For about four days now, I've been thinking about this post. It's been a while you know ... and I feel bad about that. It isn't that I haven't had anything to write about. Odd little things come to my mind quite often and I think, "Oh, this would make a neat post." I even wrote some of them down so I wouldn't forget.
So I was mulling everything over Wednesday afternoon while I was exercising ... and it seemed like a thousand thoughts were racing through my mind at one time. Would it be something about the Christmas napkins we used on Easter weekend, or the loyalty of family pets, or that certain scripture I read the other day, or ....
It was my first day back to the gym after nearly a week away from my daily exercise routine. I kept eyeing the clock, waiting for my time to be up. See, I'd been sick with a stomach virus the week before and felt pretty week for several days.
I was about to fall out of the habit. I should have started back the day before, but I excused myself one more time. Today was different. I knew if I didn't make myself come to the gym today, I might never go back .... and I had way too much time invested in this to stop now. So today I pushed myself to go ... "That's it!" I thought.
That's what I would post about. No, not exercise.... well yes, maybe in a way .... I'm talking about self-discipline .. a.k.a self-control. Although we don't talk about it very often, this trait is mentioned several times in the scriptures and involves almost every part of our spiritual lives.
Self-control is a vital trait for a Christian to develop; and I need a lot of work in this area. It's the last characteristic mentioned in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If God's Spirit lives within us we will show this in our lives.
Think about this favorite fruit of God's ... this fruit is manifested through "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness", AND"self-control." It is easy to love the lovable, but it takes self-control to love our enemies as Christ commands. It is easy to be 'happy' when things are going our way, yet it takes self-control to dig in deep and find joy when we're suddenly unemployed, going through a serious illness, or have lost a loved one.
Does it take self-control to find peace when life's storms are raging all around you or to be patient when a child is rebelling? I could go through the whole list; but we get the idea. We need self-control to live as Christ would have us to live... to be who He wants us to be.
Proverbs 25: 27-28 says "It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." Ponder that for a moment ... over-indulgence (eating too much honey) is not good for us in any way whatsoever. Being prideful and seeking glory for our deeds actually distracts from whatever good we've tried to do. God should always get the glory!!
How apt is the description of the man without self control? I love the picture this illustration puts into my mind. He has been broken into and is now open to all kinds of temptation. There are no walls to protect him from being led away into darkness.
It took a good dose of self-control to get me back into that gym the other day. About a year ago when I first started working out, I was told I would reach the point where I would want to go work-out. My son said I would eventually look forward to it ... crave it, even.
That has not been the case for me. I do not long for exercise time. I have never once craved it. :) I pretty much have to push myself to go in that gym every time I go and some days it is much more difficult than others. What I do long for is the end result. I want to be more physically fit. I like the idea of having more strength and stamina to do the things I want to do. (And losing some of this weight won't hurt either).
Some spiritual "exercises" are much less difficult than physical exercises are. We might find it easy not to steal or make fun of someone. Praying and attending worship on Sunday morning may come naturally for some. A strong faith in God's care may be part of who we are. Yet we may still have trouble refraining from gossip, or controlling our temper, or even remembering to study God's word on a regular basis. It takes diligence and self-control to run the Christian race.
Paul sometimes compared the physical to the spiritual and with the Spirit's help - he says it much better than I do.
In I Corinthians 9:24-26 he says, "Do you not know, that in a race all the runner's run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."
Physical exercise does have its benefits... benefits worth attaining. The healthier we are, the more able we are to do God's work. But we will not always have this body. It is perishable. Yet, the prize we will receive for our spiritual exercise is eternal. It is imperishable. If we run our race well, we will obtain it.
Go back and read those verses from I Corinthians again. Paul says all athletes exercise self-control and all the runners run the race, but only one of them wins the prize. I'm sure you caught that. The good news for us is that everyone who chooses to run the Christian race will win the prize... not just one of us ... not just a few of us ... all of us who run a faithful Christian race will win the prize of eternal life. My friends, that is a race worth running!
So run that you may obtain the prize....
