Whereas Terri and I have unofficially been declared grandparents, “unofficially due to the fact the baby has yet to be born”, forthwith we have taken a slightly different view of things and as such we have jointly compiled a list of five reasons to get into shape. Drum roll please, TOP FIVE REASONS TO GET IN SHAPE, Number 5, “You can’t find you’re cell phone on your belt even though you hear it ringing!” Number 4, “McDonalds has a booth decorated in your honor!” Number 3, “Chipping a bucket of balls in the backyard feels like playing 18 holes!” Number 2, “You’re the only person the stewardess asks to move in an effort to balance the plane!” And the number 1 reason to get in shape, “You find out that the old guy that blows your doors at the High School track when you do your two mile walk has had two hips and one knee replaced!” If I wasn’t convinced already I sure am now, I need to get in shape! I remember a quote from Corrie Ten Boom I heard years ago and am reminded of often, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” We really can get so busy with good things and even with exercise and getting our bodies in good shape that we neglect the health of our spiritual lives. Remember, God really does have a design for our lives.
A few years back Chuck Swindoll has written a marvelous book entitled, "The Mystery of God’s Will: What Does He Want For Me?" In the introduction to this book, Swindle writes, "In the past, I often viewed the Christian life, or even life in general, as a matter of getting from here to there . . . from Point A to Point B. I now believe that God’s will for us in this life is not some black-and-white objective equation designed to take us to an appointed destination here on earth as much as it is about the journey itself. It is not so much about our own well-thought-through ’mission’ for our lives as it is about what matters to Him in our lives. Our human tendency is to focus solely on our calling-on where we should go, how we should get there, and what exactly we should do about it. God’s concern is the process that He is taking us through to mature us and ready us, making us more like His Son.” The reality is that we are to resemble Jesus as we live for the Lord here and now!
In the book of Colossian’s Paul wrote to encourage believers with some very important principles. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” Good words and sound advice. As we look at the preceding verses I believe we are admonished to be faithful to two principles. First, faithfully seek to know the will of God. Often a clear view of what God wants us to do isn’t dumped into our lap; we must seek it through prayer, fasting and study of His word. Secondly I believe we must faithfully obey when He speaks to our lives. James reminds us that when one knows what to do and does not do it, it becomes sin. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
In the opening pages of his autobiography, An American Life, Ronald Reagan writes, “I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan. My mother - a small woman with auburn hair and a sense of optimism that ran as deep as the cosmos - told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, she said, you didn’t let it get you down: You stepped away from it, stepped over it, and moved on. Later on, she added, something good will happen and you’ll find yourself thinking - "If I hadn’t had that problem back then, then this better thing that did happen wouldn’t have happened to me."After I lost the job at Montgomery Ward, I left home again in search of work. Although I didn’t know it then, I was beginning a journey that would take me a long way from Dixon and fulfill all my dreams and then some. My mother, as usual, was right. Ronald Reagan is right, God does have a plan, a purpose for each one of us, But it is more than unsure twists and turns, it involves God’s purpose as revealed in the Bible and God wants us to know and experience it.” In closing the question should probably not be what does God want in your life, but what are you doing with what God wants? Are you seeking His will? Are you obeying His will? What kind of shape are you in?
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