16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)
Training. The word invokes thoughts of long hours sweating, repetitive motions, and boring drills. Feature films work hard to create time-crunching training montages of the boxer working out, of the soldier building strength, of the martial artist throwing technique after technique.
In the wonderful world of cinematic films the training montage builds up our hero into the unstoppable fighting machine he needs to be in order to take down the villain. This usually happens through the course of five to twenty minutes depending on the length of the movie and suddenly skills of old are built anew. Muscles form, and endurance is built. We then are treated to the hero defeating bad guy after bad guy until he faces the Kind Daddy O Evil in the final showdown.
Unfortunately, real life is not a training montage created by the film industry as a plot device. Training in real life is hour upon hour of study, practice, and discipline. In martial arts Kung Fu literally translated means Time and Effort, an Accomplished Person. You want to be good at something? You have to work at it. You want to be excellent at something? You have to be disciplined over a long period of time. You want to be the best at something? You must be fanatical about finding ways to improve others have never thought about.
Spiritual training is no different. You want to be a better follower of Jesus? Study everything he did. You want to grow closer to God? Read every word he wrote. You want to be a better person? Try to form your life to emulate what God said and Jesus did. You want to be worthy of the love of Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit? You just have to ask them for it because God already said You Are Worthy.
Questions for Reflection
- What holds you back from Training in The Word?
- What does Training in The Word mean to you?
- How can you spend more time Training in The Word?
This devotion relates to the scripture used in the book You Are Worthy by Mark Malcolm, coming to Kindle soon. To be kept up to date on the release of this, and other writings from The Cavalier, join us on Facebook HERE or follow us on Twitter @FirstChevalier.
You are not trash. You are not wasted. You are not broken. You are loved. You are pursued. You are wanted. Because God says…
