Developing Good Habits

I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. Psalm 119:101.
We are nearing the end of time, and we want now, not to meet the world’s tastes and practices, but to meet the mind of God; to see what saith the Scriptures, and then to walk according to the light which God has given us.
The youth are forming habits which will, in nine cases out of ten, decide their future. The influence of the company they keep, the associations they form, and the principles they adopt will be carried with them through life.
We shall be individually, for time and eternity, what our habits make us. The lives of those who form right habits, and are faithful in the performance of every duty, will be as shining lights, shedding bright beams upon the pathway of others.
There is no need of being spiritual dwarfs if the mind is continually exercised in spiritual things. But merely praying for this, and about this, will not meet the necessities of the case. You must habituate the mind to concentration upon spiritual things. Exercise will bring strength. Many professed Christians are in a fair way to lose both worlds. To be half a Christian and half a worldly man makes you about one-hundredth part a Christian and all the rest worldly.
The mind must be educated and disciplined to love purity. A love for spiritual things should be encouraged; yea, must be encouraged, if you would grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth…. The will must be exercised in the right direction. I will be a whole-hearted Christian. I will know the length and breadth, the height and depth, of perfect love. Listen to the words of Jesus: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6. Ample provisions are made by Christ to satisfy the soul that hungers and thirst for righteousness.
The Faith I Live By p. 152
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Prayer Requests
—-My friend’s grandson has been to the ER 3 times today after he fell out of bed and hit his head on the end table last night. Please pray the Lord heals this little boy and gives strength to the family. Marsha
—-Please pray for Ron. He had a stroke today. This is his second one. Diane
—-Continued prayers for my friend Linda. They’ve found some blood clots and she is scared. Sylvia
—-Please pray for David and Kristina as they travel cross country today. Rose
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Dear Friends,
In the 1890’s, when my grandfather, Edwin Harmon, was a little boy, his father got a job for a short time in Philadelphia. They left the farm where they had lived most of their lives and moved into a tiny upstairs apartment. For Ed and his little brother, Harold, this was very confining. They were used to roaming the fields, and now they had nothing much to do. It seemed that one of them were always thinking of some mischief. They knew they were in for a hard beating if they got caught, but that only added to the challenge.
One day Ed came into the apartment with stack of small paper sacks in his hand. Harold was about to ask him why he had all those sacks, but Ed quickly put his finger to his lips. Quietly he hid those sacks until their mother went shopping. They did not have long to wait.
The next day their mother called to them and said, “I have to go to the grocer’s to get a few items for supper. You two boys stay inside until I get back.” After getting them to promise that they would obey, she left.
Ada had not been gone long, when Ed drew the sacks from their hiding place. Harold saw the grin on his face and was ready to join into whatever plan his big brother had thought up. Ed filled one of the sacks almost full with water and twisted the top closed. Paper sacks were much thicker and stronger in those days. Quickly he went over to the open window and looked down to the street below. There were many people walking just below them. Ed took aim and dropped the water-filled sack. Immediately he ducked. Harold wanted to watch the sack hit its target, but Ed pulled him down with him. Instantly they heard a scream as some unsuspecting woman received a “shower.”
The two boys laid on the floor listening to the commotion below. After things returned to normal and passersby went on their way, Ed ran to fill another sack with water. Again he peered out of the window and soon had another victim in view. He dropped the sack and flattened himself against the floor. A shout of surprise and anger met the boys’ ears. They had a hard time suppressing the giggles that threatened to let their presence known to the people below. One or two more people received an unwanted bath that day before Ed and Harold decided they had better stop before they got caught. They would save the rest of the sacks for another day.
In His wisdom, our Great Creator gave to man a gift that he does not always appreciate. This gift is work. Before sin, man’s work was easy and full of pleasure, but after Adam and Eve’s fall, work became more difficult. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Gen 3:17-19 This hard work was for mankind’s own good. It would keep people so occupied that the mind does not have time to think up mischief.
How true is the old saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” When we have nothing to occupy our mind and our hands, we are soon tempted to do wrong. It is when a child has nothing to do that the evil one steals away the heart. Soon little habits become big ones and the character becomes bent in the wrong direction. The whole course of the life is changed until the sweet and loving child becomes headstrong and rebellious, doing whatever pleases them. How much we need a Deliverer! How much we need to remember that He supplies all of our needs—even those things needful for spiritual growth!
How important it is to fill our mind with good things and turn from the bad! Let us hide God’s Word in our heart that we might not be led astray. (Ps 119:9-11) Let us thank our Great Creator for the employment that He gives to us, knowing that it helps to keep us on the right path. Let us “gird up the loins of [our] mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning [ourselves] according to the former lusts in [our] ignorance: But as he which hath called [us] is holy, so [let us] be holy in all manner of [conduct] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.” Jude 24,26
Rose