I went on a 18 mile bicyle ride after church today in the wonderful sunshine. I pedaled hard and got a great workout. It is discouraging how quickly I get out of shape if I miss exercising even for a couple days. I have to stay very faithful to a routine of exercise or else I go downhill rapidly.
The same is true of our heart and soul and spirit. If we neglect going to church, reading our Bible, spending time with God in prayer, confessing all known sin to God we will drift away from God very quickly. How foolish for a person to think that they won’t. If a person stops exercising faithfully most would not think that they won’t become out of shape just because they willed it so in their mind. If you don’t exercise faithfully you become weaker quickly, and if you don’t faithfully practice the basic disciplines of the Christian life you will drift away from God. Fear it.
Pastor Dee's Blog 
So very true. I often tell my Sunday School class, “If you abandon the basic disciplines for six months, you stand in serious danger of losing your faith altogether.” Just like abandoning the discipline of physical exercise, it is amazing how quickly our flesh drags us into the ditch (like that old car you had, with the bad front-end alignment) when we abandon spiritual disciplines.
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