This was the virtue of training, of conditioning, that in an emergency one always knew what to do. Panic only entered the empty mind.”
–Louis L’Amour (Shalako)
“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
–1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)
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Throughout my life I have had plenty of training. First, it was my intent to play baseball, therefore, I spent every available minute practicing. After practice, I would go home and throw the ball against the rock foundation of our house. Practice. Then the military entered my life, or I entered the military. There was all sorts of training and classes. After that I became a teacher, and more training, especially with computers.
We should be involved in some sort of training all our lives. There are all sorts of diets and exercise programs out there to train and discipline the body. But I have found very little training for eternity. Oh, there is some, much of it “feel good” sort of stuff, more like milquetoast than rigorous Bible study. I came across the following by a Veterans Chaplain, William Swierenga.
“Our supreme ambition should be to fulfill a decisive role in the war on evil. Our deepest dread ought to be the prospect of losing our influence for any reason.
At times the demands of Christian love may seem to be downright unreasonable, a cruel denial of our human desires. Under abnormal conditions especially, it is easy to excuse lapses into loose living. But whenever we try to suspend the rules of God’s service, we find that we are being suspended from service. God wants folks to be fit for his use! The undisciplined Christian forfeits the deep satisfaction of being part of the answer to the needs of mankind. He suffers the misery of feeling that he is just one more factor in the overwhelming problems of the world.
God leads us in paths of righteousness, where we are often compelled to choose between the sensual pleasures of the moment and the spiritual joys which endure forever. God give us the grace to see life as the great apostle Paul viewed it and to respond accordingly!
Prayer: Father of Spirits, give us the manly resolution to subject ourselves to you will, that we may know the rich satisfaction of being in control of ourselves. Make us aware that the real satisfactions must forever elude from the self-indulgent. Forgive us for, and deliver us from whatever would make our witness ineffectual. Reinstate us in your victorious service, when we repend of our failures. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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I haven’t heard anything about the great weatherman Phil, yet. However, I figure that whatever he decides is for the most part phooey. Nature will take its course. Snow, freeze, rain, hail, wind, and heat will come and go; on the just and on the unjust. Ever stop to think about it? Weathermen and politicians get paid to lie. So whatever the weather the important thing is to remember: it is the day the Lord has made, rejoice in it, and be prepared for whatever may come.
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I just have to say something about the deplorable, no that’s not right, I’m a deplorable according to Hillary Clinton. For the disgusting way the Democrats reacted to the State of the Union. Sure they’re not going to agree on everything, but goodness…when there is something such as, the lowest unemployment rates for minorities in years, they ought to applaud. There were several things in the speech that were definitely bipartisan, a chance for a tiny bit of unity. All I saw was hatred.
By the way, I know Pelosi is not of Generation Z, but she sure looked as if she was sucking on a soap pod.