In Habit: You are what you eat

3:33 - Welcome Back

Let me ask you a question, I wonder if you know how many people on average make New Year’s resolutions a year. Or of those New Year’s resolutions? How many of those do you think have something to do with food. Or beverages…or diet in general?

On a scale of one to a lot it’s a lot ha ha. There are a lot of people every year that make resolutions at are consistent with changing something in their diet. Some of the recent studies from 23,24 and 25 actually say that over 40% of people have made resolutions in the coming year. And a whopping 74% of them made a resolution that had something to do with change of diet, or changing the foods that they eat, or the way that they live their lives to be more healthy.

Just to put this in context, that means about 110 million people might agree with the modern proverb:

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Of course its not like you are going to turn into a Twinkie because you keep eating a box of Twinkie. Your skin won’t turn neon yellow and you won’t become filled with some kind of delicious sugary paste that is supposed to represent cream…

Although there is a high likelihood that your arteries might have something to say about that, they may end up filled up, clogged, blocked with a cream-like filling…

If you start eating a bunch of eggs, and chicken you aren’t going to turn into a chicken. Although, Larry - my step-dad would joke about that whenever he went on the diet plan. “If I have one more piece of chicken I am going to grow feathers and start clucking.”

So, not really a great metaphor BUT… 110 million people - If the survey data is accurate - In the US every year are making resolutions to change something about their eating habits. Yes, eating habits.

Why? Because what we consume absolutely affects our day-to-day life - what we consume does have an impact on our experience.

Last week we took some time to talk about what it means to live out the habitude of gratitude. Or to be a habit of gratitude. Or it’s just our natural inclination or natural way of being is to be grateful people. We talked about the importance of the habit of starting our day with gratitude. Saying thank you to God for all the things that he has done for us and through us and to us. And ending the day with the same posture of gratitude. Why because our awareness shapes our experience.

Awareness shapes attention and attention shapes experience

And of course, we know that this is true. We know that what we look for, or pay attention to we start to see more of. If you start paying attention to all the things that you have that you should be grateful for. Even in the middle of the worst scenarios, you find something to be grateful for. You see it. You don’t have to look for it. It reveals itself to you because God reveals himself to you.

Remember, this whole series is not trying to give us more things to do, or try to make us move in a certain direction. No, the whole point of the series is to help us develop the habits. To build routines within the cues of our life that help us inhabit the presence of God.

The interesting thing when it comes to food specifically. There are certain habits that when you apply them to your life, they change your food eating habits. Even though that particular habit might not have anything to do with the literal food that you eat.

KEYSTONE HABITS

Keystone habits have a cascading effect in our lives. When one of these habits changes, it sets off a chain reaction—reshaping other habits, behaviors, and even how we respond to cues. Because keystone habits influence identity, routines, and systems, changing just one can lead to widespread transformation without trying to change everything at once. Over time, many of the changes feel almost natural, flowing from the initial shift in habit.

To go back to the food conversation or the dietary resolutions. There are enough studies out there to show, that if you really want to change what you eat, it’s not about choosing not to eat certain things. It’s more about creating a habit that puts you in a position to make the right choices. To establish a keystone habit.

Specifically, those who prioritize a daily or regular exercise routine will make better food choices. Why? The habit sets everything else in motion. Does it work 100% of the time for 100% of the people - No but it is a consistent reality that exercise is considered a keystone habit.

IN HABIT - YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

But you and I are not here to talk about working out. That is not our goal - at least not right now in this moment. We are interested in getting In the habit of inhabiting the presence of God.

We aren’t trying to get more buff or eat less sugar - we have a desire to experience more presence - and yes what you eat matters…Actually the KEYSTONE Habit for us is not about what not to eat - ITS ALL ABOUT EATING THIS

God’s Word is filled with references and associations between the word and food.

Ezekiel 3:1–3 (CSB) He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. “Son of man,” he said to me, “feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Psalm 119:103 (CSB) How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth.

Jeremiah 15:16 (CSB) Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I bear your name, Lord God of Armies.

No I am not saying you need to literally take the pages out of the book and start chomping on them. Depending on the type of fast some of you are doing, that might actually be tempting! But it is no accident that God connects His Word to food.

