Training Day
Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
1 Corinthians 9:19-24
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
The Need for Self-Discipline
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Galatians 5:1-12
5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
Backstory:
I have been getting up and riding my bike every morning the last 3 weeks straight. I take Saturday and Sunday off, mostly cause I am too busy not to and need a break. But I am noticing a different level of determination that I feel when I go.
Here’s what I mean. I rode last year, but I didn’t ride the same route, or to any great length, maybe 3-5 miles one week and 2 the next. The longest I ever did was last fall, nearly 10 miles of main and side roads.
I am no stranger to physical activity or physical labor. I wrestled my Junior and Senior Year of High School. If you don’t know the sport of wrestling, it’s nothing like the WWE has portrayed on TV. It’s much more grounded, deliberate, and tough. Ok, sure hurtling off the top rope onto your opponent would be fun, especially if you did it knowing you weren’t going to hurt them.
There’s something primal about the holds, the throws, the movement you do for wrestling. It’s you versus another man face to face with nothing to hide but your intellect and your determination. I remember the last match I had where I distinctly recall faking my opponent out of his shoes and taking him down for the win.
Ok, here’s the awkward transition between Wrestling and biking. While wrestling was hard, especially at the time I did it, there is something completely different, and harder in a lot of ways, about getting up and exercising on a bike at 42 years old.
The other day, as I was riding, I contemplated all this and came to the following conclusions that I want to unpack a tiny bit.
1) We all face decisions every day that are literally life altering.
We may be tempted to think that the decisions we make are of little or no value to the overall scope of our lives. But let’s stop and digest that a little bit. Let’s use the example of a shirt choice. We may not think much about what shirt we wear, but what happens if you choose a shirt and have a conversation with someone and they are inspired by your shirt and it causes them to come to Christ? I know big hypothetical, but the negative is true too. What if God asked you to change your shirt before you left the house? I had a friend years ago who felt like God told her to change her shirt to a different one. She said she listened and it caused a conversation that day with someone that ultimately lead to that person’s salvation.
2) Despite what you may think, the results of our choices can have an affect on our other choices throughout each day.
I don’t know if you have heard of the concept of daisy chaining. The name is derived from when children create necklaces or crowns out of daisies. They connect one to the other to expand the usefulness. Well our choices literally daisy chain. Here’s what I mean. Since I went to work out first thing in the morning, that sets my day on the right foot. I was disciplined. That discipline mentally carries into my work day. When I get to my computer, my brain is awake, alert, and ready for work. Sometimes, on my ride, I come up with solutions to problems that I have in my personal or professional life. For example, I created a Siri Shortcut to take dictation. It works like this, I tell Siri to “Take Dictation” and Siri records my words and converts them to text. Then email’s the text to me. I came up with this because I had a solution to a report I am writing and almost forgot about it while I was on my ride. One decision, in my opinion, can mean the difference between positive and negative consequences in our lives.
Isaiah 28:10-13 tells us that things are built a little at a time
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…”
If everything in life is built that way, our decisions can cause ripples in our day too.
Paul says in Hebrews 12:3 that we ought to “3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
We have the choices to stop what we are doing in our walk with God. We have free will, but Jesus had it too and set the perfect example of love for us by deliberately making choices that lead to his brutal death on the cross.
3) The only easy day was Yesterday.
The Navy Seals use the motto “the only easy day was yesterday.” The Bible tells us that we should pray for “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4). It also tells us in John 16:32 that we will have challenges. But to “…Be of Good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
We have to aware of where we are and be disciplined in this world. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be “Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. ” (AMP) Like wise Paul gives us the picture in 1 Corinthians of a runner who trains and is deliberately focusing on the race at hand so as not to miss out, miss the mark, or be dissuaded in his goal. Each day brings with it new challenges and by following Christ and being disciplined we have chance to have the challenges make the least negative impact in our lives. I want to leave you with this. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus admonishes us to not be worried or overly concerned about tomorrow:
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Msg.)