1 Timothy 4:7-9 - "Always Abounding In The Work of the Lord"

Welcometo Pastor’s Chat today and a blessed New Year. I trust this year will be ablessed one for you as you keep your eyes on Jesus—as you lay aside everyweight and those sins that so easily beset us, and run with endurance the racethat is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of yourfaith every day (Hebrews 12:1-2). Day by day, you walk with Him. Wehave seen in 1 Timothy 4:7 that we are to discipline ourselves for the purposeof godliness. Of course, godliness has many benefits because it means we becomemore like God. We deal with problems, situations, challenges, and even tragedyin a godly way—knowing that God is almighty, that He is in charge, that Heloves us, that He never makes a mistake, and that He desires to help us inevery area of our lives. When we live a godly life, we live with thatassurance. Noticealso how Paul finishes this statement: “This is a trustworthy statementdeserving full acceptance.” In other words, this is not a suggestion. Thisis a foundational truth for Christian growth and for the Christian life. It isworthy of full acceptance—to discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.It is worth doing, knowing what Paul reminds us of that in 1 Corinthians 15:58:“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, alwaysabounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vainin the Lord...” Because of that truth, we persevere, we continue, we do notgive up—we keep going. Why? Because our labor in the Lord is not empty. It isnot fleeting. It does not simply disappear. It is eternal. It accomplishessomething. It makes a difference in the world in which we live. Sowhat are some things we can do? How can we practice these disciplines? First, Iwant to encourage you to set aside time—preferably in the morning, or at leastat some quiet point during the day—when you can get alone with the Lord for afew minutes. I challenge you to make it at least 15 minutes. Spendtime reading your Bible. On our website and in our blog at Pastor Mike ImpactMinistries, you’ll find links to the calendars. (https://www.pmiministries.org/) We have twoBible-reading calendars available. One plan allows you to read through theentire Bible in a year in less than 15 minutes a day. If you have more time andwant to read more, you can choose Plan A, which is also available on thewebsite. You can print the calendar as a PDF and use it daily. Thisis important, because as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, butby every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” That means from Genesis1:1 to the last verse of Revelation. Both of these plans include a dailyreading from the Psalms—helping us with praise, worship, seeking God, andunderstanding who He is. The Psalms guide us in worship before the Lord. I alsoencourage you to read the Proverbs, because Proverbs teaches us how to livewisely and how to relate to the people around us in very practical ways. Second,I want to encourage you to take time to pray. Write down some prayer requests.Pray specifically. Join us in praying for a pastor in India—if you write me,email me, text me, or message me in any way you can contact me, I will send youthe name of an Indian pastor you can pray for. Pray for missionaries. Pray foryour pastor. Pray for people who need to be saved. Pray for your neighbors—andget to know them. Decidethat you are going to be a person of prayer. E.M. Bounds said that you reallycannot rightly call yourself a Christian if you do not pray. So spend timetalking to God. And during that quiet time, listen as well—allow the HolySpirit to speak to you. That is communion with God. This is worship. We do notgo to church on Sunday just to worship once a week. No—we should and can worship24/7. Every day, every moment, should be an act of worship as we put the Lordfirst in our lives, look to Him, and make Him the center of everything.