Continue In It.
As I was walking this morning, I did some reflecting on routines. I’ve been doing some “tweaking” to my morning routine, in preparation of the upcoming school year. Some things need to be changed, adjusted, rearranged. But other things need to remain constant–Tryst (my time of study and prayer), Exercise, Calendaring–these are examples of things that do not and should not be “tweaked”. They are vitally important to how I begin my day.
John Piper recently preached on the passage 2nd Timothy 3:14-17. You can see the passage in it’s entirety below. (Note: if you click on the passage, it will take you to Biblia.com where you can read the passage in it’s context) I loved his emphasis on “Continue In It”
Verse 14 says “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed…..” Paul exhorts his readers to not stop, to continue on in what they have both Learned and Believe. But how does one do that? What does that look like? Because life gets in the way. Our own “goofed-upness” gets in the way. We falter. We procrastinate. We Give Up.
I am guilty of this. I am guilty of starting things and not continuing in them–like exercise, like reading the Bible through in one year. Sure, I have great intentions. But then I don’t “Continue In It”, and it falls by the wayside.
But Continuing in something means so much more than just forming a habit. When one truly “continues in something”, it becomes a part of life, a part of existence. For example, I continue in my love for my family. I can’t imagine not loving them, not caring for my children. My love for my kids is so ingrained, it is a part of who I am, my very existence.
I think this is what Paul is calling us to do–to continue in not only what we have learned, but that which we have learned and firmly believe–that God gave His only son to live on this earth and die as a sacrifice for our lives, and that, that very son has risen from death and now lives and longs to have a relationship with us–to call us friends, and more remarkably, the sons and daughters of God.
Again, what does this look like?
Here are a few ideas:
1. Immerse yourself in scripture. As Verse 16 says—all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. How blessed we are that God gave us His Word. More than just a quick swipe at a devotional reading here and there, make it your habit–your routine–to daily immerse yourself in His Word. In Scripture. I’ll share more ways on how to do that in a later post.
2. Put yourself under Biblical teaching and preaching. First and foremost, plant yourself in a Bible preaching church. Actually listen to the sermon–God has given that sermon to that preacher, if he is seeking God, for a reason. Listen! And then there are many other great resources available for Biblical teaching and preaching. I mentioned RefNet on here a couple of days ago-a good source for sermons and teaching.
3. Serve. Put into practice what you read, what you hear, what you learn. Become an active part of your local body of believers, the church. Seek out a way that you can serve God–missions? Teaching? Volunteering? Singing?–and immerse yourself in that. You will both encourage others to “Continue In It” and you yourself will be encouraged to “Continue In It”.
Immerse. Practice. Continue. What we have learned and firmly believe is vital. It must become as vital to us as breathing.
2nd Timothy 3:14-17
