Habits

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"value": {
"name": "Quote",
"content": "<p><em>Who am I today may be the product of the decisions I’ve made through the circumstances of my life to this point, but who I will be tomorrow depends on the decisions I make today, the goals I aim for, the habits I live out, the processes that help me to keep them, the friends I do the journey with and the determination to keep going and not give up.</em></p>",
"attribution": "Ps Craig Groeshel"
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Do you know the Bible speaks a lot about habits; Jesus himself and other writers of the New Testament encourage us to have habits like forgiveness, patience, encouragement, hard work, not taking offense, resting, prioritising meeting together and many more. They also warn us against other habits like being a troubler, lover of money, gossip, being lazy, ignoring Godly wisdom, being complacent, overcome with lust and sexual desires, even overeating and obesity.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 ‘do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize. 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’.

We know as Christians the prize we are living for is to be in heaven with Jesus, with our friends and family and anyone else who we are able to share the incredible love of God with in this life. We all know—and it has been made so evident to us recently with so many people losing their lives across the globe—that this life really is only temporary. Knowing this is not the end gives us purpose, removes fear and focuses us on how we need to live the life we are called to live, rather than living purely for our own desires and comforts in this life.  If this is your prize, how then should we live? 

Good habits begin with identity… what we do flows out of who we are. So who do you want to be? Honestly, who do you really want to be? What do you want to be like in one year, two years, three years, 10 years… when you know this, then ask yourself, what do I need to change now to make it so?

When we know our goal we can then break it down. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes ‘You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems’.

What systems do you need to look at, what is letting you down? Is there something in this season perhaps that you have changed that now you need to begin to think and plan again? As we come out of lockdown in the days to come, what a great time to reassess from the word of God our goals, our habits and those things that will help us to achieve the prize that we truly desire…

There is so much more I can say, but if you want to remind yourself of the rest of the message why not listen again?