Exercise With God

When it seems like a subject seems to keep popping up in my life, banging me on the head, I know it's time to grab ahold and  take a good look. Recently I have repeatedly come across 2 things...The idea of exercise as compared to refraining from sin. And an aching longing for a deeper relationship with My Lord. I realize that these are 2 huge topics and in a way they are related, I could apply easily the idea of exercise to spiritual discipline and thus grow spiritually. Furthermore when I say I long for a deeper relationship with the Lord I mean that I long to be able to see and understand things the way that the old ones did. Jonathan Edwards, William Perkins, Matthew Henry, C H Macintosh, they had a much deeper understanding of Gods word and knew Him better for it. That's what I want. We are far less Bible literate today than those who traveled the  road before us. Why? How can this be when we have so much information at our very finger tips! It is simply because we don't read it. We don't take the time to read, study and learn God's word. Even in Christian circles we talk of godliness, modesty, child discipline, frugality...I want to talk about GOD! About what His word says about Him. He Himself. What did you speak of yesterday with your friends at church?  Did you sit quietly before the service and meditate on Why you were there? Did you seek your friends and discuss the things of the world? Do you want more of Him? I do, and I'm excited about it!

   Now for the part about exercising... the principle of this is; exercise, be it physical, mental or spiritual is difficult and painful at first. But it does get easier over time the more we do it. I know this is so simple it sounds ridiculous. But even though it is simple we don't practice it! It hurts to say "no, I'm not gonna eat that (fill in the blank)." I outright panic and get cranky sometimes if I deny myself something I want. This is the painful part of exercising wisdom in food choices. But over time it does get easier (doesn't it dieters?). Depending on your situation this is also an exercise of your deny-sin muscle. OUCH!  *alert, bunny trail dead ahead* I have often said "you wouldn't go into a church and empty a garbage can all over the place, so why if your body is the temple of the Living God would you do it to your body with junk food? (assuming you are a Christian as described in the Bible then,  Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 1Corinthians 3:16,17 ) *alert,  bunny trail abruptly ends here*

How often do we whine saying "I'd do anything to lose weight" when what we really mean is - "I'd go through the drama of surgery to lose weight quickly". The truth is we won't do anything because anything would include eating a reasonable amount of healthy food and exercising daily, and that is very thing we won't do. The same is true of spiritual exercise. We will be on any committee, bake any amount of brownies, do any number of shallow "bible" studies *EEK, another bunny trail* why is it that in so many 'bible studies" ladies open up a book other than the Bible? *okay, back to our topic* but we are not wiling to open God's word and learn it. Prayerfully, diligently, giving God our time, effort, patience, love and worship? The answer: because it's as hard as eating a reasonable amount of healthy food and exercising daily! I heard a wonderful speaker once who wisely opened up the verse Hebrews 5:12.   "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food."  He said "not to be gross but, milk is food that someone has already digested for you." Milk is easy for us to take in and digest the work has already been done. Meat has to be chewed swallowed and digested. It takes a lot more work on our part! Oh, but dear sister in Christ, what reward we have as we work, and especially at the end!

I am thankful that you read my blog, but please close it now and open God's word.