Latest / Coaching For Life / Episode 22: Spiritual Disciplines

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Episode 22: Spiritual Disciplines · Coaching For Life

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: The Coaching for Life Podcast with Monty Williams and Will Davis.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Coaching for Life Podcast with Monty Williams and Will Davis, a conversation that we pray encourages you to pursue the Christ-centered life.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's always a highlight of the week to spend some time with my good friend and co-host, Monty Williams.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And today, Monty, we are talking about the spiritual disciplines and what that means from a biblical perspective.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think back to our very first podcast, and we have said that we desire for God's word to really be the focus of this time, knowing that we are not experts, and it's not about what we think or what we might say as a pastor or as a former NBA coach and player, but really what is God's word say and how can we apply the scripture to live out the Christ-centered life.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it would be helpful for us just to first define what a spiritual discipline is and their purpose for our lives.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Spiritual disciplines can be described as those behaviors that develop our spiritual maturity.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: We as believers know that this takes place when we trust in Jesus and the work of the cross and that work uh allowing us to have salvation, allowing us to have right relationship with the Father.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: And when we make that decision, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and it starts the process of sanctification.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: And what a process that is, what a word that is in terms of my personal walk with the Lord, because when I got saved, forget spiritual discipline.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: I had no idea what sanctification was.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know what justification was, I didn't know what regeneration was.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we talk about um spiritual disciplines, um it it's I I think for us as believers, discipleship is so important.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um being in a sound biblical teaching church is so important so that you can have an I at least have an idea of what these terms are, have an acknowledgement that they are important, and then allow the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do in our lives.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: And a great verse for uh this particular topic is uh Corinthians 5 17.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: It says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like the transformation of a caterpillar to the butterfly, to a butterfly, it's the former self, the new creation, as we become more like Jesus Christ, our Savior.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so, what are the spiritual disciplines?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: There are several that we could dive into.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: But the discipline of reading and studying God's Word is one, and the discipline of prayer is another one that we're going to take a look at today.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Before we talk about the importance of prayer, I think about that word discipline, and it comes from a Latin word which means to learn.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it speaks to being a lifelong learner and a disciple of Christ.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And as you talked about, when we first come to Jesus in faith, the Christian life is then all about growing and maturing in the Lord and being sanctified in Him.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe we do that primarily through prayer and through the scripture.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I like how Richard Foster talks about in his book, Celebration of Discipline, that the spiritual disciplines are not for the super Christians or the spiritual giants, but they are to be the daily rhythms of the normative Christian life for each one of us.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you think about that word discipline, first of all, we think, okay, it's it's all about what we are doing, but as you said, it's the work of the Spirit in us.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not to be this painful drudgery and a duty that, okay, we we have to do, but they are to fill us with great delight and great joy.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's what we get to do as followers of Christ.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the primary requirement for someone wanting to grow in this area is having a deeper longing for God.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: So point number one when we're talking about prayer is prayer is a pursuit.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm 42 7, deep calls to deep.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about checking a box, because then prayer might become this legalistic practice.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's to be a joyous pursuit.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And what's most important is the attitude and the condition of our hearts as we pursue this deeper intimacy with the Lord.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I think about prayer, prayer is that central lifeline that feeds all of the other disciplines.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: William Carey wrote, Prayer, secret, fervent, believing prayer lies at the root of all personal godliness.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then as Foster writes, prayer is thinking God's thoughts after him, desiring the things that he desires, to love the things that he loves.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So prayer is that ongoing conversation throughout the day with Christ.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I admit that this is a spiritual discipline and an area of my life where I need to see growth as a disciple.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I I can certainly grow in my prayer life.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll give a few more points in in just a moment on prayer, but like a hand in a glove, it's hard to talk about prayer without also talking about the importance of scripture in the spiritual life.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's it's amazing you would say that because you have, you and I were talking last week, like you've been such an inspiration to me.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like I don't think there's I can count on one hand when we've gotten off the phone and we haven't prayed.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: And it has changed.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: Now my kids, especially the ones who are out of town, they know before they get off the phone with daddy that we're gonna pray.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: And it's because of the impact that you've had on my life in terms of seeing that example.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't think we've, I mean, maybe two or three times.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, we've gotten off the phone and we didn't probably were rushed.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Or we just, whatever.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like you're in the drive-thru.