The Spiritual Implications of Running and Teaching and Reading and Praying

The following is a modification of parts of a letter I recently wrote to a friend. Since a lot of what I’ve been thinking about came out in the letter, I thought it would be helpful to share it with some of my other friends.

I’m not going to go off on how teaching school is my ministry field, as I totally don’t believe that. While I may have opportunities to directly share bits and pieces of the gospel and indirectly portray a (hopefully, ideally, yet tragically not commonly) Christ-like life, there’s more to it. I’ve found for me that as I grow as a teacher, I also grow as a person. When I challenge myself to be more patient with obnoxious adolescents, I end up becoming more patient with obnoxious adults. When I challenge my band to play harder music, I begin to see room for greater discipline in various areas of my life.

So I began running back in January. I called it running, but it was more of a slightly faster-paced walk. In March, I began really running. At least it was more of a shuffle than a walk. Now, I’m trying to increase the speed. All this has really begun to help me as I see various sinful tendencies in my life. As I push harder to finish my 5-minutes of running or whatever, it strengthens the resolve in me to push harder to not eat the empanadas that some wonderful band parents brought up to me. Pineapple empanadas, no less. Or to resist the urge to yell at a kid for not being quiet as fast as I want him to. Or whatever.

Discipline in one area leads to an easier time developing discipline in other areas. This has been one of the greatest challenges in my life over the past few years. Undisciplined living is the underlying cause of almost every failure I have experienced in recent memory.

So that’s it? Just now that I’m running, I’m going to be better off. Oh, that it were that simple. But it has revealed something to me. Something amazing. Something I once knew, but didn’t know why I knew it. Are you ready?

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life. — Proverbs 4:23

See, discipline is the key to life. It’s so vital that we live according to a plan. Keeping our heart, guarding our heart, defending our heart — that is absolutely the most important thing we can do as people.

How do we do that?

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:27

Clearly, this doesn’t mean we have to start planning to run a marathon, but it does mean that we need to be careful what we allow into both our minds and our bodies. When I’m running, all I can do is pray for strength to continue on. Because I know the plan will get me to where I want to go. It’s a slow process, but the process works. After I finish running and my body begins to recover, I can focus more on the spiritual aspects of the larger scheme of what I’m doing. And it’s awesome.

My mind is clearer than it has been in years. I don’t feel depressed most of the time. I have something to look forward to that I know is making me stronger — physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

So I mentioned above that it is vital that we live according to a plan. Sure my running program is helping me, and I’m slowly following Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace plan. But what about an overall life plan. It’s very very simple, and yet I know I have trouble maintaining it on an ongoing basis. Perhaps you know it too, but this little blog post thing can hopefully serve to encourage you to either get back on track or to stick with what you’re doing. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that it really will work if you just stick to it. The plan?

Read the Bible and pray every single day. As you take care of the depth of your devotional life, God will take care of the breadth of your ministry.

Devotional 07-12-09

Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word…Your word have I hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way…Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law…Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works…Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day…And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love, My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes…Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me…Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path…My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation And Your righteous word…My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word…Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits..

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals, Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Sources:
Isaiah 55:6-9
Psalm 138:1-2
Psalm 119:9, 11
Job 23:12
Ephesians 1:3-6
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 3:14-15,17-21
1 Corinthians 10:31
Romans 12:1-2
Philippians 3:7-9
Ephesians 2:4-9
Philippians 3:12-14, 10-11
Philippians 4:8
Psalm 119:37, 18, 27, 97, 47-48, 133, 105, 123, 81, 112, 1-2
Psalm 1:1-3
Psalm 103:1-2
Psalm 139:23-24
Psalm 136:1-3
Psalm 150

Sure It Does A Body Good, But First You Have To Taste And See

In We’re Not Like That Church Down The Street, Richard points out that most churches believe that they are less watered-down than all the rest of the churches.

As a matter of fact, in a particular consulting season, I asked about ten churches in a row if they considered themselves “deeper” than the other churches in their community. Ten out of ten, despite being from different denominations and of different sizes, all claimed to be “deep”. Go figure! Maybe those are just the churches that hire marketing consultants . Maybe it’s that we all value depth and feel as though we’ve nailed it. Either way, we might just be missing it if we feel we have a unique claim on truth—or assume that others fall so short.

Recently Ryan addressed this issue as well in Neglecting The Weightier Matters.

I think it rather comical/ignorant that so many Christan’s  in the first category think that the Emerging church is taking over and that liberal/humanistic and social theology is on the rise. Yet, if they visited  any churches at all in America or just in the south, they would not hear anything about change at all towards being emergent or social, they would hear the same old thing they’ve heard for years, with a little bit of church growth techniques thrown in every once in a while.

With all the discussion about Calvinism and Total Depravity going on lately, I realize that the church seems to be divided into a few different camps.

1. Focus on Church Growth (Evangelism)
2. Focus on Spiritual Health (Edification)
3. Focus on Temporal Needs (Missions)

There is value in all three of these, but there must be a balance involved as well. More than balance, we need to remember Christ’s primary mission.

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” — Luke 19:10

Salvation is the principle work of the Bible. The entire Bible is a love of story of God’s heart to redeem miserable, fallen humanity.  Too often we get bogged down in service, and forget to learn.

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away.” — Luke 10:40-42

How many times do churches read that and then try to pass along the guilt trip to those who aren’t serving, because if they helped out a little bit, the busybodies wouldn’t be so bogged down.

But they miss the whole point.

The busybodies don’t need less to do, they need to do less.

So it’s better to sit at the feet of Jesus than it is to serve?
At times, it is better. But we must also remember that if all we do is sit around, we will lose our ability to do much else. “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (1 Corinthians 8:1).

We know that love is not merely an emotion, but it is a state of mind. It is action.

Love sufers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. — 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

So it’s important to evangelize. It’s important to grow spiritually. It’s important to serve help the poor. But all of our service to God and man must be done with love at the core.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have no love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. — 1 Corinthians 13:1

Paul is saying that if we exhibit great external signs for all the world to see and yet do not have God-given love, we are simply making noise.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. — 1 Corinthians 13:2

Paul is saying that no matter how much we edify and strengthen other believers, if it is done for anything other than purely selfless motivations, there is no benefit to us.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. — 1 Corinthians 13:3

Again, if we devote our lives to meeting the physical needs of the poor and needy in this world, and yet are not doing it out of a loving heart, we miss the whole point.