TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

SEE HABIT AS A GIFT FROM GOD

2

MAKE A LIST OF NEW HABITS

3

EXAMINE SUCCESS HABITS OF CHAMPIONS

4

NAME THE HABITS YOU MOST DESIRE

5

BEGIN A GOOD HABIT TODAY

6

ALLOW YOURSELF TIME TO CHANGE

7

CONFRONT DESTRUCTIVE HABITS

8

DO NOT DECEIVE YOURSELF

9

DESPISE YOUR CHAINS

10

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DISCIPLINE AND HABIT

11

PINPOINT YOUR LIFE-PURPOSE

12

PERFECT YOUR DAILY SUCCESS ROUTINE

13

EXERCISE EVERY DAY

14

ATTEND CHURCH FAITHFULLY

15

BEGIN THE BIBLE HABIT

16

TITHE HABITUALLY

17

DEVELOP THE INFORMATION HABIT

18

PRACTICE POWER-TALK

19

AVOID ANYONE WHO BREAKS YOUR FOCUS

20

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

21

SET A SPECIFIC PRAYER TIME

22

LINK TWO GREAT HABITS TOGETHER

23

MOVE TOWARD ORDER

24

PRACTICE THE E.H.A.H. SYSTEM

25

RECOGNIZE THE LAW OF EVENTUALITY

26

SOW FROM EVERY PAYCHECK

27

DECIDE YOUR DESTINATION

28

ESTABLISH GOOD FAMILY HABITS

29

MOVE TOWARD EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

30

REMEMBER... SUCCESS IS A DAILY EVENT

31

EXPECT GOD TO HELP YOU

SEE HABIT AS A GIFT FROM GOD

A habit is any action, conduct or behavior that you do over and over again. It may be a bad habit like smoking, or a good habit like brushing your teeth.

This means anything you do twice becomes easier. It is God’s way of helping you succeed.

Some experts believe that when you do a specific thing repeatedly for 21 consecutive days, it will become a lifetime habit for you.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” (James 1:17).

MAKE A LIST OF NEW HABITS

Brainstorm for new habits. Make up your bed immediately upon rising. Use a highlighter pen to mark your Bible each day.

Hang up your clothes. Make a daily to-do list each morning. Limit each phone call to five minutes.

Rise the same time every morning. Keep an Idea Notebook with you at all times. Write at least one sentence in your daily diary or journal.

“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it,” (Habakkuk 2:2).

EXAMINE SUCCESS HABITS OF CHAMPIONS

Great men have great habits. Daily habits. That is what separates them from the masses.

Men do not really decide their future. They merely decide their habits. Then...their habits decide their future.

Read biographies of champions. The secret of their success is always hidden in something they do DAILY.

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime,” (Daniel 6:10).

NAME THE HABITS YOU MOST DESIRE

Take a sheet of paper. List those habits that make men unusually successful. Be honest.

Specify those habits that could apply to your life and help you achieve your goals.

Target one new habit this week. Now, believe that God will help you achieve it.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full,” (John 16:23-24).

BEGIN A GOOD HABIT TODAY

Decide to change. Do it now.

Make a change in something you do every day. You will never really change your life until you change something you do daily.

Choose to develop the habits of champions. Start a new one today.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

ALLOW YOURSELF TIME TO CHANGE

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Little-by-little and day-by-day, you will start tasting the rewards of change.

Look at the patience of God with Israel. He “knew they were but flesh.” He took many years to even train their leader, Moses. You are not an exception.

Every man fails. Champions simply get back up...and begin again.

“The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down,” (Psalm 145:14).

CONFRONT DESTRUCTIVE HABITS

Don’t waste your life. It is too short, valuable and irreplaceable.

Confront problems. What You Refuse To Master Today, Will Master You Tomorrow.

Remember—What You Do Habitually Determines What You Become Permanently. Get up. Fight back. You can win.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:7).

DO NOT DECEIVE YOURSELF

You already know the bad habits in your life. Face them. You Will Never Correct What You Are Unwilling To Confront.

Resist the urge to justify yourself. Truth Is Temporarily Painful, But Permanently Liberating.

Change is possible. Step-by-step and day-by-day, start moving toward the dreams and goals of your life.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” (Psalm 139:23-24).

DESPISE YOUR CHAINS

You are a child of the Most High God. Captivity is unnatural for you. Learn to hate the chains of any habit that enslaves you.

While drug addicts and alcoholics may want the taste of sin, they certainly do not want the torment. But they will never be free until they learn to despise those chains.

Habit is hell’s greatest weapon in destroying your life. Let God break your chains.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound,” (Isaiah 61:1).

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed,” (John 8:36).

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DISCIPLINE AND HABIT

Many people do not know the difference between Discipline and Habit.

