PT & Quals

I usually have to ask my Navy son what these initials and abbreviated words mean.

"PT" is "Physical Training". That means that you have to stay in shape! You have to run, exercise and stay fit to serve in the military. Makes sense to me. "Quals" is short for 'Qualifications'. In other words, according to your specific job, military personnel are required to aspire. You have to be stretching in your understanding of your job. You have to move toward improvement of your skills and making upward progress in your abilities.

With each, there are time limits. A specified amount of time encourages development as well as onward and upward motion.

Have you ever had the notion to quit? To me, strange is the person who loves training in the Gym, putting in the PT that brings them up to 'Qual'. I am guessing those are just a couple of reasons that I would not have made it through Boot Camp in any branch of the Armed Forces! I have heard the stories of my Navy son and my two former Marine sons of their experiences, and I would have probably been booted out of Boot Camp!

Do you sometimes struggle in your spiritual life, even to the point of contemplating 'chucking it'? Many have. What really interests me as a Christian is the downright challenge of spiritual progress. Forward motion is described by the Apostle Paul as 'straining toward what is ahead'. In another portion of Scripture he goes on to describe the intense nature of progressive Spiritual PT:

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:25

Paul would use the 'PT" Illustration time and time again to encourage serious minded Christians to make spiritual fitness and usefulness their continuing goal. He would use military terms to insist that those who follow Christ take their 'PT' seriously: "Ensure hardship with us like a good soldier of Jesus Christ," he wrote as Timothy's Personal Trainer (look at 2 Timothy 2:1-7 for more insight). Hardship, challenge, resistance, opposition, pain and even agony are all ingredients that combined result in a fully developed and godly man or woman. No shortcuts. No easy street. No route of least resistance. Uphill all the way.

So, as your week begins, expect challenge. There will be times for water breaks, cool downs and timeouts, but the champion that God is making in you as a testimony of His grace and power takes some priority setting on your part as well. Make up your mind that you will stay the course. When you think about it, Jesus did not cut corners to secure your redemption. No wonder that the writer of Hebrews described Him as the 'author and the perfecter of our faith', (Hebrews 12:2). The cost for Him in your behalf was the ultimate expression of courage, motivated by resolute love that assured your salvation, and your present and future victory.

So today, give thanks to God who gives you His victory and...

"Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

Don't give up reading your Bible today. Don't give up on talking to your Heavenly Father and listening for His voice. Don't give up looking to Him whan you are under fire, when you face discouragement, when you are confused, burdened, tempted, fatigued, offended, wounded, and at the break point. You do not follow Him in vain, and He will enable you to overcome. Why?

Because you have put in the PT and have met His 'Qual'.