Intro: Habits of Life
During Lent this year at City Church we will focus our attention on the theme of Habits of Life. As an accompaniment to our Sunday services, we will publish an ancillary online devotional. Similar to devotionals we have produced in the past during the seasons of Advent and Lent, this year’s Habits of Life devotional is designed to help form you more fully into Christian maturity.
The habit of saying "I'm sorry"
“Repentance is humbling and challenging, but it is a gift. It is a gift to be humbled and tell my children that I was wrong and ask for their forgiveness. It is a mercy to apologize to a friend and find grace in their love.”
The habit of yielding
“And in that moment of yielding, laid out on a table, exposed, broken and hurting, I recognized God’s voice, calling me to relax in His care and accept the pain without knowing when relief will come.”
The habit of engaging with scripture
“God’s sanctifying work in my life has come by the cutting and crushing power of His word.“
The habit of everyday worship
“Worship through music is something that is difficult to do. I don’t mean just the physical effort of singing or playing an instrument. Some days you just don’t feel like singing. That can be really tough for me in my profession of church worship music. Sometimes my worship is forced, but I have to remind myself that that is the sign of a good habit developing in my life.”
The habit of seeking beauty
“He gives me eyes to see. In this practice of photography, I am awake to see the present—the now. This is where God dwells. He is here with hands brimming full of beauty.”
The habit of prayer
“I do not write in prayer journals, I do not have a time of meditation, and my prayers are not eloquent. In fact, at times I feel as though I am crying out more than speaking […] Sometimes my prayers simply consist of two words: Help me.”
The habit of disconnecting
“Maybe I’m not inherently ‘bad’ at being still; maybe I just haven’t trained my brain to do it.”
The habit of practicing vulnerability
“When we press into vulnerability, we not only glorify Him, but put ourselves in a position to witness His glory through the sweet words of a friend, staring at you from across the couch and promising to stay put through it all.”
The habit of talking to your Father
“There is nothing too small or too insignificant to bring before my heavenly Father. He wants to hear about it because I am His child.”
The habit of loving the feast
“My journey to comprehending the beauty and significance of the feast table has been a strenuous battle…Through that struggle, I’ve learned to respect the ways in which my body was crafted, and I’ve gained a deeper understanding of its role in the Kingdom battle: to be strong, equipped, sober, and ready. ”
The habit of baking bread
“Baking bread takes all day. Were I to rush the folding process, the bread wouldn’t rise. Were I to skip the resting, the flavor wouldn’t develop. In our on-demand society where we expect instant results, breaking bread helps me learn the slower rhythms of God’s grace. Mix, fold, rest. Inhale, exhale.”
The habit of keeping our ears open
“Holy Saturday is marked by silence. The Son of God is in the grave, seemingly within the black hole of death itself. His friends and family try and reach back in their minds to remember His voice, thinking they will never hear it again. The hope that had spoken so powerfully seems to have trailed off into nothing.
But it was anything but silent.”
