“Crunch time.” Have you ever heard or used those words? Maybe you have used some other phrase like “this is where the rubber meets the road” or “this is where you find out what you are made of.” If you have ever played any organized sport of any kind, crunch time is when all the practice and all the hard work come into play. It may be the closing seconds or the last inning or final drive. Do you remember that scene from the movie Hoosiers at the very end of the game when it all came down to one last play? When the coach assigned someone else to take the shot and the team balked, Jimmy stepped forward and said, “I can make it.” And he did. That was crunch time.
It is crunch time in my series on Funny Math. We have been talking about adding (to our faith) goodness, knowledge, self-control and perseverance. But now it is crunch time. This quality we will be studying this week is where it all comes down to. “Add to your perseverance…godliness.” Plainly put: godliness should be our greatest desire. I like what Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” The NIV puts it “give me an undivided heart.” WOW!
Songwriter and worship leader, Matt Redman wrote, “Those five word (give me an undivided heart) are probably some of the most important we’ll ever pray.” -(Unquenchable Worshipper-p.94)
I think Matt hit on something. Rhetorical question: how hard is it to keep an undivided heart these days? No answer needed. I know the answer to that. So do you. But if we are to be godly, if we are to be Christlike, we need to be God-centered. While godliness is the miracle we desire, there is a mountain that looms in front of us: worldliness. I am not going to spend my time telling people what they can and cannot do or should or should not do. That is a pure waste of time. I am going to take us I Cor.10:6-11 for a good description of worldliness but I want to end on a positive note, not have the people leaving the building feeling beat up. So…here is my ending. How can I make godliness real in my life? Two things:
- Look and look and look again at Jesus.
- Practice and practice and practice the daily discipline of dying to self.
So, let me ask you. What is your definition of godliness? I know you find it a struggle but what are you doing to facilitate becoming more godly in your daily life? Is there anything you can add to this that I might be able to use Sunday morning? Please feel free to comment.
As always, thanks for the prayers for Sunday. And thanks to Dan for the banner.
