How many of you go to your favorite restaurant and order the same thing every time? Do you drive the same route to work every day? Do you sit on the same pew at church? (Of course, if you didn’t, folks would think you weren’t there!) I’ve heard the saying that “If you continue to do the things that you’ve always done, then you’ll continue to get the results that you’ve always gotten.” Yet, we tend to be surprised that “it happened again!” Bad habits are hard to break, but guess what? Good habits are hard to break, too! The goal is to replace the bad habits with good ones. As most of you know, I’m on a quest to get healthier. This is making me “rethink” about what I put in my body. I want to fill it with things that are beneficial – things that my body needs in order to function as well as it can. This is requiring me to make many changes in my daily habits. (I just had a cup of hot tea instead of coffee – who is this?)
But it got me to thinking – Are there some daily habits that you need to change in order to fill your life with the things that will help you grow spiritually? Do you have a “set time” to pray? I turn the radio off when I get in the car each morning, and talk to God going down our gravel road. I “say my prayers” at night before sleep and before meals. Then, of course, there are those “Help me, Lord” moments throughout the day. It’s so nice to know that I can “turn it over” to God at night and go to sleep – He’s going to be up anyway! Right?
One of my daily habits is to “write on my heart every word” by copying the scriptures. Being unable to find a writing schedule that had a “weekly memory verse” is how this whole blog came to be. I love having a “focus” each week. I can just imagine how excited first century Christians were to have a copy of one of Paul’s letters, yet we probably have ten or more copies of God’s Word in our possession right now. If you’re not using the Writing Schedules found on this blog, I urge you to grab an old spiral notebook, pen, and start “writing God’s Word on your heart.”
One of the habits that I always considered to be “life” was attending worship services three times a week. Unless I was sick, I went to church (and no, it’s not because I’m the preacher’s wife! It’s because I’m a Christian!) I love gathering with my church family to sing praises. I love to hear Godly men lead prayers, and yes, I do like that preacher we’ve got right now! But since this “Covid 19 pandemic,” things are different. We’re not having Bible classes on Sunday mornings. We watch Wednesday night Bible class online. I’m afraid that we’re getting “out of the habit” of attending services. There is a reason that the Lord wanted us to “gather together.” We need each other. I pray that you will take advantage of your opportunities to attend services. So what if you are asked to wear a mask? Are you going to let pride stand in your way following Him?
Yes, we are definitely “creatures of habit.” We need to make sure that we “fill” our lives with things that will help us “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18), for we are all simply blessed, Courtney
Very good–and very appropriate! God bless.