow us to learn from the literal first family. Let’s try to let God be God. “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Christ took care of the first family and He still takes care of us.
Learn about Adam and Eve and what we can learn about God, Satan, and ourselves. Studying the creation and fall of these first humans can teach us how to fight Satan and gives us insight into Satan’s tactics. These two also show us the love of our Lord God.
We talk about the importance of learning about Bible characters as an adult and how we can strengthen our spiritual armor by learning about these people. Bible stories can grow your faith and understanding of God.
Tonight we have exercise class at church. I really love the fellowship and fun with my church family, but my body absolutely dreads it.
I realize how important exercise is for my heart and my muscles. I know how necessary exercise is for effective body function. I know how crucial it is, and still…
I don’t like pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I don’t like stretching beyond my limits. I don’t like being uncomfortable.
My battle for physical fitness wages on.
But I wonder how often you and I consider our spiritual fitness?
But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. – 1 Timothy 4:7-8
Paul urges Timothy to exercise himself towards godliness because godliness is valuable for all areas of life, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. Godliness strengthens us, not only for this life, but for eternity.
While there are many similarities between physical and spiritual fitness, physical fitness only leads to a physical outward transformation. But spiritual fitness leads to a divine inward transformation which also shines through in our outward speech, attitude, and behavior.
Every person has the exact same number of muscles. However, some have exercised to develop, stretch, and enhance those muscles. Romans 12:3 tells us that God has given every believer a measure of faith. Like our muscles, we are able to exercise, develop, and stretch our God-given gift of faith. Even the smallest amount of faith is much in the hands of God!
Imagine God’s gym. God’s desire is to train us, strengthen us, and grow us to become more like Jesus. God uses everything in life, every circumstance and every relationship, as the gym equipment to make us fit.
Our fitness trainer is the Holy Spirit. He knows us inside out – our strengths, our weaknesses, and our potential. He knows exactly how much weight we are able to lift and carry. He knows exactly how much potential we have to endure. He knows exactly how much strength we need right now in order to face the trials ahead of us. He motivates us when we are lazy. He encourages us when we are weary.
Our fitness plan includes resistance training. God places us in uncomfortable circumstances that shift us out of our comfort zone in order to purge us of pride, arrogance, and self-reliance.
He also offers strength training, strategically weighing us with burdens that force us to stretch our faith and seek Him in confidence.
God puts us through endurance training – encouraging us to run our individual race at our own pace. We need endurance to keep standing and pressing forward in faith when times are hard.
With diligence, effort, and consistency, in His time, we are being transformed. With physical exercise, our desire is to look like a better us. With spiritual exercise, our desire is to become more like Him. As we press forward, we gradually shed more and more of ourselves, while we gain more and more of Him.
Godliness does not come easily. It isn’t always comfortable. The path doesn’t always lead to instant gratification. It stretches us in areas we never expected. However, the reward for sacrificing everything for Jesus brings eternal joy and far outweighs the fleeting happiness of anything else this world offers.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:29-31
A believer’s greatest privilege is to present our bodies and our lives to God to be used by Him. The key to victory is to simply surrender all that we are and all that we are not to God.
I despise exercise, but I love the Lord. So each day, I choose to surrender all my ‘can’ts’ and ‘won’ts’ to Him. In exchange, He lovingly equips me with new mercy, unlimited power, and increasing strength to remain in His will.
Our battle for spiritual fitness wages on.
In what circumstance is God exercising your faith? How can we pray for you as you passionately pursue godliness?
When Paul left Timothy as a pastor in the Ephesian church, the young man was forced to deal with some hard issues that had cropped up among the people of God. And even though Paul was planning on visiting soon, his heart was so heavy for the people of this church that he wrote everything down and sent it to Timothy as a letter.
A part of Paul’s concern was how these Christians were conducting themselves as the church. Christian character and conduct mattered to Paul. But have you ever wondered why it is so important? Is it really that big of a deal to follow a bunch of rules?
