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February 22 - March 1, 2023
Principle 1 To experience change that lasts, focus on who, not do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. —Isaiah 43:19 NLT
“Who am I?” “What kind of situation is this?” “What would someone like me do in this situation?”
Principle 2 You do what you do because of what you think of you. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” —Mark 10:27 NLT
They dealt with the symptom and ignored the real problem
James Clear, a guru on change and the author of Atomic Habits, says, “It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying belief that led you to your past behavior.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (NLT). Paul says you’ll experience transformation not by changing what you do but “by changing the way you think.” Boom!
Principle 3 To change what you do, you need to first change what you think of you. Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Sought after (Isa. 62:12) Precious in his sight (Isa. 43:4) A new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) Not condemned (Rom. 8:1) Forgiven (Col. 1:14) Loved (1 John 3:1) Accepted (Rom. 15:7) A child of God (John 1:12) Jesus’ friend (John 15:14) Free (John 8:36) The temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19) God’s treasured possession (Deut. 7:6)
Complete in Christ (Col. 2:10 NLT) Chosen (Col. 3:12) Called (2 Tim. 1:9) An ambassador of the Most High God (2 Cor. 5:20) God’s masterpiece (Eph. 2:10 NLT) Able to do all things through Christ, who gives you strength (Phil. 4:13) More than a conqueror through Jesus, who loves you (Rom. 8:37)
The statements on the list you just read need to move from words on a page to truths etched on your heart.
Principle 4 You are who God says you are. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! —1 John 3:1
I want to be someone who is faithful to Jesus, my family, and my church—all the way to the end.
Principle 5 You will change, and you can become who you want to become. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. —Philippians 4:13 NLT
If you have ever felt called to more, it’s because you are called to more.
Your do is not small if it is connected to your who.
If your first who is Jesus—whatever you do, you’re doing it for Jesus—then your do is not small.
Small is the new big.
But the disciples were about to learn that the size of your assignment never determines the significance of your impact.
If your do is about who God wants you to become and who you want to become, then your do is not small.
Principle 6 If your do is about who God wants you to become, about who you want to become, then your do is not small. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest. —Luke 9:48 NLT
If you don’t start with your identity, any behavior change you make won’t last.
It’s behavior modification, not based on identity transformation.
But to see that change happen, you’ve got to start with who. Not do.
Principle 7 To change, you need to think the right thing about yourself, know your true identity, and start your identity with who, not do. I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. —Philippians 1:6 NLT
Defining the win is not how you win but how you begin.
Narrow your goals down to one that you sense is critical right now.
Write down your goal and tell someone. If you don’t write it down, you have a wish, not a goal. So write it down and tell someone.
Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University, reports that people who write down goals are significantly more likely to achieve them. If you write down your goal and tell a friend, your likelihood increases even more.12 Goals give direction. Without direction, we are running a race with no finish line.
You win when you quit trying.
Principle 8 Defining your win is how you begin. Write down your goal and tell someone. Run to win! —1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT
They don’t try. They train.
Winning comes through training, not trying.
Principle 9 Trying doesn’t work. Training does. Trying is an attempt to do the right thing by exerting effort in the moment. Training is a commitment to strategic habits you do before the moment that equip you to do the right thing in the moment. All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. . . . I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. —1 Corinthians 9:25–27
Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now.
Proverbs 25:28, we read, “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls” (NLT).
Principle 10 Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now. The path to public success is always paved with private discipline. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. —Hebrews 12:11 NLT
The focus has to be taken off how long it will take and placed on what can be done now.
You get results by focusing on the actions that get results.
James Clear says: “Habits are behaviors that we repeat consistently.
Principle 11 Make doing your habit your win. You don’t have to win every day to win. The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. —Ecclesiastes 7:8
I’m successful when I train today.
Principle 12 I am not trying. I am in training! Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. —1 Timothy 4:8 NLT
Duke University did a study and found that 40 percent of the actions people take in any given day are the result not of decisions but of habits.24 Autopilot is not just for people flying airplanes or driving Teslas. We do much of what we do because it’s what we always do.
Your choices create the course and contours of your life. Your decisions determine your destiny. And your choices are less intentional and more habitual than you realize.
Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do.”
Principle 13 If you want to change who you’re becoming, change your habits. If you want to change where you’re going, change your habits. If you want to change your life, change your habits. Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. —1 Peter 4:1–2 MSG
Never underestimate how God can start something big through one small habit.
(Dan. 6:10 NLT). Did you notice the “as usual” and “three times a day” and “just as he had always done”? Daniel had a prayer habit. And that habit made all the difference in every area of his life.
Never underestimate how God can start something big through one small habit. Daniel’s success happened not by accident but by habits.
The small things no one sees can lead to the big results everyone wants.
