b'SERMONRoyal Habits I press toward the goal for the prize of the upwardtion, the Holy Bible. Citizens of His kingdom, whogrowing in our homes and call of God in Christ Jesus.are led by His Spirit and practice those high stan- culture. Unhealthy habits,Philippians 3:19 NKJV dard principles and laws, become exactly what Hebuilt from your heart, end destined for them. Here, habits are mentioned quiteup defining you and your a lot because the royal lifestyle lived by kingdom citi- final destiny. Proverbs 27: zens in this world is so contrary to the wicked system3a (KJV), says, For as he By Dr. Daniel Haupt in which they reside. Therefore, many distractions,thinkethinhisheart,so challenges, and temptations seek to sway them fromis he. royalhabitsthatempowerthemtoexercisetheir Thoughtsanddaily I nlife,therearewhatwecallhabits,andthen,kingdom authority over the evil forces of the world. practices have an everlast-thereareroyalhabits.WhatisthedifferenceWhatkeepsusstrongandtogetherduringalling impact on our lives, so between these? Habits are settled or regular tenden- these challenges is our practice of good, royal habits.weshouldbeintentional cies or practices formed by repetitious actions thatHabits are things that we do repeatedly without evenaboutshapingtheminto are difficult to give up. Royal habits are practices ofneedingmuchefforttodothem.Theycomefrommeaningful royal habits that lead to our God-given disciplinebasedonGodsstandardsforHisroyalthe collective thoughts that we build up within whiledestiny. A habit is like a built-in GPS programed to kingdom,accordingtoHisgovernmentsconstitu- direct one to a destiny, according the repeated input of good or bad thoughts and actions.Once negative or sinful habits form, they can only direct you toanundesirableplacewhereyou dont want to go. Thus, it derails your journey.Buttheinputofgoodand royal habits into the GPS, takes you exactly where you are intended to be by God. More so, when you form royal habits,youarriveatablessedand enjoyabledestinationwhereyoucan stay forever at your crowning place.Habitshavepowertoweighyou downandshapehowyouendup. This is the reason why the Bible, in Hebrews12:1,urgesustolayaside every weight that easily ensnares us. Iliketheuseofthewordensnares becauseitpointstotheexistenceof a trap. Bad habits are a trap limiting us to a place of everlasting sorrow, not God-intended destiny.Destructivehabitscanleadyouto live a lie of a life in Gods kingdom and thus, trap you to an eternal life of lying before God, which appalls Him. Lying and cheating come through wearing a fake costume, like an actor who imi-tates a role that really does not depict hisorhertruebehavior.So,choose well,andthinkaboutwhatkindsof habits you will consciously build with yourlife.Buildhabitsthatpromote and edify the Kingdom of God.The good thing (or bad) about hab-itsisthattheycanbepassedfrom generation to generation. The reason GodentrustedAbraham,whogave birth to the nation of Israel, with the titleofHisfriend,wasthathehad showed the ability to keep royal hab-its.Abraham,throughhislineage, gavebirthtoaculturewithroyal habits for generations to come. It is, therefore,veryimportanttomaster the foundational principles of God and practice them in life.TransferringRoyalHabits GenerationallyWhen it comes to your royal habits, be intentional, know who you are, and act like it. This reminds me of an old story about an heir to the King Louis ofFrance.AftertheKinghadbeen arrestedanddethroned,thosewho oustedhimdidnotwanthissonto succeed him. So, they subjected him to all kinds of temptations, including women,fancyfoods,etc.Theysaid, iftheydestroyhimmorally,hewill forgetwhohewas,andtheycould then easily take away the throne from himbyundermininghispersonality. But he did not do anything to defy his principles. So, they asked him why he did not do it, and his response was, I was born to be a King. He simply Continued on Page 82 FEBRUARY 2020 BOCNEWS.com'