28 Aug W2 | Cultivating Godly Habits

Posted at 09:12h in October, Topics 2024 by

REFERENCE BIBLE VERSES

1 Corinthians  9:24-27 NIV | Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as 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. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

 

Hebrews 12:11 NIV | No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

OBJECTIVE

Knowing how to cultivate Godly habits and why it is important for our growth in Christ. 

CONTENT

CULTIVATING THROUGH DISCIPLINE

  • We have to develop good habits to grow and reach our goals. These daily habits will shape the direction of our lives. No athlete is ever magically successful and strong without training and building a healthy habit, the same goes for us in life. We determine our habits, and our habits determine us.
  • Maturity comes through training, not through coasting or indulging desires for immediate comfort. For an athlete, even before the competition, even before the discomfort of enduring on race day, is the obstacle of training. This training even before the competition, helps them be prepared to face what is to come. Effective training requires pain and discomfort (Hebrews 12:11). The body is not conditioned by leisure but by stress and strain, and especially through persisting in discomfort. Both body and mind are “trained by constant practice” (Hebrews 5:14).
  • We grow when we develop good habits. This applies to every area of our lives, including our spiritual growth. What we do on the day-to-day defines what becomes of our future. As the saying from the famous book Atomic Habits goes, “we do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.”

CULTIVATING GODLY HABITS

  • Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
    1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
  • While habits are important, they’re not the point. Nobody cultivated habits better than the Pharisees, but they still missed the goal of the habits: God himself. Habits don’t mature us by themselves, but they are the means by which God matures us and draws us to Himself. Scripture encourages a number of habits, regular practices that become routine, that we’re meant to cultivate in our lives. If we want to grow, we need godly habits.
  • God’s presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good—without Him, we can do nothing of true value. Spending time with God through prayer and His Word is a prerequisite for having a Godly life and fulfilling your purpose. Start by taking some time daily to talk with God in prayer and read His Word, even if it’s just five or ten minutes. It’s true that we can improve ourselves through discipline and even have some success, but willpower will only bring us so far.
  • The truth is that nothing can really take the place of having a healthy relationship with God and having the Holy Spirit enable us to be consistent and persistent in our pursuit of a Godly life. Without the Holy Spirit, our flesh will fail us when the calling to live righteously goes against our comfort. God also provides our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us be accountable in the habit and life that we are working towards.
  • When it comes to creating a good habit, we are wise to look for ways to make it feel as rewarding as it is. We’ve all been given a race of faith to run. And if we run faithfully with endurance, laying aside every heavy weight and sin, we are promised a glorious, incomparable, imperishable, eternal prize: Jesus Christ. Paul exhorts us to “run that [we] may obtain [him]” (1 Corinthians 9:24). So, we have to take our habits seriously, because they determine the way we run. The Godly habits we build in our lives are going to pay off forever in eternity.

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • This time next year, how do you want to have grown spiritually? What will it take to get there? Write out a step by step plan to keep you on track.
  • How does accountability with another person help you grow spiritually and in every other area of your life?

REFERENCES