Getting Job-ed
But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 1 Timothy 4:7-9 CSB
In our physical lives, if we stop working out, we tend to get a little flabby. This is true of our spiritual lives as well. In fact, in the Jewish culture, there’s not a concept of ‘spiritual life’ because all aspects of life have spiritual implications (Rob Bell in Everything is Spiritual– now I do have major disagreements with Rob on a lot, but I can agree on this aspect). Paul tells us that we have to train ourselves in godliness: what are some disciplines we need to undertake to give us that spiritual workout we need to see God the best we can? This is not an exhaustive list of spiritual disciplines, but here are five of my favorites:
1.Read the Word. So God has spoken to us through the Word of God, or His bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Also, you can follow this link to the article titled What is Truth? We all want God to speak to us and He is- through His word that He gave us! This is not to check a religious dogma ‘ok I’ve read my bible now, moving on…’ No, this is hearing the voice of God! Memorize and meditate on parts… That will help you in time of need and when you’re being attacked and you don’t have a bible sitting in front of you. Jesus combats Satan with the word of God (Matthew 4:1-10) and it is a weapon against the enemy because we are in warfare all of the time (Ephesians 6:10-17). We definitely could use help with reading and understanding it, research a good commentary. The Bible is not just a self-help book, this is about God and His relationship with man. It’s not something you just take one Proverb from, post it on Facebook because it makes a good post- fortune cookies can do that. This is my opinion, our time and devotion to the Voice of God should outway the devotion and weight that we ascribe to anyone else we read or listen to. I have many teachers and preachers I follow, but the weight of God’s word outweighs even them and their writing/their teaching. You should find teachers that promote that as well. Pray for your eyes to see and ears to hear what God is speaking through His Word.
2. Prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I believe in formal, carved-out time in prayer (very helpful to ‘schedule’ prayer time in our busy life, check out Prayer:30) but also in impromptu prayer throughout the day. As Paul said, “pray constantly…” does not mean you have to drop everything and pray but be praying throughout the day- when you wake up, when driving (not recommended to close your eyes during that!), when at work, when walking the dog, before you eat, before sleep… Always working to be plugged into God’s WIFI.
3. Church. Jesus defines what Church is in Matthew 18:20 CSB, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.” So, in other words, Jesus is present and moving when two or more of His followers are gathered. We need this. In whatever way you find the church, as long as you are gathered intentionally in the name of Jesus, that is the church. I really do recommend and promote this as being for corporate worship (a congregation gathered to worship God), not just getting together with friends, as there’s something special about the church body getting together for all to worship God. I really do think the instruction from a pastor is needed also- it’s his job to study and deliver the word of God to people who are working on studying the word of God also (A good question here maybe is ‘my pastor a Bible-teaching/Theology Pastor or are they teaching Self-Help/Feel-Good Theology?’). Research and find a great Bible-saturated church. Look up their doctrine. Have you ever done this? You find out a lot about a church by looking into what they believe…
4. Find a devotional. I love quick devotionals that just help take that pause and reflect on a devotion someone else is being told in Scripture. DesiringGod.org has great resources and devotionals available. Saturate your mind with teaching (check out Radical and Ligonier Ministries, great resources).
5. Community. I wanted to make this distinction on its own apart from the church but find community somewhere with other believers (although this may blend together). We are in the war together, these are our comrades. This isn’t just a country club or just buddies we have fun with: these are people that are engaged in the movement of God. In our crazy world and society, it’s brutal sometimes. We need that support system of folks that are in this war with us. It really is life-giving, a breath of fresh air from the battles we’re in.
Bibliography
Everything Is Spiritual. DVD. United States: Zondervan, 2007.