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like exactly.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and so that it that has rubbed off on me in such a profound way because I was one of those guys, as I I told you and share with you many times, like God was a genie in my life.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_02: And prayer was an attempt to change his mind, to get what I wanted, and to check a box.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I didn't understand or didn't want to understand that it is a get-to, not a got to, it is a communication line with Yahweh, the God of all creation, and I get to talk to him.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: And the miracle isn't that he answers prayer the way we want it, the miracle is that he listens to us at all.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you think about it, like why would he listen to us?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so I just, you know, wanted to take that time to share with our listeners that your impact on me has been immense in terms of teaching me that I need to pray more with my family and take every opportunity possible to do it.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: But before we chat about reading and studying God's word, um, I wanted to make sure that we give it the honor that it's due.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: God's Word, it's different because of its inspiration.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: 2 Timothy 3.16 says, all scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: There's no other book like the Bible.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: No author outside of the author of these particular books can say that I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: You may have been impacted by godly wisdom or an experience, but not many people outside of these authors can say I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these books.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: If you look at John 1, in the beginning, and it says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: All things came into being through him, and apart from him, not even one thing came into being that was that has come into being.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: By reading and studying God's word, we get to, as you alluded to earlier, we get to commune with Jesus intimately.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: Every day.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like as a man, you know, you you tend to look forward to, you know, way more shallow things, you know, watching Sports Center or watching League Pass at night when I watch three or four games.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: But I get to um read God's word every single day.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: What a privilege.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: 2 Timothy 2.15 says, be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: Accurately handling the word of truth.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: We are to study.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: It is not a suggestion.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: We are also called to handle it accurately.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: And this brings up a topic that I learned actually, it's it's strange.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: I learned about exegesis and eisegesis through a song by a Christian artist named Flame, way back in the day.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: He actually wrote a song about it.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: And exegesis is the critical explanation, analysis, or interpretation of a written text to discover its original intended meaning.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: Isegesis is the process of interpreting a text by reading one's own presuppositions, biases, or personal agendas into it rather than drawing the actual meaning out of the words.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so when 2 Timothy says we are to accurately handle the word of truth, that is an exegetical approach.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: It is what you do so well, it is what Pastor Bill Gebhardt, Chuck Swendah, uh Dr.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: MacArthur did so well, Charles Stanley, uh Bodhi Bacham.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like you all handle the word correctly, unashamedly, like teaching it every single day, and especially on Sundays and when we get together during the week.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: And it has it has had such an impact on so many.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: And when I think about those who practice isegesis, where they pull their own meaning out of the word for their own benefit or their own slant, typically um dealing with money, sometimes dealing with church doctrine to get something done.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think to myself, like, how many believers have been led astray because of that practice?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: When 2 Timothy 215 tells us that we are to handle the word of truth accurately.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: We're not to mess around when we teach the word.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: There's no uh book in the Bible called Second Opinions.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we are to we are to read and study and say what the word says and and believe that it is truth.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my prayer as people leave our church on a Sunday morning and they they walk to the parking lot and they start their week at work or at school is that the word of God will work and transform their hearts.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Not that they walk away saying, Oh, that pastor was funny or or entertaining or you know uh I had a great time, but um but that you know the God's word was was really doing a sanctifying work.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think one of that, I think that's a key to studying and and teaching and preaching the word is to let the text interpret the text.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, you know, we we try to bring in our 21st century perspective, but we should be asking at all times what is the context of this passage?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: We're observing the text, we're meditating on it, and that will help us by the leading of the Holy Spirit to determine its meaning and interpretation, and then how can I apply this truth to my life today?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Praise God.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we need the Spirit, and we need to ask God in prayer, Lord, you enlighten me to the truth.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and again, you're thinking about it throughout the week, you're meditating on it, you're ruminating upon it, and and then our meditation should just transition into prayer.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: As the Holy Spirit Spirit is revealing truth to us and those spiritual insights.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, many times we we text each other, you know, throughout the week saying, Wow, I saw something here for the very first time.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I may have to be.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Usually me for the just for the list.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: So they know it's it's usually me, like, well, I just saw something for the first time.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: And you're probably like, yeah, that's pretty basic.