Deuteronomy 7:2
The footnotes for today's scripture say this:
Deuteronomy 7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them;
WOW, isn't this powerful! Today Joyce tells us that 'The bad habits in our lives are our enemies because they hinder us from being the person we want to be'. In yesterday's blog Leanne told us her bad habits were stealing her joy- keeping her from doing the things she wanted to do. Truly enemies.
If a habit is bad, it is categorized bad because it is not good for us. It's not healthy. It 's damaging. It could have lasting implications. It truly is stealing our quality of life. We are human, we live in the flesh - we all have bad habits. We can even identify those in detail AND tell you what kind of implication it's having on our lives. They are 'character defects' - things that make us just a bit defective (OR A LOT DEFECTIVE) right? - if we are truly honest about it?
I have many bad habits. The one that makes me the unhappiest, the unhealthiest, the one that makes me reach out to Jesus day after day begging for mercy is my inability to consistently eat healthy and exercise - the two things that could dramatically change my life in a huge and positive way! Recapping yesterday a bit, MY bad habit keeps me from running that 5k that I so desperately want to run, to walk a flight of stairs without needing an oxygen tank. I say that jokingly, but it's the truth. My body cannot pull the weight it's being asked to carry..........so, how do we change these bad habits? How do I 'tackle my temple' and bring my Father the glory he deserves?
REPETITION! We seem to have no problem with repetition as far as our bad habits go, so why not focus on repetition for changing those bad habits.
We must do whatever it takes to remind ourselves NOT to do a specific thing. And we must do it over and over and over and over. They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit - then, it should take 21 days to break a habit, right? Repetition - over and over and over. We continue putting that bad food in our mouths or lighting those nasty cigarettes of biting our nails, or using bad language - we do it over and over. Now we need to fight fire with fire and do what it takes to break that habit and defeat our enemy. What can we do as Jesus girls to fight our enemies?
1. Reach out to the Holy Spirit - constantly! Talk to Jesus throughout the day - pray, pray pray! - JESUS, Give me Strength!
2. Recall scripture - constantly. (Index Cards in your most frequented places - perhaps the refrigerator if you are like me and struggle with food)
3. Accountability - constantly. Sign up with someone that will send you texts throughout the day, or give you a call in the morning and in the evening to check in with you. To make sure you have taken that 30 minute walk and that you have silenced the chocolate screaming from your desk drawer!
4. Recall a phrase over and over and over throughout the day. Joyce gives us one in today's reading: "This bad habit is my enemy. It's stealing the quality of life that Jesus wants me to have, and I am NOT going to permit it to remain in my life!"
Whatever it takes, we have to do it. Over and Over and Over. In repetition. - remember, these habits lack more than one thing - but one thing they do not lack is the inability to bring glory to God.
Assignment for Today
1. Determine what your 'mechanism' is - your automatic reminder - your weapon of choice to beat your bad habit (your enemy) and let us know how you are going to use this to destroy the enemy that is destroying your life.
2. Come up with a phrase today or a scripture that you are going to use as your constant reminder. Put that on an index card and put that in 3 places that you frequent. Maybe the visor of your car or the bathroom mirror. Let's put it in 3 places signifying the Holy Trinity and remember that changing this bad habit is going to bring complete glory to Him - and that my friends should be our ultimate lifetime goal. To always bring glory to Him!
Prayer:
Father, thank you. Thank you for loving us and sending your son to die for our sins, our bad habits, for those things that we still continuously do that do not bring you glory. Father, please forgive us this morning for those sins and give us the empowerment through you to fight these things. Today Father we commit to identifying our mechanism - to finding a tool that will help us to start making positive changes immediately. We know with you we are complete and our enemies can be shut out. Today we commit to taking the steps necessary to start making those changes. We love you Father and are so thankful for your never-ending love and promise of eternal life. Amen
With Big Hugs and Love for a GREAT day,
Kelley
The phrase I have been hearing in my head over and over lately is Change before you are forced to Change! If have had a taste of my mobility taken from in the past week or two. I love being mobile and as active as I can be. The thought of not being able to walk and move around is scary! I do not want to this to be my future! I also think to think on where we want to go on not what we are leaving is key! It makes me think of the of the Lady who looks back when leaving Sodom and is turned into a pillar of Salt. She did not really want to leave so she keeps looking back. I want to lay these bad food choices down and not look back toward them again with regret that i chose to lay them down.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Love that - Change before you are forced to change! OUCH! Good stuff!
DeleteSo my main thing I need to quit right now is biting my nails. I'm going to try the rubber band around my wrist to do this. The second thing I'm tackling is my unhealthy eating. I'm going to post a few pictures of me in my wardrobe that I can no longer fit in to show what I am striving for. Every time I want a dairy queen blizzard I want to be able to look at the picture to show what I am striving towards.
ReplyDeleteThe scripture I was thinking of using is:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
I need to constantly remember this. I'm not my own. I belong to God. My destructive behaviors hurt him.