13 Nov Hopes & Habits (Because you can’t have uphill hopes and downhill habits) Part 11

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At 56 years old, I am still a very competitive guy!  One of my pastoral attendants is an ex-professional boxer.  He too is very competitive. A few years back I decided to do one thousand push-ups in one day.  I told him about it and he decided to beat that total. I believe he did 1100 in a day. Well, you think the U.S. and China trade war is bad…the push-up war was on!

Our contest escalated all the way up to 3,000 push-ups in one day!  He then did 3,100 and even though he could just about be my son…his elder pastor had to get to 3,200!  When you do that many push-ups in one day, towards the end of the day your push-up form gets a little sloppy.  As I got to the 3,200 mark I heard my lower back make a clicking sound that I felt confident it was not supposed to make.  I reached my goal of 3,200 and shortly after I went to bed. When I got up in the middle of the night I was in excruciating pain.  I had clearly thrown my back completely out of line!

When something is out of line it can cause great pain.  The medical community refers to it as “referred pain”.  Something is out of line in your body in one area, but it is causing pain in another area.  This is so comparable to our lives. When we have uphill hopes but downhill habits, things become misaligned in our lives and great pain occurs!  Let’s realign and continue our series.

Over the last number of months we have shared with you “8 Habit Helpers”:

    1. Hope is not a strategy (Heb. 6:19).  
    2. The things we do and the things we should do don’t always line up (Rom. 7:19).
    3. The two greatest gaps in life are “wanting and having” and “knowing and doing”.  If you’ll close the second gap, the first gap will automatically close.
    4. We are what we repeatedly do.  
    5. We form our habits then our habits form us.
    6. Always point your saying, sowing and serving in the same direction.
    7. Always point your mouth, money and ministry in the same direction.  Again, this is the same principle as #6 but said in a little different way.
    8. Habit will take you further than desire.

Then we shared with you “3 Different Dynamics”:

  1. Renew your hope (Prov. 13:12).
  2. Repent from your past (Rom. 2:4).
  3. Redefine your habits (Heb. 5:13-14).

Then we finally shared with you “Four Biblical Habits” that will radically change your life:

  1. Focus on firsts (Matt. 6:33).

Four “First” Facets:

  1. What you do first reveals who you are.
  2. Whatever you prize you will prioritize.
  3. Whatever you put first you set up to meet your needs.
  4. First things have power

Then we shared Three “First” Formulas:

  1. Give God the first of your month…scheduling and budgeting
  2. Give God the first of your week…worshipping and resting
  3. Give God the first of your day…studying and praying

This month let’s continue with “Three Alignment Aspects”:

  1. If God is simply on your list, your life will be misaligned. If God is at the top of your list, your life will be aligned.
  2. God models what He expects.  He put us first by going first.

~Your Bible tells you in J John 4:19, “We love him, because he FIRST loved us.”

Join us next week as we continue our series…