November 20th

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is I Corinthians 8:1-11:1

Once again, so many options of things to discuss!

Here are a few that jumped out at me....

First...
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Cor 9:25
You can't run a marathon without being physically in shape, without training for it. It takes self-discipline.

So does living the Christian life. We can't expect to be able to grow spiritually if we are not willing to put in the self-discipline, training and effort required in order to do so!

I've exercised regularly for years. Why? Because it was something I considered to be important and I made it a priority and a matter of self-discipline.

Until fairly recently, my actions (or rather, inaction!) have made it clear that I hadn't considered my spiritual life to be a priority.

What kind of backwards thinking is that?!

Of course taking care of our physical bodies is important - our bodies are the temple or the Lord and we were bought with a price (6:19-20). I am not minimizing that.

But I know that God is much more concerned with our spiritual health and that exercising self-discipline in this area is so much more important it's almost not worthy of even comparing the two.

One interesting comparison too - with exercising there always comes a point where you hit a plateau and you just don't seem to be progressing anymore. In order to break through that plateau you need to do something different - either lift heavier weights, or do more reps, or add some entirely new exercises.

I think the same principle works in our spiritual lives as well. We can hit spiritual plateaus. And the way to break through them is to do something different - maybe our prayer life needs improvement, maybe we need to read the Bible more, maybe we need to study smaller portions of the Bible more, maybe we need to serve in an area outside our comfort zone, maybe we need to mentor someone, maybe we need a mentor - so many ways to bust out of a spiritual plateau as we continue to run in such a way as to get the prize (9:24b)!!

The other verse that I love from this passage is one of the many verses we had to memorize for Teen Missions....
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Cor 10:13

First of all, I think there are very few verses that have been misquoted or misinterpreted more than this one. Haven't we all heard "God will not give you more than you can bear"? That's not what this verse says. In fact, I think God gives us more than we can bear all the time! That's how we learn to trust in Him and to rely on Him instead of relying on our own strength. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

No, this verse says that God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. There is always a way out of sin. God will never let sin be our only option. We may not like the other option, we will almost certainly not be able to choose the other option in our own strength, but God will always provide a way out. He is faithful. Always.

And, of course, exercising our spiritual muscles will certainly help in this area too!

So the question is - are you willing to exercise the self-discipline necessary to bust through spiritual plateaus and keep pressing on towards the finish line?

Am I?




Tomorrow's passage: 1 Corinthians 11:2-13:13