I am overweight and not in my best shape.
I haven’t made fitness a priority this past year and it shows up in my mirror.
If I suddenly had to run for miles or hike up a steep mountain carrying a pack or swim to save a life, it wouldn’t happen without miraculous intervention.
And it all comes down to the choices I’ve made every day with what I take in, what I put out, and how I spend my time.
What if we could look into a mirror that reflected our spiritual fitness?
What if the flab and bloat of years of consuming self-indulgent, easily palatable, religious platitudes and focusing not on a sacrificial life but on one that asks Jesus to find me a good parking space
what if that showed up in the mirror – a soul with a muffin top and flabby thighs?
And what if suddenly the world changed and that soul had to stand up for Christ under duress, under unimaginable social pressures, under threat of financial ruin, separation from kin, and possibly death?
Can you imagine this soul could make the climb?
Again, it all comes down to the choices we make every day about what we take in, what we put out, and how we spend our time.
Do you know where your Bible is right now?
What was the last passage of scripture you really thought about and tried to apply to your life?
Does fifteen minutes of prayer time weary you? Are you distracted after five? How often do you stop in the midst of your day to talk with God?
How about serving someone else? When was the last time you set aside an hour out of your schedule to serve someone in a way in which you will never see reward or get “credit?”
What about obedience? Are you letting yourself slide a little in the area of gossip? of a critical spirit? of porn? of lying? of giving? of vanity? of pride?
Are you regularly exercising joy? mercy? patience? lovingkindness? faith?
Author Dan Walsh wrote an intriguing blog post this week about the times in which we may be living. You can read it here: http://3menwalkintoablog.com/its-time-to-git-yer-guns
I am keenly aware that every time I supersize my portion or sit when I should stand or pass up an opportunity to eat a vegetable or take a walk, I’m compromising my fitness goals.
And I know that if I had to call on my body to do extraordinary feats of endurance and strength right now, it would take a miracle.
How aware are we that the spiritual choices we make every day have similar ramifications?
God is not subtle. He’s sending His people plenty of warning that times are about to change.
The airwaves and Internet are full of voices crying out in the spiritual wilderness that we are on the brink of
something.
Are you ready to go the distance? Are you ready for spiritual heavy lifting?
Look into the mirror of God’s Word and ask Him.
Lord, what steps do I need to take today to be ready for the tomorrow that is to come.
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Thank you for the articulate description of the current situation – in the world, Christendom, and my life. God is on my case.
I believed that every day as I dressed, I put on the “whole armor of God”. I taught many Sunday school classes to do that: comb your hair–put on the helmet of salvation, put on your shirt/blouse–the breastplate of righteousness, etc. etc. Then I go to a meeting where spiritual warfare is present and I find I’ve left my armor at home! I hate that sudden recognition that I’ve left myself wide open to an attack when I should know better. Your word today is a good reminder that just putting on the whole armor of God better prepares me to meet the day. Thank you. MOMMA
Lori,
Good points, all, in your blog today. I read the other blog, too. I spoke to another former homeschooler about the “collectivist” comment from MSNBC and she had no idea. My kids are raised now, but I don’t think the right to homeschool is going to be around much longer, at the rate things are going. It is time to be intentional and serious in our walk with the Lord. That is the only thing that will carry us now. Thanks for getting the word out.
Megan
inchristalone-byhismercy.blogspot.com
it is so much easier to measure ourselves by what is readily visible rather than by what is internal – yet the internal/spiritual is what is so evident when we’re under stress. Thanks for a challenging reminder, Lori!
Thanks for this post, Lori. Very convicting on multiple levels, and great points all around.
Also, I couldn’t help but think inappropriately and imagine if our spiritual image was what we saw instead of our physical image. Women’s magazines would either become inspiring or REALLY weird.