We have been working our way through the Biggest Loser Spiritual Discipline series now for seven weeks.  We have covered everything from prayer to simplicity to sharing our faith.  In the process we have been challenged to lose some old habit or at least curb them back to a respectable level.  But why all the fuss?  Do Spiritual disciplines really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Let’s consider our best example of Christian living... Jesus.  Here is a guy that did everything well.  He loved God well.  He loved others well.  He was fully obedient to God.  He always followed the leading of the Spirit.  He never pushed His own selfish agenda but always lived out God’s will perfectly.  Not only is He the best example, He is the perfect example.

Now I know you are thinking, “How can I possibly compare to Jesus?  There is no way I can even come close to living how He lived.  I will never do anything perfectly, let alone even know God’s will perfectly.  I am doomed to failure so why even try!”

This is what I have to say to you: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11).  We have the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish anything.  This means, and it really does, that we are able to be as obedient and loving as Jesus Himself if we live fully in the Spirit as Jesus did.  BUT, since we are subject to this pesky thing we call “the flesh”, we will not live up to that ability. 

This is where the disciplines come in!  Disciplines are the tools we use to get into “spiritual shape”.  They develop in us better hearing for listening to our “trainer”.  They develop bigger muscles for “beating the flesh into submission”.  And they condition the heart to “beat” with a love for God and others far beyond our fleshly capabilities.

It’s not hopeless, but you do have to get up and stop wallowing in self pity.  Tone up people!  Leaving the flabby fleshly desires behind and developing healthy habits grounded in discipline and focused on Jesus start with the first step.  The only one holding you back is YOU!! 

There is nothing like the first of January for making resolutions to start off the new year.  For some it’s about setting goals for losing weight, eating better, or overall lifestyle changes.  For others it means adding more exercise or eliminating extra sweets.  For you it might mean to quit smoking or drink more water.  Whatever the choice, we are filled with hope that the upcoming year holds greater success than the last.

This is usually true of our Christian lives as well.  Most people decide to start a reading plan in January.  They commit that THIS year they will finally read through the whole Bible.  Others decide now is the time for joining a small group.  Others for cutting out less than desirable choices from their lives.  All done with great hope that this is the year that they will finally be that person they wish they were.

There is only one problem with this.  It almost always ends in failure.  Why?  Because we look at the end point - losing 20 lbs. or reading the whole Bible, that when the moment comes that we trip up and overindulge or miss two days of Bible reading that we throw in the towel and say, “maybe next year”.  

Living is not done with resolutions.  Living is done one day at a time doing the most we can within each day.  Hebrews 4:7 says, “Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.”  Lamentations 3:22-23 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Every day is a fresh start.   Every day is a new chance to “get it right”.  And every day is a chance to fail knowing that a new beginning is merely hours away.  So don’t get stuck in the January rut.  Kiss those “doomed for failure” resolutions goodbye.  Instead, take each day as it comes building a healthy lifestyle both physically and spiritually and be amazed at the work God accomplishes in and through you.

Join us Monday nights for “The Biggest Loser: Exercise in Spiritual Disciplines” and learn more about living healthy spiritual lives. 

I love the book of Hebrews.  Part of the reason we are studying the book this session is because I am so enamored with it’s complexity and beauty.  I would love to give the author a big hug for so eloquently capturing the reality of the old testament combined with the role Jesus plays in, through, and over it. 

I particularly liked the final section in Chapter 5.  The author has just spent the past four and a half chapters establishing who Jesus is in relation to angels, humanity, the Israelites, rest, and the beginnings of understanding His role as High Priest.  All of a sudden the author expresses, “...we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing...” (5:11).  How great is that?  The author goes on to say “for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles...” (5:12)  And “everyone who partakes only of milk...is an infant” (5:13) “But solid food is for the mature...” (5:14).

The author totally calls them out!  They are at a point in their lives where they should not only be leaving all the elementary teachings of Christ behind but should they themselves be able to lead and teach others the things they have learned and come to know.  In other words, instead of moving forward and becoming useful to the new baby Church they are actually stalled out in first and going nowhere.

Which leads me to the point of this article... where do you fall on the “maturity” scale?  I know for a fact there are many of you who should have a more mature understanding of the Word and teaching others all you know but instead are a drain on the body constantly needing to be fed the basics like a baby.  You are content to remain in a place of Biblical ignorance and demand that others continue to pour into you what they know while only retaining small amounts.

I am following the lead of the author in Hebrews and am calling you out.  If you have been a believer for more than, oh, I don’t know, let’s say 2 years, you should be moving into solid foods my friend!  You should know the difference between the new and old testament.  You should know the general layout of the Bible as well as an overall knowledge of the contents.  You do not need a seminary degree to be a mature Believer but you do need more than a Sunday morning message to get there!

If you are still being fed milk when you should be eating meat then step up! Stop forcing others to feed you.  Open your Bible.  Start feasting on the meat.  Don’t just join a small group or Bible study but contribute to the maturity within.  There is too much to be done to waste time catering to those who refuse to grow up so give up the milk and grab a steak!!  

A woman in my Bible study will be turning 90 in April.  She has been studying the Bible faithfully for longer than I’ve been alive.  In fact, she has been studying the Bible faithfully for longer than my life twice over.  Yet week after week she returns and not only does she lead but she also learns.  Tell me, what other books can one study for almost a century and still find something new every time?  Why is it with the Bible no one ever reaches the full saturation point of Biblical knowledge? 

Hebrews 12:4 offers an explanation to this. “the Word of God is living and active...”  There are no other books I know of referred to as “living and active”.  Granted, there are those “choose your own adventure” books that offer a different array of choices with each read, but eventually one follows every possible path and no longer offers the reader new alternatives.  But the Bible?  The Bible is like the ultimate “choose your own adventure”.   It is more than printed letters combined into words arranged into coherent sentences and grouped into logical paragraphs.  It is more than just morality and ethical guidelines.  It is “living and active”.

This is why my friend at 90 is still studying the Bible.  This is why she is willing to come out twice a week to hear and share the Word.  She knows there is still more for her to learn and more for her to pass on to others.  Her Lord is not trapped in the pages but rather reaches out and embraces her every times she opens the Book.  Her Lord holds her, encourages her, and leads her, and more and more she takes on the likeness of Jesus everyday. 

This is why we need to remain diligent in our Bible reading.  The Word of God does not benefit me to sit on a shelf.  There is nothing special about the Bible if it gathers dust on my nightstand.  I will not change and grow and be convicted of my choices and behavior because I downloaded the app to my smartphone.  There is nothing effective about owning a Bible.  It is only effective if I open it and read it.

This is my encouragement to you... be like my friend.  Be 90 years old and still passionate about the Word of God.  Open the Bible.  Read it.  Let if change you from the inside out.  Because that’s what it does.  The author in Hebrews knew it.  I know it.  Give it a chance and you will know it too.  Oh, and pass the WORD.  It WILL change someone’s life!