Weeds and Habits

Weeds—and bad habits—thrive with no attention at all. Good habits must be cultivated continually or they will be lost.

The way to cultivate a good habit is to begin, then allow no exceptions. It has been well said, "The tendency is to omit from the catalog of desirable virtues such an ordinary grace as perseverance—but to what purpose are all the others if we drop out before the goal is reached?"

Perseverance is not natural in most of us. We tend to be lazy and easily sidetracked. But Christ can give the ability to push on and continue—we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

By completing the earlier books of Studies in Christian Living you should now have established the habit of regular, personal Bible study. Continue to cultivate this habit as you go through Book 8, completing one study each week. Resolve to be a "finisher" as you go on toward learning to search the Scriptures on your own.

So far you have learned how to get an overall view of a book and then study its chapters. In I Thessalonians you paraphrased each chapter, began cross-referencing, and looked for personal applications. In Book 8 you will learn to summarize a chapter, and to increase your understanding through verse-by-verse meditation. You will also learn more about cross references, and how to discover and write personal applications of the Word to your life. This application part of your study is vital, for

As you begin your study of The Life of Fellowship, ask the Lord to help you incorporate the truths of I John into your daily thoughts and actions.

Book 8 continues building on the study principles introduced in Book 7, The Life of Hope. If you haven't completed The Life of Hope, it will be to your advantage to study it through first, then go on with Books 8 and 9, in order to lay a good foundation for future study.