“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” 1 Timothy 4:7
I had reason to drive on New Years Day and was not surprised that the traffic was low. A lot of folks had stayed up New Years Eve to ring in the new year, Getting up and at ‘em was not a priority. Most of the stores were closed and it was rather quiet. Except at the gym!
Now don’t get me wrong. ‘I’ wasn’t going TO the gym, but simply driving past one. The parked cars and people running around it was kind of a surprise. It shouldn’t have been! A BIG resolution every year is to get fit. Statistics show that January is the BIGGEST month for gym membership sales. But by the 3rd week of January, gym attendance goes back to normal. I easily eliminated the potential guilt by driving past it!
When I got home I knew the trip had impacted me, as I was suddenly curious about my own weight. Stepping on my wife’s scale, I was shocked at the number, which was 7 lbs more than usual! Chocking it up to a bad scale, I forgot about it. That is until I went to the doctor for a standard check up and his scale confirmed the number!
It’s right about now that I feel like a loser. And simply by association, you may have even joined me in the ‘guilty’ corner. Except… I am not there any more! Having been tricked before, I learned how to quickly recover! It is God’s will that I become more GODLY… NOT less weighty! And the proof comes in the following verse.
I LOVE the King James version of 1 Timothy 4:8. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Kinda cool huh? I like to quote it as I drive by bikers and runners on Sunday morning!
Now what scale to I use to measure the size of my God-Likeness? How am I doing in the one area where GOD expects me to excel? Am I making forward progress? Am I looking good in His eyes? Is there an actual way that I can verify where I am? Do I really WANT to know… and am I moving in the right direction as expected? Good questions! And yes… there are exacting answers!
The nurse heard me mumbling to myself as she led me to the examination room. She made my day when she said…”that scale is 7 pounds over!” And JUST LIKE THAT!!! The previous paragraph with all it’s questions is a gauge unto itself. And if you are truly asking those questions of yourself… you are already in the right gym! Feel better?
Update!!
Thanks for your prayers for Bill Brigham. He had a quadruple by pass and is on the mend! Please keep praying. For those of you in Florida… I hope to see you at FLAP tonight where we will REUNITE and finish covering the ‘how to’ of reading the Bible, cover your personal questions AND introduce a new series.
