Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 245 NOVEMER 2016 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS OPINION 7 Habits of Effective Christians "Good Better Best. Never let it rest until the Good is Better and the Better is Best." — Anonymous Research documents that every person who professes a belief in the teaching of Jesus Christ should have one paramount goal-to be the best and most effective Christian possible. Toward that objective stud- ies reveal that the best way to achieve the result is to have a behavior pat- tern acquired by frequent repetition that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance. In other words, a habit. In Webster's dictionary many definitions of a habit are shown. Doing something unconsciously and often compulsively is the most use- ful. Notwithstanding that mean- ing, a more poignant explanation of the term is what Siephen R. Covey wrote in his best-selling book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' published in 1989. For his pur- poses Covey defined ·habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge being the what to do and the why. Skill the how to do and desire the motivation to do it. In order to make something a habit, it is necessary to have all three, in Covey’s opinion. Regarding Covey's points, they intrigued me. So much so that I search the Internet to get informa- tion about the numeral 7. I learned the number 7 is found often in Scripture. For example, on the sev- enth day God rested and hallowed it. The division of time into weeks of seven days each accounts for many instances of the occurrence of the number. In addition, the number has been called the symbol of perfection and rest in Smith's Bible Dictionary. There are at least seven men in the Old Testament who are mentioned as men of God. Furthermore, in the Book of Hebrews, apostle Paul use seven titles to refer to Christ. In Matthew 13 Jesus is quoted as giv- ing seven parables. Similarly, in the Book of Revelation there are seven churches, seven angels to the seven churches, and much more including the number seven linked with God’s annual Feast-Days. Mike Mazzalonge, a Christian preacher, in a blog on the Internet entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians, wrote: "There are char- acteristics and habits that distin- guish those who are effective... in their personal walk with Jesus as Christians..." He adds: "I think it is important to have a clear stan- dard to strive for and to measure ourselves against ourselves as we serve the cause of Christ in the various roles we have being given by the Spirit." Unequivocally, there are many actions that Christians can take to reach the highest level of excellence as a believer in the teaching of Christ. Here are the best things to do without thinking about what to do: 1.Read the Bible Daily and Obey God's Word. First and foremost, the require- ment to be the best and most effec- tive Christian possible is to know God's Word. With information, knowledge, and understanding of Scripture one can be the best witness possible for the Creator and His Son. One Christian writer wrote: "Effective Christians are effective because their lives are powered by his Word of Ben L. Walton By Ben L Walton, Col. US Army (Ret.) Continued on Page 7 The division of time into weeks of seven days each accounts for many instances of the occurrence of the number. In addition, the number has been called the symbol of perfection and rest in Smith's Bible Dictionary.