Participate in Life Together | Pastor Terry A. Smith | GPS: The Adventure of the Pathway (Week 3)

Pastor Terry A. Smith Devotional Plan for: Week of August 2 - August 6 Monday - Read 1 Timothy 4:6-10 1 Timothy 4:6-10 NIV: "If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe." What are you trying to transform? Social media is rife with inspiring "before and after" posts. Someone posts a mirror selfie and a subsequent transformation over the span of months or a year. They've lost X amount of pounds, gained X amount of muscle. Have you ever been inspired by one of these? I (Christian) sure have. You watch the montage videos of someone starting overweight and struggling through workouts, to a quick cut of their chiseled physique later on. All of us want to experience physical health and transformation in some way. Maybe we're already in good shape, but we most often want to be better in some sort of way. A lot of the goals in our culture are around body image or health. January 1st rolls around and our diet (recently destroyed by Christmas) is at the forefront of our minds, or a workout routine becomes our new goal. These are good things, completely admirable things, full stop. A question, though: How do you think of the spiritual transformation? There's a wonderful novel by Oscar Wilde called The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian, the main character of the story, is a famed attractive young man who lives a hedonistic lifestyle. A local painter paints his beauty, and Dorian makes a trade-off so that the picture will age instead of him. Dorian ends up realizing his peculiar wish has come true: he grows no wrinkles or sag, but the painting (which is now hidden for no one to see except him) reflects who he is, not only externally in age, but in his sin. The painting represents his character, while his physical self maintains its pristine externals. If you were to look in a mirror that showed who you are on the inside, what would that mirror show? Would it be pretty? Where would you see some disfiguration? If that's what you saw, would you want to start a plan to experience extreme self-transformation? This is a bit of what we get in our scripture passage today. Paul is teaching the church to stay away from poor teachings and actions that diminish one's spiritual fit-ness. We labor and strive towards godliness, because it matters both for this life and the next, whereas physical fitness is good for this life, but not necessarily the next. The most significant sort of workout you can plan is a spiritual workout. The most important transformation you can attempt is a transformation towards godliness. What will you look like 1 month from now? 6 months from now? 1 year from now? Not what will your body look like, but you, your whole self. Make a plan and make some gains. Reflection Question(s): Do you believe that true self-transformation can happen in Christ? Assess what you "look like" right now. What are areas of your life that you need to target so you can experience transformation in them? - Christian Smith - Director of Pastoral Ministries Tuesday - Read 1 Timothy 4:11-16 1 Timothy 4:11-16 NIV: "Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given