Discipline is forcing yourself to do something. It may be uncomfortable, unpleasant, even miserable in the beginning. It Is Simply Doing Something You Hate, To Create Something You Love.

Habit is the child of discipline. It is something you do naturally, easily and without conscious effort. Champions become champions by maintaining a discipline until it becomes a habit, a daily routine in their lives.

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice,” (Psalm 55:17).

PINPOINT YOUR LIFE-PURPOSE

Great habits are the results of great purpose.

Let me explain. Mohammed Ali, the famous boxer, felt he was Divinely appointed to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He felt he was born for such a purpose. This sense of purpose was his motivation to develop the daily workout habits that made him great.

Always remember the powerful importance of linking your habits to your life-purpose.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light,” (1 Peter 2:9).

PERFECT YOUR DAILY SUCCESS ROUTINE

The Secret of Your Future Is Hidden In Your Daily Routine.

Daily tasks should be performed at the same time each day. Weekly tasks should be performed on the same day each week. Develop a rhythm to your life.

Sit down now. Make your personal list of daily activities. Link each task to a specific time or day to be performed.

“And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read,” (Luke 4:16).

EXERCISE EVERY DAY

Health is life’s First Prize. Good health is a product of good habits.

Make the effort. Schedule 30 minutes each day for exercise. Take care of your body, and it will take care of you.

Ask your close friends to help motivate you. Set achievable goals. Just do it. TODAY.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

ATTEND CHURCH FAITHFULLY

Get into the Presence of God. Regularly. Your best will come out of you in His Presence.

Sit under the teaching of a man of God you respect. Put your time, influence and finances there. Faithfully.

Even Jesus attended church regularly. There is no substitute for the Golden Link of Godly relationships.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching,” (Hebrews 10:25).

“...as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day,” (Luke 4:16).

BEGIN THE BIBLE HABIT

Pick a time...preferably, the morning. Call it your “Wisdom-Hour.” Read the Bible aloud.

Do not get bogged down in theology, or the Greek and Hebrew translations. Just meditate on His Word.

His Word is life. His Word creates faith. His Word will change the course of your life.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness,” (2 Timothy 2:15-16).

TITHE HABITUALLY

Tithe means “tenth.” Abraham gave ten percent of his income back to God to show that he honored God as his Provider.

His son Isaac tithed also and reaped one hundredfold the same year he sowed. God rewarded his Seed.

Think like a sower. Your Seed is anything you give to God. Your Harvest is anything He gives back to you. Habitual Sowing Guarantees Habitual Reaping.

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it,” (Malachi 3:10).

“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,” (1 Corinthians 16:2).

DEVELOP THE INFORMATION HABIT

Readers are Leaders. Keep up with current events. Daily. Listen. Watch. Observe.

Ask questions. Analyze what happens around you. Open your eyes. Become aware. Make it a habit.

Ignorance Creates Crisis. Information solves it.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,” (Hosea 4:6).

“...but through knowledge shall the just be delivered,” (Proverbs 11:9).

PRACTICE POWER-TALK

Power-Talk is simply speaking words that produce a desired result in yourself or others.

Champions talk differently. They discuss their future, not their past; their victories, not their defeats. Never say anything you don’t want another to believe. Start saying what God says about your life.

Words create pictures in your mind. Those pictures decide what you believe. What You Look At The Longest Will Affect You The Most.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof,” (Proverbs 18:21).

AVOID ANYONE WHO BREAKS YOUR FOCUS

The Only Reason Men Fail Is Broken Focus. It happened with Samson and Delilah. It happened with David and Bathsheba. Do not let it happen to you.

Satan dreads your total concentration on God’s Assignment in your life.

When Satan Wants To Destroy You, He Sends A Person Into Your Life.

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners,” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

“For the Lord giveth Wisdom...To deliver thee from the way of the evil man...To deliver thee from the strange woman,” (Proverbs 2:6, 12, 16).

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

When Fatigue Walks In, Faith Walks Out.

When you are tired, you change. You talk differently, you think differently, you assess life differently. And always inaccurately.

Accept your personal and unique sleep requirements. Make a habit of going to bed every night at the same time. Your life depends on it.

“And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat,” (Mark 6:31).

SET A SPECIFIC PRAYER TIME

Setting a specific prayer time is one of the great secrets in the lives of prayer champions.

Build your daily agenda around your specific prayer time. Morning is usually best. Make it the priority of the day.

You will be amazed at the power of keeping a daily appointment with God.

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up,” (Psalm 5:3).

LINK TWO GREAT HABITS TOGETHER

One author dictates his books on a microcassette recorder...while he does his daily five mile walk. He links two great habits.

Some keep an Idea Notebook handy during their prayer time. This enables them to easily document ideas fresh from God.

