The Need For Godliness

Scripture Meditation: I Timothy 4: 6-10

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 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. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Life is full of projects.  It seems we are always working on something.  What are you working on in your life?  Your house?  Your golf game?  Losing weight?

Here is a second question:  Have you gone as far and high as you can in your relationship with the Lord?  Would anybody be able to agree to a statement such as: “There is no more progress I can make; I have arrived”? 

It is doubtful that any of us could. Truth is, there’s a gap, spiritually speaking, between where we are and where the Lord wants us to be.

We close that gap through spiritual growth and renewal.  Spiritual growth and renewal won’t just happen by themselves.  These happen, with the Lord’s partnership, when we intend to have spiritual growth and renewal, and make choices that lead us in that direction.  It happens when we do something different than what we are currently doing.

For example, let’s say John weighs 188 pounds and would like to weigh 170 pounds.  If you and John are talking and he tells you this, you might ask him, “Do you intend to change your diet?”  If he responds, “No, I’m happy with what I’m eating and I don’t think I will change that at all,” then you might ask, “Are you going to exercise: run, swim, lift weights, etc?”  If he responds, “No, I’m much too busy; I don’t have time to add that to my schedule,” what do you think his chances are of losing 18 pounds?  If he is going to lose that weight, then he must act intentionally and must do something different than what he is currently doing.

If you want to experience spiritual growth and renewal, you must do something different than you are currently doing.  That is where “Upward Training” comes in.  Upward Training is a model for spiritual growth and renewal.  We hope you will take this emphasis seriously and will put an honest effort into it.  Growth happens when we are determined to close the gap between where we are and where God wants us to be, and are willing to do something different to make that happen. The Bible calls this “training for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). In the days to come in Upward Training, we will search Scripture, apply truth to personal experiences, meditate on God's Word, reflect on where we are at the moment, spiritually, and plan out our intentions for spiritual growth.