CLINT PERCEFULL - CHILDREN'S MINISTER
I recently discovered a fun new concept that helps motivate me to exercise on a regular basis. I have completed a couple “virtual runs” and have signed up for more! These virtual races track any physical activity and apply the results toward a goal. Once this goal is achieved you receive a medal! It is fun and addictive. However, I have started to develop some pain in my feet and I switched from walking to cycling. One day I was riding and remembered something that I told my kids when they were learning to ride their bikes.
If you aren’t moving forward, you will fall over.
This is a pretty simple idea when riding a bike. If you stop moving you will fall. The same can be said for our spiritual walk as well. 1 Timothy 4:1-16 reminds us that we should not neglect God. We should continue to serve him and “pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers”. In other words, we should continue to move forward with our relationship with God.
The question then becomes “What does this look like?”. For a long time I felt inadequate when my reading times produced no new knowledge of God. When I failed to learn something new about Him I felt as if God was not with me or I was not open to hearing what He had to say to me, and I felt defeated. However, these verses remind me that although knowledge about God is certainly important and something we should strive to understand, our relationship with Him is also very important.
When I look at relationships I have made here on earth I notice that these relationships are strengthened just by being with those people; no agenda, just spending time with them. I now realize that sometimes our devotion to reading scripture, praying, and serving Christ are all ways we can build that relationship.
Keep moving forward in your relationship with Christ so that you don’t fall!
- Clint