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Being a pilot I know the answer to the classic
question; what do you do if the engine quits? Answer: Obey the law
of gravity! In 1642 Sir Isaac Newton defined the Law of Gravity,
which states, “All objects in the universe attract each other with a
force which is proportional to their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.”
Sounds pretty complicated to me. All I know is, when I drop
something it always falls to the floor and usually rolls under the
lowest piece of furniture and ends up against the wall with the dust
and spider webs! You know what I’m talking about. Newton’s Law is
always supplemented by Murphy’s Law! Here’s the point; things that
are dropped always end up lower than they were before.
Let’s look at it another way. Things that are
not kept up will invariably do down. For instance,
if you don’t keep the maintenance up on your car, it will
deteriorate in its usefulness as a vehicle. If you don’t keep up
with your car keys you just might be late to work. If you don’t keep
up with the latest changes in your career you will be left behind.
If you don’t keep up with what it takes to maintain a relationship
it will become shallow and could fail. If you don’t keep up with
your need for spiritual growth you will become spiritually dry and
be a better target for Satan. Get the point? It takes a lot of
effort to keep things up! Left to themselves, most things
will deteriorate, go down, fall, fade, etc.
Paul warned what would happen if you do not
keep up with learning spiritual principles in an environment with
Christian friends. In Colossians 2:8 he warned, “See to it that no
one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which
depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world
rather than on Christ.” Those who are not up on their spiritual
philosophy are more susceptible to the false philosophy of others.
Paul also said, in 1st Corinthians 13:16, “Be on your guard; stand
firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” When you stand
firm in your faith it will not so easily deteriorate or go down.
Common Sense Application
1. How do you stay up
spiritually? I guess I could say that this devotional is brought to
you by the letter ‘D’; discipline! First it
requires a genuine desire to stay up. Remind yourself of
the benefits of an up relationship with God. Think about
how your heart is at peace when you and God are in close
relationship. Commit yourself to a consistent routine of Bible study
and prayer.
2. Develop a credible accountability
partnership with a trusted friend who will tell you when you are
slipping downward in your spiritual excellence and help you
re-energize your close walk with God.
3. Reduce the distractions in your life that
tend to encourage sloppiness in your spiritual life; things
such as inappropriate TV programs, inappropriate surfing on the
Internet, frequenting inappropriate places and even friends who do
not care about spiritual excellence.
4. Get ready for some spiritual sweat because
it takes WORK to stay UP!
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