You can do the same. Build on the good habits you already have.

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little,” (Isaiah 28:10).

MOVE TOWARD ORDER

Order is the “accurate arrangement of things.” Develop a passion for it.

You do not park your car in your bedroom. You do not sleep on your kitchen table. You hang your clothes in your closet. You brush your teeth at the bathroom sink. Order is doing the right thing...at the right time...in the right place.

Order increases productivity. Your productivity increases your contribution. Your contribution increases the rewards you receive in life.

“And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the Heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made,” (Genesis 1:31; 2:1-2).

PRACTICE THE E.H.A.H. SYSTEM

Everything Has A Home. Your car belongs in the garage. Your dirty clothes belong in the hamper. Everything around you should have an assigned place.

Everything Has A Home. Insist on it. Make certain everything is returned to its assigned place.

Everything Has A Home. This explains the incredible secret of Order. It is the secret of great productivity.

“Let all things be done decently and in order,” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven,” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

RECOGNIZE THE LAW OF EVENTUALITY

If you smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, what is the inevitable eventuality? If you eat two slices of pecan pie late every night, what is the inevitable eventuality?

This is the difference between champions and losers. Losers make decisions that create their desired present. Champions make decisions that create their desired future.

Your daily habits are carving out an irreversible future. Are you heading toward what you really want?

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” (Galatians 6:7).

SOW FROM EVERY PAYCHECK

You want to receive regularly... sow regularly.

Start the habit of giving something to the work of God out of every paycheck you receive. When you sow consistently, you will reap consistently.

Expect God to multiply your Seed one hundredfold as He promised clearly in Mark 10:30. He will provide Seed to anyone willing to sow it.

“Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness,” (2 Corinthians 9:10).

“While the earth remaineth, Seedtime and Harvest...shall not cease,” (Genesis 8:22).

DECIDE YOUR DESTINATION

What you are doing today is creating a permanent you.

Your habits are vehicles...taking you into a desirable or undesirable future. Where will your present habits take you in 12 months? In 10 years?

Where will you eventually be if you do not change the direction you are going? Will you require a tragedy to initiate a change?

“I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live,” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” (Galatians 6:7).

ESTABLISH GOOD FAMILY HABITS

Suzanne Wesley had seventeen children. She habitually set aside the first day each month to devote total attention to her oldest child. Day two was spent on her second child, and so forth. This may explain the greatness of her son, John Wesley.

Great families usually have great habits. Follow daily and weekly habits that will create the family unit you desire.

Designate one night a week as family night. Cherish it. Build your weekly agenda around it.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” (Joshua 24:15).

MOVE TOWARD EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

Make a habit of pursuing Greatness.

Elisha received a double-portion of God’s power because he was willing to pay any price to stay in the presence of Elijah, the great prophet.

Joshua observed Moses. Ruth reached for Boaz. You Will Never Possess What You Are Unwilling To Pursue.

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed,” (Proverbs 13:20).

REMEMBER... SUCCESS IS A DAILY EVENT

Success is a daily event...called joy. It happens hourly when you do the Will of God.

Habit is also a daily thing. Nothing Will Ever Dominate Your Life Unless It Happens Daily.

Focus on today’s priorities. A priority is anything God has commanded you to do today.

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness,” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

EXPECT GOD TO HELP YOU

You are not alone. Somebody is committed to your success. God really does care. He is your Enabler.

He created you for a purpose. The Holy Spirit will break the bondage of your bad habits. He will also give you the power to birth the right habits.

Ask for the gift of The Holy Spirit. When He comes, He will lead you into all truth. There is no other road of deliverance.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth,” (Acts 1:8).

DECISION

Will You Accept Jesus As Your Personal Savior Today?

The Bible says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved,” (Romans 10:9).

Pray this prayer from your heart today! “Dear Jesus, I believe that You died for me and rose again on the third day. I confess I am a sinner...I need Your love and forgiveness...Come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I receive Your eternal life. Confirm Your love by giving me peace, joy and supernatural love for others. Amen.”

Yes, Mike! I made a decision to accept Christ as my personal Savior today. Please send me my free gift of your book 31 Keys to a New Beginning to help me with my new life in Christ.

Mail to: The Wisdom Center
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Seeds of Wisdom on Habits

ISBN 10: 1-56394-737-4 / ISBN 13: 978-1563947377 / eB-18

Copyright © 2001 by MIKE MURDOCK

All publishing rights belong exclusively to Wisdom International

Editor/Publisher: Deborah Murdock Johnson

Published by The Wisdom Center · 4051 Denton Hwy.· Fort Worth, Texas 76117 1-817-759-BOOK · 1-817-759-2665 · 1-817-759-0300

You Will Love Our Website..! WisdomOnline.com

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