Shaping Me: Habits
We are all being shaped every single day
What would this year be like to be intentionally shaped by our loving Creator?
We are shaped by the internal stories we believe
Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
Interrupt Anxiety with Prayer
Spirit of God, what would you have me think?
Little t truth – what is true for me
Big T truth – what is true no matter what I believe
The World presses on us to believe the wrong life maps
Deceitful ideas (Devil lies) play to our Disordered Desires (the Flesh), that are normalized in a Sinful Society (The World)
Freedom (from or to?)
Biblical freedom is always freedom from… Freedom from Tyranny, from slavery.
Biblical freedom is from evil
World’s freedom is to do what ever I want
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me
We are shaped by our Habits
A habit is a behaviour that occurs automatically, over and over and often unconsciously.
All of life is a mass of habits. William James
The fact is that habits form much more than our schedules: they form our hearts – Justin Whitemel Earley
Habits form our hearts
Our character is shaped by our habits
We may know exactly why an action is bad or undesirable. We can tell ourselves that over and over but that part of the brain is actually the part that gets shut out when the autopilot of habit turns on. Justin Whitemel Earley
Spiritual Formation through Spiritual Disciplines
I had lived my life thinking that all limits ruin freedom
The good life doesn’t come from having the ability to do what we want but from having the ability to do what we were made for. James Smith
The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-Interest. Richard Foster
Phil. 2:6-9 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names
What does this look like? DYI spiritual disciplines
Keystone habit – a micro shift that brings about macro effects – Charles Duhigg
Go to church every Sunday
Heb. 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Fast and Pray at least once a year
Matt. 9:15 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Matt. 6:16-18 And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
I love you more
Ps. 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Hunger prompts
The purpose of the Disciplines in liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest. Richard Foster
What are my DIY disciplines?