Good and Godly Habits, Part One
I am not cut out for daily exercise/PT. I simply have neither the interest nor the dedication/tenacity.
Odd, given I did physically-demanding work for most of my adult life.
Was it the paycheck that kept me motivated? Or the people-pleasing side of me?
Maybe a little (or a lot) of both.
But here I sit today, weaker and wobblier than I was this time last year, and I'm wishing for some magic elixir that will restore my muscles and strength.
I am glad my spiritual muscle does not seem to have that "give-up" gene in it.
But perhaps that is also bit of people-pleasing...or maybe Jesus-pleasing.
When I was much younger, my Grandma got me interested in the adventurous stories like Joseph's and Daniel's in the Bible (they were much better than Grimm's fairy tales, I thought, although I liked those, too).
I also remember Dad reading his Bible rather than the newspaper every morning over coffee. Mom, she had daily Bible devotions at work. I was surrounded with God's Word growing up.
Until my twenties, thirties and forties happened. Three decades wearing a prodigal daughter cape seems an awfully long (and wasteful) time. I'm glad God started wrangling me in when my fifties came around.
Bible study finally hit with me again after my mom's death (oh wow, I just realized today would have been Mom's 100th birthday. Happy birthday to Mom!🎉🎉)
It is important to God that we study His Word. He loves us so much, He wants to provide for and protect us. Consequently, the Bible has every answer to every question we will ever need in life.
God has left no subject unexamined.
The Bible does not tell you which job to apply for or how to fix a leaky toilet. Although God provides answers to all prayer, we may also look for practical guidance in the mundane or less-spiritual issues through YouTube and Yelp.
The Bible does act as a moral guide that applies to every situation, even ones it never names. Someone once said, "The Bible is a compass, not a GPS." In other words, it gives directions, but not turn-by-turn instructions.
While biblical principles have existed since the dawn of time, their practical influence and solutions on modern-day problems are instrumental in navigating this life:
ANXIETY AND OVER-THINKING
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
“In this manner, therefore, pray: 'Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'”
Jesus gives us the foundation to seeking guidance in this, The Lord's Prayer.
In four short verses that many of us memorized as children, we get the road map to life.
In order of importance, we are told six things:
God's name
God's kingdom
God's will
Our provision
Our forgiveness
Our protection
This prayer that Jesus taught His disciples covers all bases, then and now.
It is the most dynamic "if/then" statement regarding righteous living in the Bible: If you honor God as He deserves, then you will not be left wanting for anything.
Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Paul extends the Lord's Prayer here. He is remarkably on-point in his letter to the Philippians, addressing their overwhelming anxieties, health scares, and economic uncertainty.
I can almost guarantee that Paul's letter to the covid generation would say much the same thing: "Do not dwell on what man burdens you with. Keep your eyes transfixed on God."
Sounds plausible, right? Which leads beautifully into our next topic:
SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL DISTRACTION
Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
You will not find mention of the latest iPhone and OS in the Bible, but it does address the effects of constant connection and comparison.
The above Scripture functions as a filter for what you consume online. We have a daily decision to make:
Godly in, godly out
Or...
Garbage in, garbage out.
I think I need to put this on a post-it note on the fridge.
Ephesians 5:15–16 NLT
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
Our behavior often exposes the hours of mindless scrolling we engage in. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X often shifts prayer, family time, and rest to the back of the line with a seemingly-innocuous "just a few more minutes" mindset.
Choose God and His wisdom over our own or others' foolishness.
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.”
These verses seem light-years ahead of their time when you apply them to our current digital environment.
Social media has the capacity to damage society by normalizing immoral or deviant behavior. There are big, red warning flags in this Scripture that repeated digital exposure can subtly and sinisterly redirect our desires.
Personal note: This passage seems tailor-made for me since my stroke. I immediately became information-obsessed regarding what physically happened to my brain.
I learned I simply got a do-over. I could reprogram my brain's approach to its thought-life, habits and emotions based on what stimuli I exposed my brain to on social media daily.
TBH, I'm still struggling with the habits department. 😏
Bottom line:
James 1:19-26 NLT
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
Remind yourself every day when you look into the mirror to open God's Word. Eventually, you will start to see the child of God He intends you to be.
Shockingly, I have more Scripture and thoughts to share on today's subject, but I will save it for part two tomorrow.
In the meantime, I'm off to immerse myself in leg day.
Mush
By R.C. Sproul
Obedience to Civil Authorities
In the Bible’s presentation of authority and governance, we find a hierarchical structure. At the top of this hierarchy, sitting as the ultimate authority, is God Himself. But the Lord establishes other subordinate authorities under Him to govern people. Over the church, God has set elders who are responsible to preach the Word, pray for the flock of the Lord, and exercise church discipline (1 Tim. 3:1–7). Over the family, the Lord has set husbands and fathers, who are called to lead their wives and children in love and raise their sons and daughters in the fear and admonition of Him (Eph. 5:22–6:4). And over civil society, today’s passage tells us, God has set the civil authorities, whose primary purpose is to use the sword, or force, to punish evildoers (Rom. 13:1–7).
Earthly authority, therefore, is delegated authority. Authorities receive their right to rule from the Lord, who alone possesses authority inherently. Because they are appointed by God, to disobey earthly authorities when they lawfully exercise their authority is to disobey the Lord Himself. Paul lays out this principle in Romans 13:1–7, particularly in verses 2 and 5–6.
In addition to demonstrating that disobedience to the legal exercise of authority on earth is disobedience to God, the Bible’s hierarchical understanding of authority reveals that no earthly authority is absolute. If the Creator alone possesses authority inherently and if He alone sits at the top of the hierarchy of governance, absolute authority belongs to the Lord alone. All other authorities are accountable to the Lord, to Christ, the Son of God incarnate who has been set above all other rulers and authorities on earth (Eph. 1:15–23). Consequently, no earthly authority may lawfully forbid what God commands or command what God forbids. When earthly authorities do such things, civil disobedience is lawful and required for believers.
But in most cases, Christians are obligated to render civil obedience to the governing authorities. Civil authorities do not have to be Christian for us to be required to obey them, as is evident from Romans 13. Paul was writing to Christians who were living under a pagan government, telling them to obey the pagan emperor. Obviously, given other biblical passages that we will examine in the next few days, Paul was assuming that the civil authorities were not commanding what God forbids or forbidding what God commands. In such instances, Christians must submit.
CORAM DEO
Living before the face of God
Civil authorities do not have to be perfect or even Christian for us to obey them. We are to obey even the mandates we consider silly or onerous if doing so does not require us to break God’s law. In rendering such obedience, we bear witness to the final authority of the Lord, for bowing to His authority means submitting to the civil government.
(Copyright © Ligonier Ministries.)
PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
Regardless of our thoughts towards our government, remind us through Your Prayer that Your name is holy, Your Kingdom is above all others in power, as is Your will. Give us strength to adhere to these ideals over man's ideals, but accept that You are in all and over all things...including government and politicians. In Your Sovereign counsel and Almighty name, Amen