When the apostle Paul wrote Timothy, he instructed his young protégé to “exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).  Paul was familiar with the Olympics of his day, and referred to the games quite often in his writings.  But instead of training the body, Paul taught Timothy to train the spirit.  He was to exercise his life in a direction of godliness.

     Bill Hull states, “Training to be holy is very different from trying to be holy.  Trying to be holy doesn’t work, training does.”  To exercise godliness you must be deliberate.  One does not “accidentally” work-out.   No one mistakenly lifts weights or jogs three miles.  The same principle holds true when it comes to our spirituality.

     To be godly we must train ourselves.  We must have an intentional program, a set of core values and a strong will to live within the parameters of the Word of God.  We must stick to a daily regime of prayer, meditation, and spiritual disciplines. Horatius Bonar stated, “Holiness is not measured by one great heroic act of mighty martyrdom…it is the small things that a holy life is made of.”  We grow strong spiritually the same way we grow strong physically, by exercising a little every day.