Yesterday we began talking about this verse:
2 Timothy 3:16
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Today I want to continue the discussion by talking about CORRECTING and TRAINING.
The Bible Corrects
Just like we talked about on Sunday, the Bible is the perfect mirror for us to look into and see what needs to be corrected in our lives. What if you woke up tomorrow morning and looked in the mirror (because that’s the first thing we do when we wake up - talk about setting ourselves up for failure each day), and what if you had a MASSIVE zit on your cheek right under your eye. I’m not talking about a small whitehead, I’m talking about a MASSIVE, PUSS-FILLED BLACKHEAD that has a pulse and a heart beat of it’s own!! You know what I’m talking about because you’ve had one! Let me tell you what you WOULDN’T do. You WOULDN’T look at it, shrug your shoulders, and walk away! You would do whatever you could to pop it and cover it up!
Or what if you had a massive piece of spinach in your teeth? You WOULDN’T go Ace Ventura (insert hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjGkCjbdeX8) on everyone and just let it ride! You’d dig it out! You’d CORRECT it!
Yesterday I talked about how the Bible rebukes and how that’s not comfortable or easy to receive. But what’s so incredible about God and His Word is that he doesn’t just tell us when something is wrong, he shows us how to fix or correct it! Jesus’ brother, James, tells us how to we go about correcting what’s wrong with us:
James 1:23-24
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
So how do you correct it? You do what God’s Word says. You follow it’s TEACHING.
The Bible Trains
I’ve been an athlete and on sports teams all my life and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about sports, consistent training is essential if you’re going to be successful! My primary sport was baseball. I even was blessed to play on scholarship through college. Believe me, those are LOOOONG games and LOOOONG seasons. The only way you stay strong through the whole season is by continuing your training even DURING the season.
I’m also one of the crazies with a 26.2 sticker on the back of my car (meaning I ran and finished a marathon). I’ll say this, I’m so glad I did it, but I don’t think I’ll EVER do it again! It’s a GRUELING training process!! For 18 weeks you’re running almost EVERY DAY!!
Last week on the blog I shared the story about James (Amanda’s brother) running the marathon with us (insert hyperlink: http://resonateindianapolis.com/2015/04/repeat/). The reason he didn’t finish the race well is because he didn’t TRAIN DAILY! God’s goal for you is to not just finish this life and the assignment he has for you, but to FINISH WELL!! To pace BETTER as you get further along. The only way this is possible is if you GET IN HIS WORD DAILY!! This is training how you TRAIN in your relationship with Jesus. There will come times that the road seems difficult and tiring. The only way to endure and excel in those times is if you’re WELL-TRAINED!
Dive into God’s Word daily and consistently. If you’re having trouble knowing where/how to start I’ll share with you some insight that I’ve learned over the years on getting started reading your Bible.
I can promise you this: 10 minutes a day, everyday, will change the rest of your days!!
- Davey Blackburn
Davey Blackburn is the lead pastor of Resonate Church. You can find him on Twitter at @daveyblackburn.