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Holy Habits That Last : Building a Daily Faith Routine · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. Happy New Year,
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  guys. And so we are so glad that you have came
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  back for a new season. We did take a break off
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  for a couple of weeks for the holidays and just
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  to reset and get everything kind of squared away.
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  And so we can go into this next year. And so
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  this episode, we are going to call Holy Habits
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  That Last. And so the January tone, I think,
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  is going to be more fresh start and deep reflection.
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  And so if you are new to to Fostering Faith,
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  welcome. We are a podcast that doesn't have it
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  all together. We are figuring out in the community
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  and we are walking together. And so if you are
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  returning listener, thank you for coming back
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  home and let's get ready for a new season. And
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  so I'm so excited to start this brand new year
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  with you. There is some things about January
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  that felt like a clean page, a fresh chapter.
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  Maybe a holy reset, not because the calendar
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  magically changed anything, but because sometimes
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  we need a moment that reminds us that God still
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  writes new beginnings. He still invites us to
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  grow. He still calls us to be formed more and
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  more into the image of Christ. And today we're
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  going to be talking with and about something
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  both simple and incredibly powerful. Holy habits
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  that last. And so now listen, we're not talking
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  about New Year's resolutions. We are not talking
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  about wish lists. We're not talking about the
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  kind of goals that we wrote down on January 1st
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  and abandoned on January 20th. I'm talking about
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  the quiet, consistent daily rhythms that shape
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  your soul. And if you've ever listened to me,
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  consistency, the things that we choose on purpose
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  because God uses them to mold you, to strengthen
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  you and to grow you. These are the habits that
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  actually change your life. The ones that transform
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  you over time because they are rooted in Christ
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  and not willpower. And today I want to talk and
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  walk through how we build on them and why they
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  matter and how to make them stick when life gets
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  busy, chaotic, and overwhelming. And so let's
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  start with this. And so Matthew seven, Jesus
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  talks with two builders, one builder on the rock,
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  one builds on the sand. And we actually just
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  went over this in scripture the other day for
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  a class. And so it was you have two builders,
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  two houses. And then we had you have two roads
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  to choose. And then there is what Jesus says.
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  He says, when the storm hits both houses, the
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  wind and the rain and the flood, hard seasons
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  are going to come for both. The only difference
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  is and was the foundation, the one that stood
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  firm and the one that fell. And I want you to
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  hear this at the start of the year. The strength
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  of your life is not dependent upon your storms
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  you face because storms are going to come. It
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  is determined by what you build. on before the
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  storm ever comes. And so what's your preparation
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  for the storm? And so you see all those people
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  like in Florida and like wherever hurricanes
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  happen and things of that nature, they board
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  up their houses. They get prepared. They know
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  the storm is coming. They see it on the horizon.
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  But in life, you don't know. We don't have a
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  meteorologist and say, hey, you're going to have
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  a break up with your boyfriend on Tuesday. Hey,
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  you're going to get a divorce in six months from
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  now. Sometimes we have those things, but a lot
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  of times we don't. And so we don't know when
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  the storms are going to hit. a sudden death,
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  a sudden breakup, a sudden loss of job or whatever.
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  And so those storms in life sometimes are unpredictable.
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  But what did we do when the storm wasn't here?
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  Are we rooted in what these holy habits are?
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  And so that is the power of the holy habits.
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  Whenever we choose to build our life on prayer,
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  on scripture, on worship, on obedience, on intentional
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  time with God, you build the foundation for the
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  storm. You're not waiting for the crisis. You're
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  not waiting for fear to hit. You are waiting
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  on nothing. You are not waiting for anxiety to
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  knock you over. You are building now so that
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  whenever life gets real, you can stand. And it's
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  just like whenever you have your paycheck, you
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  save for what? Don't even know you're just putting
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  some money away and so you're putting scripture
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  away on your house because someday you're gonna
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  need that You're gonna you're building on the
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  promises of what God because there's gonna be
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  some days that you can't even remember your own
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  name But you can remember the promises that he
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  has put on your heart and you know what holy
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  habits are not glamorous They're not loud and
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  most people will never clap for you because you
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  spent ten minutes in the word But these quiet
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  rhythms become the difference between a year
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  that collapses the year that stands firm. And
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  so let's talk about these three holy habits that's
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  gonna last. They're not flashy, they're not complicated,
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  but they are powerful. And so number one, time
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  in the word. And I have said this and said this
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  on this podcast, and you've heard numerous of
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  people talk about time in the word. And so Psalm
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  119 says, Word is the lamp to my feet and the
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  light to my path, not my feelings, not my emotions,
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  not my opinions. The word of God is the light,
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  lights the path. That means everything might
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  be foggy, confusing, or even loud, but scripture
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  reveals truth and direction. You can't grow in
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  Christ if you do not sit with Christ. You cannot
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  sit with Christ if you never open the book he
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  breathed out. Open your Bible. read the word,
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  read scripture. I cannot make it just any more
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  plainer than that. Just read your Bible and then
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  make sure that you get a version of the Bible
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  that you guys like. And so make sure that if
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  you like reading King James, read King James.