Whether we follow Jesus or the world, we are held to rules and a standard of living. Murder, stealing, lying, cheating, and abuse of various kinds are universally unacceptable. But for the world they are unacceptable because they cause chaos, disrupting the peaceful life that people long for. Much of the world’s reasoning is driven by self-love instead of God-love.
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
As Christians we have a code of conduct that we are called to – not because of what we can get out of it – but because of who God is, and who we are as His people.
When God commands us to not steal but share generously, this is because He is a God of generosity who never takes what isn’t His. When God calls us to love sacrificially or forgive completely, it is because this is what He does.
What God does stems from His very nature. And when God calls us to holy living, it is not only because He is holy, but because we are now His holy people, cleansed and declared to be righteous in God’s sight through the work of His Son, Jesus.
Once we were people who were driven by self. Now we have been saved to be a people driven by love for God and others. The call to right living according to God’s standards is a call to godliness. Godliness is like God-like-ness. We are called to reflect the God who saved us, provides for us, hears us, loves us, and changes us.
Ultimately, true godliness is seen in Jesus. He is the “mystery of godliness” because once He had been hidden, but now He took on flesh and is godliness personified, and His godliness is credited to us. This is what gives us good standing before our God. And this standing gives us the freedom to obey our Lord.
As Christians and as the Church we are to conduct ourselves in a manner that shows our changed heart, our gratitude for our salvation, and our love for the One who died for us.
Daniel and I have been married ten years now, but I still remember all the excitement and anxiousness that lead up to the wedding. We were getting close to the day and had completed the marriage counseling program. We were pretty sure we were ready to take on the world. I mean, we had Jesus, each other, and the cutest little ring bearer(Jackson) that you ever did see. I’m sure we should have felt the weight of this monumental undertaking more than we did, but we were young, naive, and mostly too busy gleefully skipping our way to the altar hand-in-hand to notice that we were slightly distracted by the fanfare of it all.
As part of our final preparation before our wedding day, My Grandfather Arlis Banks was going to perform the wedding and wished to counsel us himself. What we originally looked at as a formal counseling requirement ended up being a life-changing model for our marriage.
From the second we entered their home, we could see and feel the love in this household. Immediately we could feel the warmth of their home that overflowed with so much love and life. We were welcomed to their table where we would hang on their every word over a warm pot of stew. The conversation was natural yet intentional, covering the full spectrum of hilarious marriage moments to their deepest trials. They shared how they grew in love and learned to respect each other’s unique roles and gifts; how they constantly ran to God and His Word together to find wisdom in managing everything from their money to their tempers. We listened to their sincere and humble prayers, their gentle instruction to their children, and their honoring words for one another. We heard how they forgave each other, we watched how they served each other, and we took note of all the ways they incorporated Jesus into every aspect of their lives.
And we walked out of that house different people, knowing that we had been led to God.
Time spent with this one church leader and his wife in their home revealed the real-deal gospel at work in their lives – something that they had become solidly known for over the years. It’s no wonder Paul takes great care to instruct Timothy that a church overseer must know how to manage his own home. “If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Timothy 3:5).
Leadership matters, because leadership models. Paul knows that there’s no way a church leader can effectively lead a congregation to God, to holy living, and to reaching the lost for Christ if he is not proven in leading with excellence in his very own home. God’s Word requires that church overseers are “above reproach” – not perfect – but solid in essential character traits that shine first in the most intimate, personal spaces. On the other hand, leaders who live in hypocrisy to the standards outlined in 1 Timothy 3 can quickly compromise the trust and spiritual growth of individual members, as well as the reputation and credibility of the church as a whole. Leadership matters in light of the gospel.
Would you pray and thank God for your church leaders today, and then commit to regularly praying for them as they seek to lead you to God? Let’s also commit to constantly growing in personal godliness, so that we too can impact lives around us by the way we use our God-given gifts and model real, consistent gospel-centered living.