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not that you you're not saying you read it for the first time, because you may have read it like five or six times in the past, but God showed you something new there.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that's that's the work of the Holy Spirit.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and back to prayer for a moment, I think point number two about the discipline of prayer that we can make is let's make prayer a priority.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's got to be the most important thing that we do each day as a believer.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we had Max Luceto with us a few weeks ago, and and Max just oozes you know wisdom, and he had so many great you know, nuggets of truth.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not naturally that way, but when I see somebody at H E B at the grocery store or uh out on the street or or wherever I'm at, I can have a ministry of prayer, you know, and and and say, I'm gonna listen to what is going on in this person's life, and let me pray for you right here.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we could be in the produce aisle, wherever.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: But God can use us to have that that ministry in the lives of others, and it starts with us though.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: We need to be setting that example for the priority of prayer in our lives, and and Jesus is the one who sets the ultimate example of that.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: It says in Mark 135, and in the early morning, Jesus had a set time uh while it was still dark before the distractions and details of the day.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he got up, he left the house, and he went away to a secluded place and he prayed there for a time.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that speaks to point number three set aside a time and a place for prayer.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Martin Luther said, I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we may not spend three hours in prayer, but it could be 30 minutes of prayer and journaling and reading God's Word, meditating upon it.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that leads to point number four, be persistent and persevere in prayer.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Keep praying throughout the day.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Luke 18 1 says that at all times we ought to pray.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul says in several places, Romans 12 12, be persistent in prayer.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Colossians 4 2, devote yourselves to prayer, staying alert in it with thanksgiving.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 6 18, praying at all times in the Spirit, keep alert with all perseverance.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And also 1 Thessalonians 5.17, pray constantly.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then the final point, point number five, when we're talking about prayer, is before we go to that petition aspect of our prayer, let's begin with praise.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with adoration and thanksgiving and confession, and then we bring our needs and the needs of others before Him through that intercessory prayer.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: We obviously don't have time to go into every aspect of prayer, and and that's the great thing about uh this pod.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we can come back at a later time and and talk about more aspects of our prayer life.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: But before we do speak to God, let's first listen to him through his word, through his indwelling spirit, and and get alone with him.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Listen for his voice.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I like how one theologian wrote, A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking, but he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, as we study the word, it's important that we are listening to God lead us as we open the scripture.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: He wants to reveal more of himself to us through the word.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one reason to study, but there are so many other reasons to study the word as well.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, why why do we study the word?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: Is it to check a box?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: Is it to get what we want?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, is it to look a certain way in front of other people?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh when we're at the coffee shop and and we got a group of guys and we're sitting there uh studying or reading God's Word.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: The Bible says in Timothy uh 3.17, 2 Timothy 3.17, so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: All that we need for biblical productivity is in the canon of Scripture.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: Relationships, you'll see it in Colossians 3.13, money, Deuteronomy 8.18, parenting, Deuteronomy 6, uh, verses 6 through 7, time management, Ephesians 5, uh verses 5, 15 through 17, guidance, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, on and on and on.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Whatever the topic is, it's it's in the scriptures.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: We look at what David said in Psalm 119, verse 11.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_02: I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: You name it, it's in the Bible.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'd like to share some biblical examples of God's people reading and gleaning from God's word.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh in Exodus 24, 7, uh it says, Then he took the book of the covenant, Moses, and he read it as the people listened, and they said, All that the Lord has spoken, we will do, and we will be obedient.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: In Joshua 8, verses 34 through 35, it says, There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: In 2 Kings 22, verses 8 and 10, it says, And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: In the New Testament we see Jesus, it says, And he came to Nazareth in Luke four, verses sixteen through twenty, where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release to the cap to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's amazing how some believers have adopted a private monastic walk with God when there's so many examples of us being commanded to be a bright light to be seen.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: And what what better uh bright light than to be a pub?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: be publicly reading the word of God.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Which is one of the things that just I adore about our church, our fellowship, is that you you read the word of God, you teach us the word of God.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: And as you said, it has it has an impact on us all.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: Just like you and I talk about it all the time.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: When we study to get ready for this, I'm amazed at how much I'm growing as a believer, as a dad, as a husband, as a friend, just studying and getting ready for these particular pods.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: Another question that may come up is when?
