| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Be the church” Our Bible verse for today: “But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Train your habits” This morning I want to return to our discussion from yesterday regarding the habit of excellence and the important role it plays in preparing ourselves to effectively be the church out in the world. If we are going to be good ambassadors for Christ, we will first have to train ourselves in godliness as Paul refers to in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 above. I wrote in yesterday’s devotional that excellence is a learned habit. That’s true, but it’s true of all habits. Habits, be they good or bad, are learned behaviors. But that also means that bad habits can be unlearned and replaced with new and better habits. In his book “Resilience” former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, writing about the importance of habits in a letter to a friend, shared a helpful insight about the nature of habits and the impact they have on a life. He wrote: “Your life has a natural point of aim. It flies in the direction of your habits. To change the direction of your life, you have to reset your habits … You have enormous potential to create yourself … When a habit has become so ingrained that actions begin to flow from you without conscious thought or effort, then you have changed your character … If we are intentional about what we repeatedly do, we can practice who we want to become. And through practice, we can become who we want to be.” I don’t think Greitens was intending to be Biblical when he shared that advice with his friend, but he was none-the-less. That was the exact point Paul was making to his young protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 – we can train our habits in order to become the person we want to be. Our life will fly in the direction of our habits. Train yourself for godliness by practicing godly habits and over time you will transform into a godly person. Training yourself to be optimistic instead of pessimistic is one of the habits that will lead to a godly life. Training yourself to control your emotions and to speak to others in a reasoned and respectful way is a godly trait that can be learned. Practicing excellence in the small things so that you will also be excellent in the big things is also a godly trait we can learn and develop. Although it is the Holy Spirit who transforms us, it is our habits that serve as the vehicle for that transformation. If we are going to be the best for Jesus that we can be; if we are going to make a meaningful and effective difference in the world for the cause of Christ; we will have to train our habits so we can become that person. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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Oak Hill Baptist Church 
This is great. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome. Thank you for the encouragement.