Make That, Break That: Day 3

Here is the devotional:

My North Star in life is the Bible because I believe that the Bible is God’s Word to us. The Bible tells me that the God who created me has a habit of being very organized. He is systematic in His approach to things, and He has established definite patterns for the physical operations of His creation. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV), for instance, God has told us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

The God who originated everything and who put everything in its place—the God who gave everything its purpose and who crafted all the components of nature—is the same God who tells me that life is designed to be orderly and that I could be much more successful if I would accept this fact and learn to embrace habits of order in my own life.

God designed the human eye to see, for instance, and He designed the human ear to hear. He designed the heart to pump enough blood through our veins each day to fill nearly 42 oil barrels. And this is the God who tells me that there is a time for everything, a place for everything, a season for everything, and a method for everything that matters in life. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to tear down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. My Creator, who fashioned me in His own likeness, is a God of method and organization. He is extremely systematic in all that He does, and He wants me to follow His lead. He wants me to develop habits of regularity in my own life, so I can succeed in my pursuit of the destiny He has ordained for me.

Just look at His handiwork and you will understand what I am telling you. The Earth orbits the sun at just the right distance. If the Earth were a tiny bit closer to the sun, life as we know it would cease to exist. Additionally, if the Earth were slightly farther from the sun, life as we know it would never have thrived. The planets, the weather, the human body, and everything else we take for granted are actually the manifestations of God’s orderliness and habitual nature.

Yet God’s proclivity for purposeful action extends far beyond His physical creation; God’s proclivity for purposeful action also pervades His approach to man’s spiritual needs. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, KJV). In other words, before the earth beneath our feet was even formed and before man was created to walk on the ground, God already had a plan in place for redeeming mankind. Since God had a plan for man before man was even created, the positive outcome of human history was already guaranteed before man drew his first breath.

Here are the scriptures referenced:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psalm 8:3‭-‬4 KJV

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Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13‭-‬16 KJV

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And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

If any man have an ear, let him hear.

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:1‭-‬18 KJV

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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1‭-‬8 KJV

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Here are Stu’s thoughts:

Wow, you want to know something?

I have read Ecclesiastes numerous times in my life but for some reason reading it today revealed something I never considered. This is like almost in essence the gospel we should be living out. I will add to that statement with a post all its own as I don’t want to distract from the Bible Studies original thoughts. But wow!

The authors words give you a prime example of how precise God is in his creation. Every detail is so freaking amazing and yet we take most of it for granted every single day.

We even take our daily routine for granted.

For some of us the first thing we do in the morning is make a pot of coffee. Some smoke their first cigarette first thing. For some it is a loving gesture of rolling over and kissing their spouse good morning! Kuddos for a good habit!!

I saw a video this morning on Facebook where a wife comes running out of the house in the pouring ran after her husband gets in the car. He rolls down the window and asks her what she is doing. She said you forgot to kiss me before leaving. He said you were asleep and she says so what. You always kiss me every morning.

The moral to that little story is don’t change the good habits even for a day as it affects those around us.

But anywho God wants us to have good habits. Ones that bless not only ourselves but others as well. Just like that kiss in the morning.

God’s plan for our lives is precise. He has even instilled the proper skills in us for completing that task and if we create bad habits in our lives those are counterproductive to his calling and plan for us.

We need to focus on the good habits and replace the old bad habits so that our lives will be more in tune with God’s plan for our lives.

What are some bad habits you need to get rid of?