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: And to that I would reply, it's up to you, really.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: But you you alluded to Jesus setting that time in the morning.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I I found my morning devotional time has been probably the most pivotal moment of my day in terms of my heart for whatever reason in the morning is so much more open when no one's running around.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: It's really quiet outside of you know a few dogs barking because we live out in the country.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: But it's it's it's been a game changer for me.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think I've shared this before I was a devo guy and there's nothing wrong with devotionals.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: Many, many pastors and theologians have put great ones out there.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: But I was never one to get into the word myself and study and journal and pray.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: That was I just read the Devo, I followed the prayer and I just kind of did my thing.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: And it usually took place at a much more convenient time for me, so I thought.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I watched my first wife Ingrid practice, study, journal and pray all the time.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I used to watch her and she didn't know how that had a huge impact on me.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_02: And now it's so funny because Lisa, my new wife, um she just she marvels at the fact that I can get up at sometimes five, sometimes before five o'clock and head to um our gym where we live um on our property and I'll go in there and I'll study.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I I usually take a book out of the Bible I have my commentary right now I I my my buddy commentary is the Warren Wearsby commentary but there's there's many out there whether it's MacArthur's uh commentary John Corson has one find a commentary that is sound but one that you can understand.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Many commentaries can be a bit can be a bit deep and if you're like me deep is is uh a part of the pool that I try to stay out of but what I've learned is that I'm growing so much in my study by uh not allowing the depth to inhibit me from searching for more and so even if I have to put on the the you know the kiddie pool uh floaties yeah I'll put them on so that I can learn more and more and what I'm finding is I'm swimming in deeper water as I'm learning so much more.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: And so that has been a huge impact on me and it's amazing I think it's having an impact on my boys.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah because these these last few years they'll they wake up to come see me before they go to school and they see their dad in the gym highlighter Bible commentary notes and I can imagine that that's going to have a an impact on them as they get older like it had an impact on me.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: No as a pastor one of the most encouraging things that I receive during the week is is not you know something that I said and and and and people giving a compliment um I mean that's always very very kind and nice but the most encouraging thing is when someone in the congregation says God revealed something to me in his word.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they share what that is and this is this is what I saw and and God was working in my life through that truth.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to remind myself you know because sometimes I do find that I encounter you know dry seasons and and even when I'm preparing for um a sermon I I I experience some you know writer's block and I'm not sure kind of where this is going and how it's all going to come together before Sunday.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like the Holy Spirit just quietly says to me run to the word go to the word as quickly as possible.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's power in the word because I feel it you know when I haven't had that time in the scripture throughout the day you know I'm I'm less patient and you know I just feel a little more you know anxious or whatever.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I do read I do love reading you know all kinds of different books whether it's fiction or nonfiction but nothing comes close to the encouragement and the hope and the peace and the joy and the nearness to the Lord like reading the scripture.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so much more that we we crave it and we we have to have more of it.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think about 1 Peter 2 2 like newborn babies long or crave for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: So as we close I mean any final words of encouragement I love I love your your um charge to you know find that time you know if if if a commentary can also help that study and supplement your time and the word but you know that time and that place I mean those those things alone are so important.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think for you know as a coach yeah one of the things that I've said to players and I say it to high school kids a lot because I'm I'm constantly teaching them um based on my experience and what other people have taught me not that I've invented anything but one of the things I tell them is that you are never going to regret hard work.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: You you won't yeah I I'm just telling you I'm I'm 55 years old and there's never been a time in my life where I regret it working hard.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so I tell them all the time like just work hard yeah like you're you're going to find that there's value in it you're going to get better I can I can wholeheartedly say to the listeners that you will never regret finding time and making the sacrifice to study God's word.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: You will not look back on it and say man I wish I didn't take time to read Deuteronomy.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's just not going to happen.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: This in the same way that I get to tell young kids that you're not going to regret staying after practice and shooting 50 more free throws.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: You're not going to regret going home and stretching.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: You're not going to regret um looking at a video on how to improve your jump shot.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: You're not going because you're sowing into your career.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well how much more when it comes to studying God's word no one will be at the end of their life before they head into eternity with our Heavenly Father and look back on their life if they if they're cognizant of it and look back and say man I wish I didn't spend time studying God's word.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: I wish I didn't get up at six in the morning crack open the word and ask the Lord what does this mean?
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_02: How does this affect my family?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_02: There will not be a regret by studying God's word.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: And just that reminder that you know the spiritual disciplines are are so important to the life of a disciple and again they're not to be this drudgery but we are to go about it in great delight great joy.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so as we close let me pray for us and and for the listener that that God would give each one of us a a greater longing for intimacy with the Lord.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray Lord we thank you for your word we thank you for the great privilege we have to approach you in prayer and place within us a deeper craving to know you more through that daily communion with you in your word help us to set aside that that place and that specific time to meet with you for devotion and for worship.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: Would we not just search the scripture for the sake of ministry or for teaching or for preaching or for coaching but most of all for obtaining that spiritual food for our souls.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord for the purpose of a greater nearness to you.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: We want to be more sanctified we want to be more conformed into your likeness Lord we desire to know you more and we ask that you would bless each listener and whatever they are going through we pray that you would be with them and that you would guide and lead them we ask this in the name of Jesus amen.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well thank you for spending time with us today and remember wherever you find yourself know that we are praying for you know that God loves you he's for you he's got a good plan for you and we'll see you next time thank you for joining us at Coaching for Life and please subscribe wherever you receive this content