Wednesday, June 17, 2015

5 HABITS OF A GODLY MAN OR WOMAN

We all have habits that we stick pretty close to – right?   The pew we always sit in at church... The food we always have for a certain holiday...The routine we follow to get ready for work everyday.…and the list goes on!  The truth is -- every believer truly wants
godly character when we stand before Jesus at the judgment seat.  However, when forming godly character, we do not only look at the "big picture" of our character...but perhaps more importantly,

we look at our everyday choices that form our HABITS -- and then in turn it is our habits that form our CHARACTER. 

We will often look at other people and say things like:
  •  "I wish I was in as good of shape as him or her"
  •  "I wish I had a marriage like them"
  •  "I wish I could play an instrument like them"
  •  "I wish I had a relationship with God like him or her"
  •  Perhaps some have even said, “I wish I was as godly, prayerful, and used for God as the apostle Paul!”
However, we all know we don’t just wake up one morning and say today I’m going to be as godly as Paul was in II Timothy 4 when he said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  But are we walking through our days on this earth living in "real time" the truth that genuine spirituality isn't automatic?  The fact of the matter is, that kind of godly character begins with our daily choices that form godly habits.

Do you really want a life that counts for the Lord, like the apostle Paul's life spent his life?  Here are  5 Habits Of A Godly Man or Woman --- as seen in the life of the apostle Paul:

1. A PURPOSEFUL PRACTICE OF THANKFULNESS
Paul purposely modeled genuine thankfulness in many of the Pauline epistles.  However, there are two exceptions to note (I Cor. 1:4-8; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3; I Thess. 1:2; II Thess. 1:3; Phm. 1:4).  First, gratitude is missing in Romans 1:21.  This passage refers to a lack of thankfulness among the ungodly...thanklessness had a part in their path away from God.  Second, gratitude is missing in Galatians 1.  Paul is greatly disappointed the Galatians are so easily and swiftly led away from God!

2. A PERSISTENCE IN INTERCESSORY PRAYER
The Holy Spirit leads the apostle to record his own practice of intercessory prayer throughout his epistles.  He clearly sets a pattern of this disciplined practice: Eph. 1:16; Col. 3; I Thess. 1:2; II Thess. 1:11; Philemon 1:4.  However, Paul not only practice intercessory prayer, he also requested such prayer for himself (Romans 15:30).

3. THE BRIGHTNESS OF A GOSPEL WITNESS
Paul was very much focused on pointing those around him to the saving grace of Jesus Christ -- constantly!  These were not the actions of a man merely paying back a debt.  These are the actions of a man totally convinced of this life or death truth...a man who fully recognized his own former destructive path, and a man fully yielded to/controlled by the Spirit of God!

         a. Acts 17:22-34 – Preaching on Mars Hill to a people who worshipped “An Unknown God”
         b. Acts 13-14 – Paul’s First Missionary Journey
         c. Acts 15-18 – Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
         d. Acts 18-21 – Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
         e. In Prison in Jerusalem (21:17)
         f. In Prison in Rome & before great rulers (24-26)



4. FAITHFUL TO THE FATHER (II Cor. 11:22-26)

5. FIRM ON FINSHING WELL(II Cor. 12:9; II Tim. 4:6-7)
"When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song," tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. "He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, 'Shall I be a teacher or a singer?' 

"'Luciano,' my father replied, 'if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.' 

"I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it's laying bricks, writing a book--whatever we choose--we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that's the key. Choose one chair."  (Illustration Source: Guideposts)

What do your habits of the last month say of the strength and depth of your character this very moment?  Make a commitment before God to choose Him today in the "small choices" you make everyday.   It will be the consistent small choices that will make better godly habits to form strong spiritual character in 2015 and beyond.  Live one step of faith at a time...what choices will you make today?

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