A few of us are reading through Thoughts For Young Men by J. C. Ryle. At one point in the book he says, “Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age… The older the stronger; the longer they have held possession the harder they will be to cast out. They grow with our growth and strengthen with our strength.” Ryle addresses this from a negative standpoint, but this is true positively as well. We can and we must build good, godly, and healthy habits if we are going to live faithfully and hold our faith fast until the end. Habits not only grow strong with our strength, but they carry us through our weaknesses. When we are weak, or going through times of temptation, doubt, or despair, the strong habits we have built previously will help carry us through by God’s grace. With that in mind I offer the following practical advice. I shared most of this originally with the guys who are reading the book with me. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I think there’s something here for all of us.  

Seek to be disciplined and build these habits. 

1. Pray… The great reformer, Martin Luther, said, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.” The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, said, “Even as the moon influences the tides of the sea, even so does prayer . . . influence the tide of godliness.” God speaks to us in and through His Word, which the Holy Spirit enables us to understand and apply. We then speak to God about Himself, ourselves, our family, church family, friends, and other people in His world, shaping what we say as a response to what He has said. In prayer, God’s people express adoration and praise, confess their sins and ask for forgiveness, give thanks for God’s goodness, and make petitions for themselves and others. By God’s grace prayer changes things, including us. Whether we pray out loud, silently, or write it down, if we are going to live faithfully we must be devoted to prayer.
2. Read, study, and memorize your Bible. Use a yearly Bible reading plan like the ones found HERE, or HERE, or something similar. This is what Andy Naselli calls macro-reading, where you read or listen to larger portions of the Bible. It’s like looking at the forest. But, alongside reading your Bible I encourage you to study your Bible. Work through verses, paragraphs, chapters, and books of the Bible slowly and in depth (like we do together in Wednesday Bible study). Trace the author’s arguments, look at websites like Step Bible that will aid you in breaking down the original languages, and look at good commentaries from faithful men like the ones found HERE. This is what Andy Naselli calls micro-reading; it’s like looking at the trees in the forest. And while these two are hugely beneficial, I also encourage you to seek to memorize verses, paragraphs, chapters, and books of the Bible. This will help you write the things you read and study on your heart so that you can better live in light of them. And before you say you can’t memorize the Bible, read through THIS and try to do what it says. Utilize apps and websites like Fighter Verses. Work at it; it’s worth the effort. Alongside prayer, the reading, studying, and memorizing of Scripture, above all else, will warm your heart and cause you to love and trust Christ more and more, leading you to want to glorify Him, and thus do all the rest of the things on this list, and so much more. 
3. Attend church regularly and participate rightly. Be a devoted and healthy church member. Get there early and stay late. Understand that your presence is a part of your ministry. Participate in Sunday school if you can, or help serve somewhere. Participate wholeheartedly in every aspect of Covenant Renewal Worship. Kneel in humble confession before the Lord. Stand in honor of the Lord and His Word. Lift your voice and your hands to the Lord in praise. Declare a hearty “AMEN” after every song and prayer, or “Praise be to God” after God’s Word is read. Read and sing God’s Word enthusiastically with God’s people. Bring your Bible, open your Bible, and pay attention to the sermon and take notes. Feast and fellowship with God and His people at the Lord’s Table. Pray for, sit with, help, serve, love, encourage, and edify your fellow church members. Give yourself to the Lord and His people each Lord’s Day, for it will not only help you greatly that day, but it will lay the foundation for the rest of the week.   
4. Read good Christian books including catechisms and confessions, and seek to memorize portions of them. These days you can also listen to them. For $9.99 a month you can access numerous audiobooks, including a host of books by puritans and reformers, along with many documentaries and other videos on Canon Plus. It’s a great investment. 
5. Fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ and invite accountability. The church is your family: love them, trust them, be transparent with them, open your life up to them, and spend your time with them. Know and be known enough that people know your strengths and weaknesses, and you know theirs. Confess sin, ask for forgiveness, fight sin and walk out repentance, and be forgiving and gracious towards others. 
6. Be a learner. As the first five suggest, we must be teachable. We must realize that we have not arrived, and we all have a lot to learn. We are to be reformed and always reforming, yet, we must not be blown about by every wind of doctrine either. If you are a man, spend time around godly men, especially ones who are older than you, and seek to learn from them. If you are a woman, spend time around godly women, especially ones who are older than you, and seek to learn from them. And do the same with what you read and listen to. Read and listen to godly men and women who will help you learn and grow. If you are the older man or women, make time for others.
7. Seek to know and enjoy what is true, good, and beautiful, and to reject worldly trash. Pursue purity (no sex of any kind until marriage, and then only with your spouse after marriage). Stay away from pornography and the like. Fight lust. Stay away from trashy/ungodly entertainment. Good books, music, movies and the like are ok and can be enjoyed, but give yourself primarily to serving and to being trained, not entertained. The best books, even fiction, will still train us and cause us to grow. The same is true of music, movies, and the like. Something doesn’t have to be strictly Christian to be true, good, and/or beautiful, or to have elements of what is true, good, and beautiful in it. But it also doesn’t have to be openly anti-Christian to be false, evil, and ugly. Be discerning, and remember that time is a gift from God; don’t waste it on trash. 
8. Be a good steward. Seek to honor God and be responsible with your body, your time, your money, and all your possessions. In many ways we are mere stewards for God’s glory and the generations after us. Build health, build relationships, build wealth, build a heritage, build and leave a legacy for God’s glory, the good of God’s people, and the life of God’s world. Eat healthy; exercise regularly; work hard and do all things with excellence as for Christ, seeking to submit every area of your life to the Lordship of Christ by knowing God’s Word and thus knowing God’s will and seeking to obey it.
9. Seek to be a leader. Men are to especially be leaders because they are called by God to be the main leaders in the home, the church, and the state. So, Men: Learn, love, laugh, serve, teach, protect, provide, grow and help others do the same. As C. S. Lewis put it, “be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.” Or, as Joe Rigney put it, “Faithful headship leads and bleeds and sacrifices with unconquerable joy. First in, last out, laughing hardest.” Women: Elisabeth Elliot once said, “To me, a lady is not frilly, flouncy, flippant, frivolous and fluff-brained, but she is gentle, she is gracious, she is godly and she is giving. You and I have the gift of femininity… the more womanly we are, the more manly men will be and the more God is glorified.” Where men are called to lead women are called to submit, but that is still a type of leadership. It’s been said that elders serve by leading and deacons lead by serving, and so likewise men submit by leading and women lead by submitting. Women should learn, love, laugh, serve, teach, and adorn. Where men provide and protect, women beautify and direct. They manage their homes and the like well by following after their heavenly Father and nurturing and magnifying what is true, good, and beautiful in every area of life, especially the home. 
10. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. In all things pursue excellence, strength, and joy in the Lord. Remember, your identity is in Christ, so in all things live for Him. 

I hope this is helpful. I love you all!

In Christ’s service and yours,

Nick Esch