today's seems very fitting for what I have been going through over the last few months. The verse is, "For 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." 1 Timothy 4:8I have been working out very hard for about 4.5 months now & I can see & feel a difference. I look better (better, not great...yet), feel better, my blood pressure has dropped from around 120/80 to around 109/60, I have more confidence, etc... Physical training takes a lot of work & is far from easy. It takes time, dedication, determination, and discipline. Spiritual training is very similar. The Bible even compares it to running a race, among other physical activities.
I have to remember not to neglect my time with the Lord & reading his word even when I am exhausted, or just don't "feel like it." The funny thing is that I really don't believe I would ever have done what I have as well or as long as I have if I hadn't gotten my spiritual life at least headed in the right direction a couple of years ago. (If you are interested in my testimony you can read it on my website. I know it is small & long. Maybe I'll post an abridged version here one day.)
I never set out to become a daily Bible reader 2 yrs ago when I first started reading it. But here I am, 2 years later & still going. I'm not perfect at it. I rarely read on the weekends & I do occasionally miss a day or two every once in awhile but I am pretty consistant. I try to read at least 1 - 2 chapters everyday. Even with that, I am still in the Old Testament, Jeramiah to be exact. Of course, I did read through Psalms, Proverbs, & Song of Solomon first then went back to Genesis. I did go through a phase where I was concerned that I wasn't reading fast enough. I mean, there are a lot of people who read through the Bible in a year & here its been 2 yrs & I'm just over half way through it. But then I remembered, this is not a race. This is a book that I should ever stop reading. If it takes me 10 yrs to get through it then the next day I will pick it up & start again. This is a lifestyle; a daily ritual.
The Bible is the living word of God. It is unlike any other book. When you read it, it changes you. Even if you have read a certain verse 100 times, you may learn something new with each reading. Depending on what stage you are in in your life, what you are going through, what you have experienced, what you hopes & dreams for the future are will determine what that verse will mean to you. For example, I would have not felt the way I do about it if I had not been working out these past few months. I would have thought, "Thank God, I don't have to work out. I'll just be a "good" Christian & that is all I'll have to do." And, that is partly true, but now I can see the work that it takes to get a body in shape & relate it to my spiritual walk unlike I have at any other time of my life.
I'm not sure if any of this has made any sense but I just thought it was one of those interesting things that occasionally happen. I believe it to be one of the ways the Lord speaks to me, while others may call it just coincidence.
(By the way, the picture above is a picture of the type of Bible I have been reading from over the past 2 yrs. It is the Life Application Study Bible in the New Living Translation. I love it. I highly recommend it. After I do read through the whole thing I will probably get a different translation & probably a different type just to see what notes the other types may use & see what the other translations are like but I will always love this one.)
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