"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7)
Christ above all things,
Robin Whitley
Never underestimate a 2 or 3 year old! Don't take for granted the power they can have to impact your life in a mighty way! After teaching this age group for a number of years now, I've learned not to be surprised by anything they say. And I've realized they teach me so much more than I could ever begin to teach them.
A few weeks ago in Bible class we studied Daniel in the Lion's Den. We talked about how those who were jealous of Daniel tricked the king into making a law that no one could pray to any god or ask a petition of anyone except the king for 30 days. I hoped to emphasize Daniel's courage and faithfulness even in a dangerous time. I also hoped to instill in those little hearts that God is always with us when we follow Him.
But I go through a certain routine during class. We usually sing some introductory songs including several songs about the Bible. I often say "Bible words are God's words" - trying my best to stress the importance of Truth. Another thing I do is teach the verse Genesis 1:1. Using a hand made flip chart, I stress this scripture as the "very first words of the Bible." This is all done before we move on to our Bible story for the week.
Young minds are like little sponges and they soak up everything. Yet, sometimes I forget. I knew they were making progress with the memory verse, but I hadn't thought about how engrossed they'd become with the routine. Well, I got a sharp reminder that night.
After our story about Daniel and doing our handwork to take home -- one little girl held up her take home sheets and said "Let's do the beginning." Thinking she wanted me to review the story (because after all, she was holding up the picture of Daniel praying), I spent a couple of minutes talking about Daniel and how God saved him from the lions. When I finished, she looked at me sweetly, and in a very grown up tone of voice said, "Uh-huh, OK now, let's do the beginning. It was only then I realized she was playing teacher. Her take home sheets had become a flip chart and she wanted us to recite Genesis 1:1 with her. "In the beginning -- God created -- the heavens and the earth -- Genesis 1:1." So that is just what we did!
Naturally I was amused, but I was also reminded of how closely our little ones watch us and how important it is for us to teach only the absolute truth. We will be held accountable for what we teach. What a sobering thought!!
I was also reminded just how important "the beginning" is. As Christians, we need to remember this often for it is the very first tenet of our faith. It is the foundation upon which our life of serving Christ is all about. Our beliefs define us. Believing in God as our Creator is the basis for how we live and act. Everything we do is centered around the fact of God's existence.
Everyone believes there was "a beginning" to this world. Regardless of the "how," everyone believes there was a beginning. So the words "In the beginning" isn't doubted. It all started somehow.
We live on the earth and we study the clouds. We know about the atmosphere above the clouds. Mankind has visited the moon and traveled in space. So we don't doubt the existence of "the heavens and the earth" either.
Sadly, it is those two small words in the middle of this sentence that seem to put so many folks into a tailspin. They just can't seem to get the "God created" part.
Non- believers say "How can it possibly be?"
The believer says, "How can it possibly be anything else?"
I honestly can't imagine believing anything else other than in God as our Creator and His Son as our Savior. Yet sometimes we need reminding. We need to take the time to actually think about the implications of existing as a created being. We should realize God truly IS the giver of life and we were created for a purpose.
We should occasionally "do" the beginning. Ecclesiastes 12:1 tells us "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'
(NIV). How often do we stop and realize we were made in His image? We are to recognize Him and allow Him to be a vital part of our lives.
Remembering Him means when we come to the end of our days, we will not regret the way we have lived. We may not enjoy getting old or being able to see and hear like we once did ... or move as quickly as we used to ... but we will have peace of mind ... the precious peace that only God can give us.
Remembering Him is not just reading the Bible, or the mental act of remembering certain verses of scripture. It is wholly leaning on God ... walking with Him ... holding on to Him ... loving Him. It is realizing He is in control and we don't do anything on our own.
Sometimes living the busy lives we live, going about everything we do, rushing here and there, satan shows up. We allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking we don't need God. After all, we take care of ourselves pretty well, right? Why should we go to worship Sunday night or Bible study Wednesday night? It's late and the kids are already fussy. We've had a pretty good day, why take the time to pray with them before they go to sleep? It is easy -- very easy -- to fall into the devil's trap.
Stop!! Go back to the basics. Remember the Creator.
"DO" the beginning ... again and again and again.
I promise you won't regret it.
Christ above all things,
Robin
