September 13, 2026
Good morning! It’s a bit cool out there this morning, headed for 78 for a high, perhaps with a bit of rain later in the day. Miss Deb and I are headed out the door on our way to preach at Esterbrook Community Church. This trip is always a going-home time for us! We are both looking forward to being a blessing to those dear folks and anticipating that we will most likely receive the greater blessing.
On Friday, we had to go to Cheyenne so I could run on a treadmill for my Cardiologist. Wow, was that fun, not! But, by God’s amazing grace I survived. While visiting with the folks who were administering said testing, I attempted to guide the conversation into a spiritual direction. It was kind of like trying to steer on old John Deer tractor while it is barely moving. Neither of my young friends were the least interested in visiting about spiritual matters.
So, as I was trying hard to keep both feet moving in a forward motion, wondering why there was so little oxygen in the little room, I was instructed to keep my focus upward and straight ahead! As I looked upward and straight ahead, all I could see was a calendar which was located on a wall about two feet in front of me.
Here’s my point: In spite of all of my efforts to keep up with the ground that was moving underneath my feet (the treadmill), I was going nowhere. The calendar never got any closer, and the wall that I was running toward, never allowed me to catch it. Literally, I was running like an ‘ol fat man, yet going nowhere in the process.
And then it struck me, way too many folks who call themselves Christians are running on a spiritual treadmill. They are running like crazy but are going nowhere! They run to church for worship, for meetings, for exercise classes, for special gatherings, but their spiritual depth never seems to go anywhere.
These folks most likely attend Bible studies, small groups, and even have devotions every morning, but because they seldom apply all of that learning, their spiritual life doesn’t move much. As such, their spiritual growth seldom changes scenery. They just continue to run on the same spiritual treadmill, expecting to see things change, but they seldom do.
You see my friends, without deliberate application, all of our learning does very little to push us forward to become more like Jesus. We have lots of head-knowledge, but the scenery seldom changes; just like watching a calendar on a wall while struggling to just keep my feet moving forward.
Friday, I mentioned to my two young friends in that little room with me, that one would think with all of today’s electronic advances that their I.T. person should be able to replace that calendar with a television screen that shows a constant change of scenery as a person walks through the mountains or around a lake, or even down the street. They both shrugged their shoulders and increased the incline and speed on my treadmill!
I guess some folks don’t care all that much about where they are headed on the treadmill of life, but then there are those of us who want to see things change on a regular basis. If you are one of those change people, try applying all that you are learning spiritually. It’s amazing how quickly the scenery changes with proper application!
Enjoying walking on the spiritual treadmill with you, Neal
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