THREE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

Football players are plagued by injuries every season right down to the playoffs. Steve Young received a "couple dozen" shots for pain in one game ... and kept on.

Brent Jones (now retired) had a bad knee, and was still recovering from the flu. Bryant Young and Dion Sanders were carried off on a stretcher. And these are the guys who know how important it is to stay physically fit.

One of the best moments in the Cowboys vs Panthers game though, came after the game clock had expired and the camera showed about twenty of the Panthers gathered in a circle on their knees in a prayer of thanks.

Those guys know it is just as important to stay in shape spiritually if they are to be their best.

The Bible says "Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit... fitness has a certain value, but spiritual fitness is essential, both for this present life and the life to come." 1Tim 4:7PH

If it is so obvious, why don't we do it? If it is so easy why do we so often find ourselves not doing it? Why don't we like Nike suggests"Just Do It?"

Its a great slogan. But most of us "Just Buy It" and never get around to "Just Doing It." Why?

Or "Just Say No." Hey that's simple enough. Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit-

Three Life Changing Exercises:

ONE: GET TIME WITH GOD EVERY DAY.

The best way to experience God's best for your life is relationship. Spend time together. Relationship is the realm, the context where spiritual growth takes place.

Ever hear the phrase, "I feel like a fish out of water?"

As long as a fish in the water it is free, it swims... toss it on the sand it suffers. As long as a bird is in the air it can be free, hold it under the same water that set the fish free and the bird suffers.

If you want God's best --- you need to stay in relationship. --- without it your life suffers. Without it you will be like a fish out of water!

Sometimes Prayer

Get alone to do it. "Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray." Luke 5:16NCV It is time I set aside to be alone with God and to get to know Him.

Sometimes Bible reading

I can get God's help, God's perspective. "The Lord looked down from heaven on all people to see if anyone understood, if anyone was looking to God for help." Psalm 14:2

TWO: GET GOD FIRST IN YOUR FINANCES.

GIVE FROM WHAT YOU GET. What kind of giver are you? There are three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and the hot spring. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the more you will get. But the hot spring just kind of bubbles over.

Here is a spirititual principle: When I put God first I draw closer to God. "Where your treasure is, there your heart is also." Matthew 6:21

When I put God first I find incredible blessings.

Richard J. Foster , Money, Sex & Power

Giving with glad and generous hearts has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed

When I put God first I find incredible blessings. "Test me in this," says the LORD All-Powerful. "I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need." Malachi 3:10

Sometimes people give with mixed motives: I read in the pager about vandals who had cut down six royal palms along Flagler Street in Miami. Since the palms were very expensive, Dade County authorities weren't sure if they could replace them very soon. The old ones had been about fifteen feet tall and provided a nice foreground for a "Fly Delta" billboard. But then someone donated six more and even had them planted.. The new palms are thirty-five feet tall--completely hiding the sign. The new donor: Eastern Airlines.

When I put God first in my finances, I am more like God. God is a giver. "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." John 3:16

GET WITH OTHERS WHO SHARE YOUR SPIRITUAL VALUES REGULARLY.

I get encouragement when I am with other believers.

"You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other." Heb 10:25NCV

I get support.

"Two are better than one... if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion." Eccl 4:9-10.

Okay, but how do I get started and keep it up?

Simple:

1. Make a Commitment.

2. Begin right now!

3. Go Public.

4. Be consistent.

And do the three things --- The Three Spiritual Excercises of High Effective People

1. Get with God

2. Get into Giving

3. Get to Going to Church

Got it?