Godliness: July 11, 2011

JULY 11 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY JULY 11, 2011.

GODLINESS

DEFINITION:

Conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout, religious, saintly, holy, righteous and good.

SCRIPTURE:

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise to the life that now is and of that which is to come. I Timothy 4:8.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In this verse (above) the believer is compared to an athlete. The believer is to exercise himself in godliness as much as an Olympic athlete exercises his body. Think about how much energy, effort, time, and dedication an Olympic athlete puts into his training?

In 2006 an Olympic runner named Dean Karnazes completed the 26.2-mile New York Marathon race. This marked the end of an almost impossible feat of endurance because he had run 50 such Marathon’s in 50 states in 50 days. The level of fitness this required was literally relentless, dedicated training.

Our physical bodies need exercise to keep them healthy and strong but there is limited profit or benefit in it as Paul says (above verse). People put a lot of emphasis on physical fitness but neglect their spiritual fitness which, Paul says, has great benefit.

Paul told Timothy that it took much more than a relaxed approach to live a God-honoring life. For the believer, if godliness is going to be your goal in life then all your energy, effort, time and dedication are to be given over to godliness. Godliness requires spiritual exercise which is profitable.

The reason for this should be clear to the believer. Godliness bears fruit, great fruit, both in this life and the life to come. God promises to bless the godly believer not only while he walks upon this earth but when he receives his eternal life to come.

In a culture marked by evil and false teaching along with self indulgence and self-denial, Paul instructs you to exercise (train) yourself toward godliness. Our bodies and our minds are to be dedicated to God and prepared for His service. Our goal should be to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. The process to obtain a godliness life is vigorous study of the Word, focused prayer and discipline. How well we train affects how well we run our race of life. Godly exercise is the key to godly character.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 1:22.

But be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

PRAYER:

Thank You that You are not slack concerning Your promises. Help me and my family to be committed to increasing our spiritual strength so that we will be a godly family that honors and blesses You in all we do.