The first time I ever fasted on purpose, with prayer and a desire to get closer to the Lord. I realized how difficult it can be - I have been fortunate enough to never really experience the pains of hunger. Sure I had been hungry, even intentionally deprived of food to see how I would respond - BUT - I had never allowed myself to sit in the feeling of being hungry - on purpose…with a purpose.

Today, thats part of my weekly rhythm - and I am now regularly reminded - this is how I should feel if I were to go without the regular consumption of God’s Word.

You know I wonder, what would happen if we…would feel hunger pains if I went without reading and hearing God’s WORD? When I skip a day of food I feel it…Do I feel it if I miss inhabiting with God through His word.

Do I believe what Matthew recorded Jesus saying

Matthew 4:4 (CSB) He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Do I really believe, do I have a habit of going to God’s Word every day, like I do grabbing a meal 2 - 3 times a day because I know I need it. I need it like I need food.

Yeah there’s a guy in that book the power of habit that’s the case study. He’s like the catalyst for why they started studying habits in the first place. He had a major event in his life and he lost his short term memory completely. He lost much of his memory. And yet, He was able to go find food whenever he was hungry. If you asked him where he would go or how he would do it to go find food or eat he couldn’t necessarily tell you. But if you just said hey, what are you do when you’re hungry. He would get up off the couch go to the cabinet in the kitchen and grab the food.

The habit of eating was so ingrained that, even though he lost his memory, he knew where to find food.

Fed by Scripture = Fueled by Scripture = Inhabiting the Presence of God Everywhere

I don’t know about you, but I want that. I don’t know that I need to know the chapter and verse of scripture. But I need to know the scripture. I need to have it ingested in me, digested in me infused into me in such a way that whenever I long for it, whenever I’m not even sure I need it, I have it. I have God’s word in me and that way.

Church that happens when we build a daily regular habit of reading God’s word. And that habit is a keystone to the rest of our lives. We will live from a place of practical biblical wisdom. And that scripture comforts us, it leads us it supports us. It sustains us. It moves us. It convicts us. It fills us. It fuels us. It is life.

I want to live like that! I want to live from a place of being deeply rooted in God’s Word. I want to live a life deeply convicted and convinced that God will meet me in the place I need Him - in the HOLES and on the HILLS of life. That’s the Habit I want…

Matthew 4:4 is Jesus’ Response to the devil after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. When the enemy is trying to tempt him to turn stone into bread. Just like he turns the water into wine, the enemy was trying to convince him to get into those hunger pains. And his response was that he doesn’t live on bread alone, but he lives on the word from the mouth of God.

Jesus is quoting scripture from the earliest books of the Bible

Deuteronomy 8:3 (CSB) He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

The time in the desert for the People of God was like on the job training for His People. It connects the dots between being hungry physically to realization fo the importance of connecting to the Word of God. ITS FOOD TO SUSTAIN YOU

To sustain you when -In the hardest moments of your life. -In the weakest moments -In the lonely spaces -In the mundane / average / and uneventful

When we go without food we are reminded how much we need food to feel whole…yet many find themselves with stuffed stomachs and famished souls…

What if it didn’t have to be that way?

CUE - Routine reward slide (circle Cue)

This week is not as simple as last week. Cue for last week was the same as everyone - you wake up and you sleep - this one might take a little processing for you. If you have not already established a habit of eating scripture - take some time over the next 2 weeks and look at your natural life rhythm. If its not natural for you…I mean it can be hard especially if you work swing shifts, look for a consistent place in your day - a regular cue that you could follow with reading scripture.

Replace something with God’s Word.

For example, during this 21 days of fasting. There are people among you who are reading God’s word at lunchtime. Instead of eating there taking time to read the word, literally ingesting it well metaphorically anyway. But what does that look like long-term? Others have decided to minimize their screen time and do something else. So maybe there’s a certain time of day where you normally veg out in front of the couch and watch TV. What if you decided that at that time you instead grabbed your reading chair, and made time for God’s word. Before you do anything else.

