The Conquest

Train To Be Godly, Friday, December 17, 2010

Reading: I Timothy 4:6-8, ⁶If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I’m sure you have heard at some point in your life, “Practice makes perfect”. But, I have also heard an appropriate amendment to the frequently used encouragement by adding, “Perfect practice makes perfect”. Another words, not just practicing but practicing the right way is what will cause you to improve your performance. Every day, you are either practicing sin or practicing righteousness. That’s why it is so significant that Paul told Timothy to “train yourself to be godly”. For many of us, including myself, we don’t really like training, especially the older we get, we just want to play in the game. We don’t want to have to run drills, work hard and sweat in our pursuit of godliness. Often we think godly men, simply became godly, or are that way because of their background or degree. For all of us, though, it takes training.

The drills/tests are thrown at us every single day of our lives by the world and by the devil. The question is, by your actions, what are you practicing? How are you training? When you fall to the temptation, you are practicing sin. When you say, NO, to the sin, you have trained well in godliness as a result of that drill/test.

Review where you’re at today. What have you been practicing? Have you been training to be godly or practicing bad habits?

If you need to, ask God to forgive you for practicing sin. Then, leave it with God. It is the past. Now, what can you do today to train yourself to be godly?

REVIEW

How were you able to train yourself to be godly today?

Did you practice any bad habits as well and, if so, what did you do about it?