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  If you like NIV, read NIV. If you need NLT, read
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  NLT. There are so many different versions out
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  there. There is something out there for everybody.
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  And so what What I want is a simple goal for
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  January. And so just like with my patients in
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  clinic, I don't start with any fame fancy. If
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  you're gonna come in here to lose weight, we're
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  gonna start with your diet. We're gonna start
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  with one thing at a time and then build on that.
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  And so I want you to start simple. Not even an
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  hour a day. Not five chapters a day. Not reading
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  the Bible plan in a year. Just a daily touch
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  point. If it's for you, one chapter is what you
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  want, then do one chapter. If it's ten verses,
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  do ten verses. If it's one psalm, one proverb,
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  something small but consistent is better than
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  reading five minutes every day, than once an
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  hour, once a week. Because consistency changes
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  you. Consistency roots you. Consistency forms
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  you. Holy habits are about showing up, not perfection,
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  not performance. Just presents. If you went to
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  the gym or if you started a diet, if you just
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  ate good once a week and had trash the rest of
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  the week, are you ever gonna see change? No.
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  If you go to the gym once and do one curl a week,
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  are you gonna see change in the bicep? No. If
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  you do one sit -up, are you gonna see abs? No.
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  You have to be consistent with everything. If
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  you want to keep your job, you consistently have
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  to show up on time. If you want to save money,
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  you consistently have to put money in the bank
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  and spend less on what you're making. Consistency
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  pays off. Number two, prayer that is honest and
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  real. Bolivians 4, 6 says, Do not be anxious
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  about anything, but in everything by prayer and
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  petition, present your request to God. I want
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  to hear I want you to hear this. Prayer is not
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  performance. Prayer is not fancy words. Prayer
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  is not a ceremony. Prayer is relationship. God
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  wants honesty. He wants truth. He wants you to
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  come exactly as you are, not as you think you
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  should be. And yes, is he holy? Yes. Is he your
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  father? Yes. Is he Abba? Yes. And so he already
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  knows, but he wants you to come to him and trust
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  him. Talk to him like you would talk to your
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  best friend. Talk to him. Jesus gives us a way
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  to go into prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, hallow
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  be thy name. So he, in scripture, as you have
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  read scripture now, he teaches you how to pray
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  and just going to him and just talking to him.
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  You don't have to be fancy. You don't have to
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  have all these things and all the words. And
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  just say, I'm frustrated. I need your help. Thank
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  you for this day. God wants honesty. And this
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  year, make prayer a rhythm, not a rescue plan,
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  not the last resort, not the thing that you do
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  when everything falls apart. Make it your first
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  instinct. Whenever you are overwhelmed, pray.
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  Whenever you're grateful, pray. Whenever you
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  feel lost, pray. Whenever you're strong, pray.
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  Prayer is a place where your heart is softened.
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  It is where the Holy Spirit convicts you, comforts
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  you, and directs you. It is where burden is lifted
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  and where peace enters. It is where you trade
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  your strength for His. A holy habit of prayer
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  is not about long prayers. It's about regular
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  transparency before God. Number three, worship
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  as a lifestyle. Romans 12 says, Present your
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  bodies as a living sacrifice. This is a sacrifice,
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  a spiritual act of worship. Worship is not just
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  singing on Sunday. Worship is surrender. Worship
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  is obedience. Worship is saying, God, my life
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  is yours, not just my songs. And this year, create
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  a habit of worship through your choices, your
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  attitude, your reactions, your priorities. Start
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  your morning with one worship song. Lift your
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  hands in the car if you're not driving. Let your
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  worship become a reflex. Let it shape your atmosphere
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  today. Your spirit becomes what you surround
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  yourself with. Fill your environment with worship
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  and watch how it shifts your heart. Now let me
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  speak something over your year. I've already
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  claimed 2026 is going to be my healthiest year
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  for my patients. So I've already claimed that.
