"A habit is defined as a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition that is refelected in regular or increased performance. The word "habit" comes from a root meaning "clothing that is usually worn" - such as a nun's habit. Habits may express themselves in simple outward traits, or in complex emotional responses and habitual attitudes toward life - in habits of the heart."
- Elmer L. Towns from Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough -
"Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart."
Job 22:22
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
Psalm 19:14
"My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer."
Psalm 45:1
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."
Psalm 119:9-16
Motivation
Much of our life is an expression of the motivations of our hearts. Everything from what we do daily, to how we interact with those around us, and where we hang out in our spare time are all reflections of our inner-makeup. You won't typically see someone suffering from sociophobia (the fear of people or social situations) having a good time at a concert. Or the person with zoophobia (the fear of animals) chilling out at the local zoo. These are two examples of irrational fears that have more than likely been developed because of a traumatic event in a person's life. The point is, whatever is going on behind this outer shell we call the human body, can affect the course of a person's life, intentionally or non-intentionally.
Hence why it is extremely important to cultivate, challenge, renew, restore, develop, and nurture your soul - your mind, will, and emotions. Let's put it into perspective. You. . . You are a spirit. You have a soul. You live in a body. As Christians, we should have this concept down, but reality is that it can be a struggle to view ourselves in this way. When we wake up in the morning and look in the bathroom mirror, we sure don't see a glowing being of light filling the reflection. We see that face again, you know, the one with the messy bed-hair, lines, and blemishes. We might even cringe a little and refuse to look again until we've had a cup of coffee and a hot shower.
It's easy for us to walk in this body, we've had to do it since we could remember. But, when someone starts talking about our "souls", we start to get shifty, looking everywhere else but in the person's eye calling us out: "Tell me how you really feel." It's like when you walk into your home church, shake someone's hand, and they ask "How are you doing?" You slam the door in your mind that wants to pour out everything that's happening in your life, you smile as wide as possible, and say "Great! I'm doing really great. You?" We are masters at deflecting.
So, the part of us that makes us less than robot, is the hardest part to expose. We walk in the fear of what others will think of us. We're so caught up in trying to be good Christians that we forget Jesus said he didn't do anything unless he saw the Father do it (John 5:19). Following Christ is RELATIONAL, hence you cannot ignore your heart. So, ultimately, when Jesus hung on the cross, with arms wide open and heart exposed, it was the Father doing so as well. This symbol of Jesus hanging on the cross is seen by millions of people in their churches, hanging on the wall, or on a chain around their necks. Unless you have never heard the gospel, this image is unmistakable, the crucifix. It's a symbol, now, that mostly the Catholic church embraces. The rest of us have taken Jesus from the cross to show that "he is not still there". That's a valid point, but think of it this way . . . If you were sharing the gospel with someone for the first time and you showed them an empty cross and a crucifix, what do you think their reaction would be?
If we cannot expose our hearts to the world, we will never impact it for Christ. We will be like the symbol of a wooden cross to those who are lost, interesting, but not leaving an impression. Or, like Jesus, we can lay down our lives, expose our hearts, and radically shake the world. Jesus' exposer rent the very veil that separated man from God. What could Jesus do through his entire Church if they would live with hearts wide open? What if it became a habit to follow this verse:
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
Luke 9:23
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