Meet my personal trainer....

Titus 2:11-13  "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing ("training") us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus..."

I celebrated turning 40 by competing (I use that term loosely!) in the Seal Beach Triathlon.  It was a significant event for me in that it marked 5 years of surviving colon cancer.   My primary goal in the race was to finish; my secondary goal was to do it in under two hours.

I dedicated 6 months to prepare for the race, my regimen consisting of daily jogging and biking, and  occasional swimming   In addition, I went to the gym three days a week and worked out with a personal trainer   Knowing what lay ahead of me, he created a specific regimen geared toward my goals.

As Believers, each of us has a personal trainer, the Holy Spirit.  By the grace of God, He designs a training plan custom-fit for us.  We share a common goal: to "finish the race" victoriously.  The race is a triathlon, having three components: denying, living, and looking.

Training isn't easy.  Hebrew 12:11 says, "All discipline ("training") for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

With the help of my Personal Trainer, I will successfully get rid of the bad habits, replace them with godly ones, and keeping my eye on the goal, reach the finish line in victory.

Lord, thank You for not leaving me to figure things out for myself.  Thank You for Your indwelling Spirit who relentlessly trains me to run the race well.  Please help me to keep my eye on the finish line.  Amen