Whether we are aware of it or not, our lives are orchestrated by habits. Some of these habits are healthy and beneficial to us and other's hinder us.
In this post, I'm going to share 4 essential lifestyle habits that have helped me personally in my faith and my walk with Jesus.
By building on these habits and continuing to practice them every single day, I am growing exponentially in my faith.
It's important to note that I do not believe nor am I saying that ANY of these habits can save you. I believe what the Bible tells me and that is that our salvation is found through Jesus Christ. Nothing can be added to or taken from His work on the cross.
These are simply choices that we as Christian's can make to help us become even closer to God. While I do not believe you can be saved by them, I do believe that they are essential habits for a healthy relationship with God.
One preacher I was listening to said that having healthy habits are "not a got to but a get to"; in other words, they are not required but they can be used as a great way to bring us closer to God.
So...without further ado, here are my top 4 Essential Lifestyle Habits:
Step One - Read Your Bible
Spending time every day in God's word, I believe, is essential in our walk with God. It allows us to learn the very characteristics of who God is. He has revealed Himself through His word and we would be remiss to ignore it. We are called to do the will of God but how can we if we don't know what it is? There are about a bajillion reasons why you should be reading your Bible. The number one reason is you can't have a relationship with God if you don't know who God is and the only way to find out is to read His word.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Step Two - Be Ready To Pray
This is how we communicate with God. If we think about our relationships with loved ones, we can understand this better. It's difficult to have a strong connection with someone if we never speak to them, right? Prayer allows us to be vulnerable with God, express our gratitude, praise Him, seek guidance and simply be with Him. This is the kind of relationship God is longing for with you. Pray to God through ALL circumstances. There is nothing you can hide from Him so just be honest. There is no right or wrong way to pray.
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Step Three - Find A Solid Church
What I mean by "solid church" is be sure that you are part of a church that takes part in the first 2 steps; does it teach from the Bible and do they pray often? If the answer is yes, you're on the right track! We are designed to be in communion with one another and with God. In order to do this, we have to have a strong community or church body! This is vital to your walk with God. I tried for so many years to do this alone and I stumbled all the time with no one to help me back up; I can't tell you how much easier it is to have strong Christian friends in my life, all with one purpose and that is to lift up the name of Jesus in every way we can. I never had that until I joined a solid church!
Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Step Four - Your Mission Is To Serve
We serve God by serving others. That's the simple truth of it. When we serve on mission, it allows us to see God's work first hand. We witness miracles, lives being changed, brokenness healed; this causes us to have a strong desire to draw near to God and therefore our relationship with Him strengthens tremendously. Serving others also teaches obedience in the Lord which is something that we are called to be as well.
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
Galatians 5:13
I hope that these steps can help you along your journey with God.
God bless!
