Monday March 20, 2017 I Timothy 4:8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and life to come. 

Nick:

While practicing self control and whipping your body into submission as Paul likes to put it is of value here, godliness holds both value here and in the life to come. What is godliness? I Timothy 3:16 says "Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” The understanding  of what God did through Christ and magnitude of it. So training myself in this understanding of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of him is of much more importance than physical training. Christ crucified should be an importance in my daily walk with the lord. It should be a meditation. Reading scriptures on the events leading up to, during, and after should be a daily discipline. Having fellowship with other believers over these scriptures and revelations would only increase my understanding and would draw out more insight into his life. Seeing that he is the way, the truth, and the life, why would I seriously devote the majority of my time to something other than growing in godliness. Keeping ourselves in what he did and his love for us will be the source of our joy and hope here and in the life to come.

Julie:

When we think of bodily training, we may think of running and working out.  And although that is correct, it is not the only kind of training that we need to strive for.  Being self controlled, patient, and loving all require training as well.  They are fruits of the Spirit, and as we all know, fruit does not just appear.  It must be grown.  Or else it is fake or plastic fruit.  It is easy to be discouraged when we do not see immediate fruits after three days of caring for a garden.  If we get more real with this metaphor: It is not easy when we give our brother our other cheek when he has struck one.  It is not easy to acknowledge the plank in our own eye, when we are focused on the speck in our brother's.  It is not easy to lay our fear down so people can taste and see the Lord through our boldness in faith.  It is not easy to cast our anxieties onto the Lord.  I could some all of this up by saying it is not easy to way the costs of following Jesus and still pick up our cross to follow Him.  That is why we train in the little things, so that when Jesus calls us to deeper water, we go.  The training place may be nothing like the arena, but it's all relative.  As an example, walking with 5 lb weights on each ankle may not seem necessary.  It may actually be a nucence.  But as you walk, your body is building up muscles stronger than if you had no weights, so that when the day comes that you need to run, you can do so faster.  God is working out our muscles of self control, love, patience, endurance, unity, faith, discipline, and so many others.  It is hard and it hurts, but the Heavenly reward is so worth it.  I pray that when I am in seasons of suffering or lacking, that my perspective would be thankful that I am actually training for godliness.