Years ago when the western U.S. was being settled, roads were often just wagon tracks. (The wagon wheels would just carve out a rut in the road.) These rough trails or ruts posed serious problems for those who journeyed on them. On one of these winding paths was posted a sign which read: “Avoid this rut or you’ll be in it for the next 25 miles!” You can go to sleep in the wagon and not worry about getting off course because the only place you are going is wherever the ‘rut’ is. This picture is what a habit is like. A habit is something you can do without thinking. But habits always takes you someplace. As a believer in Jesus, there are good God habits that we can acquire.

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Jeremiah 13:23
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.

• Can the Ethiopian change his skin?
• DEFINITION: ‘accustomed’ – the Hebrew word translated ‘accustomed’ here means ‘train’, ‘taught’, or learned.
• Evil can be trained, taught and learned.
• A habit is a rut like the wagon wheel illustration above.
• A habit is something that is trained, learned, or taught.
• Some ruts are good ruts and you need to stay in them.
• Other ruts or ‘bad habits’ you need to get rid of.
• In some cases we could say it this way “if you rut, you rot.
• Our desire in the things of God is to end up in the right place, to end up in the right rut or have the right kind of rut.

Living Without God Is An Acquired Habit

• The habit of living without God is one that anyone can learn.
• It is one of the easiest habits to acquire.
• Unlike some other habits, no exertion and no self-denial;
• It takes no exertion to forget God.
• We have only to live for pleasure and do not exert yourself in anything spiritual, and the habit is formed.
• Many times the habit is formed forever.
• The end result of this type of habit, is rot or spiritual death. ¹
• The Word of God points out some of Jesus habits.

Luke 22:39–42 (AMP)
39 And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him. 40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation. 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.

• [Tweet “Jesus habit was to pray. He trained himself to pray and to respond to God.”]So, you can so see what Jesus response was when He came to the most severe hour of testing in His life.
• You can see that He prayed.
• He prayed because it was His habit to pray. He had already developed that.
• He had already learned and trained Himself to respond this way.

The Habit of Walking with God

Genesis 5:24 (AMP)
24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].

If you develop the habit of putting God first and inviting Him into everything that you do, a lot of your bad habits will be taken care of by the forming of that one good habit. ²

• Form the habit of spending more time with God
• Develop the habit of acknowledging God in all your ways

Proverbs 3:6 (AMP)
6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

The Importance of Establishing the Habit of God’s Word

A Fresh Look at an Old Psalm: Psalm 119th

• If there is anything that might impress you of the importance of establishing God’s Word in your life, is a fresh look at the 119th Psalm.
• While the psalmist David is showing us the value and importance of the Word, he is also at the same time, through those same words, showing us a picture of Jesus the Living Word.

Jesus the Living Word in Psalm 119

• Before we start, look at this verse in Revelation.

Revelation 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

• This is the New Testament written in Greek and Jesus is saying I am the whole Greek alphabet from the beginning to the end.
• Letters make words.
• So, the very thing that it takes to make a word The WORD, Jesus said, I am the beginning of that and the end of that!
• But did you know that Jesus is also the whole Hebrew alphabet from beginning to end?
• That the 119th Psalm is 22 sections of 8 verses and because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet?
• Now some of your print Bibles will have the associated alphabetic Hebrew letter at the head of each 8 verse section.
• In Psalm 119, the first letter is Aleph.

 Psalm 119:1-8
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

• The first Hebrew letter Aleph: means sacrificial animal
• Like Alpha means ‘beginning’ – Omega means ‘the end’
• The last Hebrew letter Tav: means the cross.
• Out of 6043 regular Hebrew words, 3491 of them are 3 letter words (60 percent) – Hebrew is a triad language – a picture of the Trinity.
• Background on the letter ALEPH.
• Aleph means oxen.

Psalm 144:14 (KJV)
14 That our OXEN may be strong to labour; that there no breaking in, nor going out; that there be complaining in our streets. 15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case:, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

• The word “oxen” in Ps. 144:14 is alpeh.
• Oxen were used by the people for many reasons.
• Oxen were used for service in the agricultural society of the Israelites.
• Oxen were used for sacrifice unto the Lord in the Israelite system of blood covenanting and sacrifice. See Lev. 4:1-21 (oxen or bullocks were acceptable sin offerings).
• Oxen are noted for strength.We have often heard the phrase “Strong as an ox”.
• SERVICE, STRENGTH & SACRIFICE is the word picture attached to Aleph.
• Remember the story in 2 Samuel 6 where the Ark of the Covenant was sent back to the Israelites on a new cart pulled by oxen?

2 Samuel 6:3,6
3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

• When the ark finally came to Jerusalem, an oxen was sacrificed.

2 Samuel 6:13
13 And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.

• First, the oxen were used for their service and strength to pull and deliver the ark.
• Second, oxen were then sacrificed unto the Lord.
• This entire Hebrew letter ALEPH, showing the importance of the Word of God in Ps. 119, is, in fact, pointing to Jesus.
• So, even in the Hebrew letters of the Bible, there are pictures of Jesus the Living Word.

John 4:30-34
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

• This is service, Jesus does match the picture.
• What about strength? Was Jesus a picture of strength for us?
• Yes He was. While He was on the cross, He had strength enough to cry out, in fact He shouted out loud on the cross.
• What about the sacrificial portion of Aleph?
• Was Jesus a picture of sacrifice for us?
• The very first letter of the Hebrew alphabet draws attention to this.

Hebrews 9:22 (KJV)
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

• Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.

1 Corinthians 5:7
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

ALPEH and Psalm 119:1-8

• Let’s look a little closer at Alpeh in Ps. 119:1

Psalm 119:1 (KJV)
1 Blessed are the undefiled (blameless) in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

• Aleph is in the word ‘Blessed’ – vs. 1-2
• In Hebrew the word ‘Blessed’ is  אַשְׁרֵי
• Notice the word is a triad word (3 letters).
• Notice the first letter is ALEPH ! (Hebrew reads right to left).
• So the first letter in the first section of this Psalm that speaks about the Word of God, translates to the word ‘blessed’.
• The Hebrew word ‘blessed’ has in it a letter that shows a picture of STRENGTH, SERVICE, & SACRIFICE.
• So the next time someone asks you, ‘How are you or how are you doing?’ and you respond to them ‘I am blessed.’
• Remember WHY you are blessed?
• You are blessed because Jesus paid the sacrifice so that you could be blessed.
• Strength, service, and sacrifice.
• Mark this down, there is no ‘blessing’ or ‘happiness’ in life apart from accepting and walking in God’s sacrifice of His Son.
• You are wasting your time trying to find happiness outside of the Word of God, outside of the covenant that God cut with His Son. It simply doesn’t exist.

Call to Action:

“What are you saying to me?” Here is what I am saying to you, develop the spiritual discipline of studying God’s Word. Use it to walk perpetually in God’s strength. Use that strength to serve other people. And always always remember that without the sacrifice of Jesus, without the shedding of His blood, there is no remission of sins. And if there is no remission of sins none of these things we are discussing today would even be worth talking about.

Episode Resources

You can find more information on this subject by clicking on these links.

1. Three Ways to Beat Ungodly Habits

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Question: What habits have you made it a personal point to establish in your walk with God? How have those habits elevated your life?  I would love to learn from you. Please leave a comment in the comments section below.

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