Bible Verse of the Day Sunday December 31st, 2023

1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

A short time ago, I logged in to my computer and took a few moments to scroll through some social media posts from various people. I do not spend massive amounts of time on social media sites, but I enjoy staying in touch with family, brothers, sisters in Christ, and other friends who live far away from us. As I began scrolling, I ran across an ad encouraging people to eat healthily and get lots of rest to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This person shared how we could change our lives physically through proper diet and exercise. Of course, the ad was only complete with digital images showing weight loss and people in excellent physical condition.

I agree that taking care of ourselves physically is important, and I am far from the one who gets enough exercise and sleep or maintains a perfectly healthy diet. We must take care of the life and body that God has given us. But diet and exercise are far from the most important things we can do. Aside from giving our hearts to Christ Jesus, living for God is the most important thing we can do with our lives! In God's Word, we read that living for God is profitable unto all things. In other words, all aspects of our lives improve when we live life for God.

This spiritual life-changing process does not promise that our bank accounts will suddenly swell to millions of dollars. There is also no guarantee that we will never face physical sickness or go through trials and tribulations. However, living our lives surrendered to God will bring benefits that we could never even imagine with our physical awareness. The question before us is, do we live our lives for Christ Jesus, or are we more focused on ourselves and what we can do for us? Furthermore, are we more concerned about living for God and spreading the gospel of Christ Jesus to the ends of the world? Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, desires that we live for him and tell others about the saving grace we can know through surrendering our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to Him.

Across this planet, millions of people need encouragement and strength that only God's Word can provide. As followers and believers in Christ Jesus, we should focus on helping our brothers and sisters in Christ find encouragement, develop stronger relationships with God, and help non-Christians accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior.