Yesterday, I began the 30 Days To Live four-part series at church. If there is going to be any change in our lives at the end of these 30 days, it will not be because we have been diligent to listen to the messages and take down notes for ourselves.It will be because we had the courage to act on what we heard.
"Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it," according to David Starr Jordan. Most of us know what we need to do to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives. We have enough knowledge of scripture and enough understanding of the will of God. The real problem is we don't do what we know. A lot of people say "Knowledge is power." But knowledge is not power. Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power in your life the moment you decisively act on it. That's when the truth sets you free.
The mark of a strong character lies not in doing what is fun to do or easy to do. The sign of deep moral authority appears in the individual who constantly does what he ought to be doing rather than what he feels like doing. A person intend on growing in Christ-like character spends his days doing that which is the right thing to do. (Micah 6:8 - To act justly.) Rather than watch television for three hours after an exhausting day at work, he has the courage to get up off his couch and play with his children. Instead of sleeping in an extra hour in the morning, his rises up early to open the Word and meditate on scripture before getting ready for the day. And since action is a habit, the more positive actions you take, the more life you experience in your living.
All too often, we spend our days waiting for the ideal path to appear in front of us (in the message on Sunday, I called it The Some Day Syndrome.) We forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting! Dreaming is great. But thinking big thoughts alone will not build a bussiness, pay your bills or make you into the person you know in your heart you can be. In the words of Thomas Carlyle, "The end of a man is action and not a thought, though it were the noblest." The smallest of our actions is always better than the boldest of intentions.
James said it so pointedly in Scripture, "Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.' (James 1:22).
I invite you to 30 Days of turning your good intentions into godly actions so that you can retrieve what has been lost in your life and gain back ground given over to the enemy in the past year.
You can download Sunday's message, An Invitation To A No-Regrets Life here.