Actually you know what I would love. I would love it if we together as a church would take a picture of the place that we go to eat the word. To eat the word of God. Every day. Where is that place for you and your home in your coffee shop and your favorite place at the work place I don’t know I don’t know where that is for you. But for you where is a place where you can consume God’s word?

If you already have one - Awesome! Take a picture - if you are on the socials - post the picture and Tag Summit Church MN and put the hashtag…

#EatTheWord

I can’t wait to see all of your places - all of the spots you have to EatTheWord of God!

Just got this image of a place in the lobby where we keep the daily reading plan stuff with a collage of the chairs, or the places where we as a church consume God’s Word - You participating in this will inspire someone to do the same, I know it!

CUE - Routine reward slide (circle Routine)

If you don’t have a spot, great time to find one - to create the space.

But maybe you haven’t ever done this before. The Bible is a big book and can be intimidating. I remember the first time I set off to read the entire Bible in one year - it was a big scary but it was life changing. I was hooked - But there are some helpful tips to help the habit stick.

1. Set it out 2. Make a plan 3. Keep it up

Remove the obstacle. Before the Cue - for example, maybe you are like me and you want it to be one of the first things you do each day. Do you want to make sure that you have everything you need before that time. So for me the night before I make sure that my Bible is in the spot. This is my chair.

Chair Picture @ my Table

I make sure my reading glasses on that age, I also make sure that my journal is handy, and I make sure that my colored pencils are nearby. Now I used to use highlighters and markers and all these other different things, and I realize the best thing to highlight. The Bible was simply a colored pencil. Actually, three colored pencils. A red one a blue one and a green one. But that’s a whole different conversation for a different day. But ensuring these things are out the night before helps break down any barriers or excuses of not doing it. It’s the same reason I put up my workout clothes near by my bedside in the morning. I don’t wanna have to look for him because it’s one more reason I’m not gonna get out of bed. So I try to remove the barriers.

1. Set it out 2. Make a plan 3. Keep it up

Second you have to have a plan. That’s why we have a plan for the church. It’s also why we do it reading plan for two years. I don’t want you to have to make more decisions than you already have to make every day. A reading plan for two years keeps the reading to a level in which it’s manageable each and every day. Literally 15 to 20 minutes or more depending on how deep you go. It also is slow enough that you can dive deeper into the text as you read. You’re not reading huge chunks at a time. You’re reading bite-size portions.

AND AND have a style or a way you are going to Eat the Word. I love the SOAP Method

SOAP

Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

1. Set it out 2. Make a plan 3. Keep it up

Keep it up - Here’s the rule for your new habit - especially until it become automatic - Do it everyday and do not miss two days in a row. Do it everyday and don’t miss two in a row. That, That is how you get to the REWARD Church.

CUE - Routine reward slide (circle Reward)

Heres the reward - Tons of research is done on this. Yes there are numbers across the board - BUT BUT BUT with a high degree of confidence I can say research consitently shows that those who Eat the Word - Digest Scripture regularly - have

Lower: Stress & Anxiety

Not that thier life is easier or they somehow don’t encounter things and circumstances that could leave them stressed and anxious - BUT BUT It doesn’t stick to them the same way as it does those who don’t EAT THE WORD.

Those who DO - greater HOPE - Healthier Relationships - greater contentment - MORE emotional resilience

Correlation ≠ Causation

This is perhaps the most difficult to explain, but it is not the simple act of reading the Scripture that you will experience lower stress, greater hope, healthier relationships, resilience, fortitude, conviction, grace, love…That is the work of the Holy Spirit in you.

The KEY is the STONE that was rolled away, and Christ lives in you. AND AND AND When you and I decide to engage with the Rock of Salvation, Engage with Jesus every day through reading His Word - you and I are getting IN HABIT of inhabiting HIS presence - Thats what changes, thats what cascades in our lives.

Reading God’s Word daily - Cascading affect…Chain reaction…It cascades into decision, relationships, lifestyle choices, all of it….

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB) All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Hebrews 4:12 (CSB) For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

We talk about these verses all the time - not because they prove a point, but because they are true. Our shared experiences - our witness proves the trurth of God’s Word.

So this week - as you are Fasting and Praying find your chair - Eat The Word - See that it is good for your soul…Lets Pray.