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  I claimed that back in October of last year.
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  And just really just every time I seen somebody
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  I said, now remember 2026 is going to be your
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  healthiest year yet. 2026 is going to be your
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  healthiest years yet. And so we do not need a
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  perfect January to have a holy year. You just
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  need a faithful January. Faithfulness beats perfection
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  every single time. And I want you to jot these
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  questions down. I have two questions for you.
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  One, what do I want God to form in me this year?
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  What do you want God to form in you this year?
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  Write it down, marinate about it, think about
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  it, let it simmer. Question two, what small daily
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  choices will support that transformation. Because
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  the whole purpose of having a relationship with
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  Jesus is to be transformed. Because habits are
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  not formed by motivation. They are formed by
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  repetition. By choosing over and over again what
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  matters most. So here's your January challenge.
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  Pick two habits. Just do one word based habit,
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  one prayer or worship habit. Write them down,
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  schedule them, put them on your schedule, put
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  them on your calendar until they just become
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  part of your daily routine and protect that space.
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  My mornings with God are pretty protected. Unless
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  an emergency comes up, I am in my word. every
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  day, but then if emergency comes up, then me
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  and him are having a conversation on the way
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  to the emergency. So in that same instance, like
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  those are protected. What else is protected in
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  my life? Quite a few things, but another thing
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  that is protected is my workouts at lunch. I'm
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  done. I need that time to reset, to just clear
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  out my mind, to get some energy out, to create
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  new energy, to make sure that I have just more
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  energy for my afternoon. And it just, it's a
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  cleansing thing. And so their heart stops. And
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  so again, unless there's an emergency, I am stopping.
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  I'm turning off my computers and I'm working
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  out at lunch. That's just about online. These
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  are what's important to me. These are what is
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  part of my habits. And that's what I'm willing
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  to do. These are non -negotiables again unless
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  there's an emergency then these are my non -negotiables
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  time with God and Eating healthy is another non
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  -negotiable because I'm just not willing to give
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  that up either I'm not willing to feel like and
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  compromise health that way that's another hard
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  stop for me, but we won't get into that and so
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  let so And let me tell you something and so it's
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  God meets you in the small. He honors the quiet.
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  He breathes all the things no one else sees.
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  You might feel like your five minutes with him
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  is nothing. But in the unseen, God is building
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  something stable, steady, and unshakable. This
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  year of holy habits that will last. This is a
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  year that spiritual transformation happens. This
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  is a year of consistency with Christ. And we're
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  just getting started. And so if this message
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  inspired you, send it to a friend. Maybe you
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  guys could start a transformation together. Who
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  do you know that is not real close with Christ?
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  Who do you know that could grow in their faith?
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  And so send this to them and maybe make this
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  a challenge for you. Go back to those questions.
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  What do I want God to form me in this year? And
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  what small daily choices am I willing to support
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  that transformation? And so we go through step
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  one, time in the Word. Two, pray and be honest
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  about it. And three, worship as a lifestyle.
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  These are all super practical, super simple tips
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  to help us start your January off right. And
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  so we would love to pray for you. Dear Heavenly
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  Father, thank you so much for these listeners.
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  Thank you so much for allowing them this time
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  as a refret, as a restart. Thank you so much
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  for this month of January. Thank you that you
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  are changing us. Thank you that you're molding
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  us. Thank you that you are putting a clean perspective.
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  Thank you that you're giving us created ideas
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  of how to get in all that we need to get in a
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  day and still have the energy and motivation
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  to do what we want to do. Thank you that you
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  are transforming us from the inside out. Thank
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  you for all that you do. In Jesus name I pray.
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  Amen. Thank you so much for beginning your year
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  with me this year. I cannot wait to walk through
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  this month with you. I will see you next week
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  for episode two. discipline, desire, and doing
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  it anyway. Have a great week. We love you guys.
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  Bye.