We are created with the ability to repeat certain behaviors, actions, tasks, etc. We have the tremendous capacity to learn new skills and carry out new responsibilities which enables us to engage in jobs, careers, sports, etc. without having to be retrained each time we engage in that particular activity.

This ability vitally important in our day-to-day lives. It would be frustrating indeed if we had to be retrained each day to perform the same task. The amazing thing is that we need not have to be retrained over and over again, but we learn how to perform the task and then we do it every day, repeating the same actions that we have learned.

This affects all of life, from the most trivial to the most. We get out of bed and begin a series of actions that we have learned through repetition. My morning routine is certainly different than yours, but I do the same things every day as a matter of repetitive action. It is something so engrained in each of us that we do those things without even thinking about them. We actually take them for granted.

It’s like planning for a trip. If we are going to travel to a destination we have never been before, then we have to make sure that we have the route mapped out. This is certainly not as tedious a task as it once was, as we now have GPS systems, and navigational systems built into our automobiles. But even with that, we still have to be able to tell our GPS where to take us, and then we have to follow the directions. But if we have made the trip before, chances are we don’t need to rely so much on the navigational tools at our disposal.

For followers of Jesus Christ, it is imperative that we utilize this amazing ability by being habitually repetitive with certain actions and behaviors. The Christian disciplines – prayer, Bible study, Bible memorization, personal devotion, public worship, service, giving, just to name a few – should be practiced regularly and consistently. Our spiritual growth and development depends on us practicing these disciplines repetitively and habitually. In doing this we will continue to grow toward Christian maturity, until we become fully mature, being conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Growing in our Christian walk is not a mere suggestion in Scripture, but rather are expected of us. We are told to put off the old man, and replace it with the new man, made over in the image of God. We are to consistently put off those things that are displeasing to God, while replacing them with those behaviors that are pleasing to Him, and are consistent with the teachings of Scripture.

By being consistent with this, we begin to develop more and more a desire to do these things. They become part of our daily routine because we have repeated them over and over until we reach the point that we do them without thinking about it. It becomes who we are, not just an activity that we perform.

Our desire is to be more like Jesus with each passing day. Let’s make the commitment to do all that we can do to be like Him

Blessings.