Celebrate Freedom Teaching Letter March 2011
Wow! I can hardly believe it’s been more than 15 weeks since we began Celebrate Freedom. We’re about 10% of the way into our three-year journey! If you don’t feel like you’re 10% of the way to your goals, though, don’t lose heart. Just remember that change first takes place within before we see anything manifest on the outside. Keep studying the Word of God and working on self-development.
In these last 15 weeks, I’ve shared that in order for us to see our income increase, we must first be faithful to work to our fullest potential at our current job. I also encouraged you to commit to being a lifelong learner through reading and listing to educational CDs, and I reminded you that we must continually build up our faith by meditating on the Word of God and studying the many promises available to us.
Today, I want to talk to you about something God has been dealing with me about—taking action. One of my goals this year is to get in shape physically. Now, I know that in order to get in shape I must eat better and exercise. I already had a gym membership. As a matter of fact, I’ve had that membership for years now, but I’ve hardly ever gone. I’ve always used the excuse that I didn’t have the time. Well, I decided it was time to buy a good treadmill so I could exercise at home. I figured that would prevent me from having any excuses!
It’s been just over a month now since I’ve had that treadmill, and I still haven’t lost any weight. You see, I’ve only walked on that treadmill once since I got it! Sure, I could give you a bunch of lame excuses, but excuses won’t help me get in shape. The problem here isn’t that I don’t know what I need to be doing; the problem comes down to the fact that I’m not making the right choices or following through with action.
In James 1:22-25 we’re told to not merely listen to the Word, but to do what it says. James said that if we listen but don’t take action we become deceived. You see, we might feel like we’re doing the right things, (like buying the treadmill) but, in reality, without action we’re simply deceiving ourselves.
We all know that just having a treadmill doesn’t help us lose weight—we have to add action and actually use it. In the same way, simply owning a Bible doesn’t do us any good unless we spend time searching it to gain the knowledge of all the precious promises of God—the promises that allow us to participate in God’s divine nature and have everything we need in life (2 Peter 1:3-4).
It’s easy to go to church and listen to a great message, but when Monday morning comes and the pressures of life show back up, do you forget to apply all that you learned? See, just knowing the right thing to do isn’t enough. We must become doers of the Word. We have to take action and apply everything we’ve been taught if we expect to see lasting change in our lives.
How can one person sit under life-changing teaching for years and see very little change in their life, while another person walks off the street, hears the same message just once and then transforms their life? I believe it comes down to action. We can hear the same thing over and over again, but if we fail to apply the principles in our lives, we can become disillusioned and deceived.
So, my question to you is this: what actions have you taken in these last 15 weeks to change your life? How many educational books or CDs have you actually read or listened to? What changes have you actually made on the job to make sure you’re working to your fullest potential? What promises have you searched out in the Word of God to stand on for your prosperity, or whatever it is you’re believing for? Stop judging others based on their actions, but judging yourself on your good intentions. Accept that good intentions are just that—intentions. To see real change we must evaluate our situation and then take action. We can’t deceive ourselves into thinking that good intentions will help us change.
As you read this, I want to challenge you to join me in taking action. Take some time today to write down the things you’ve been intending to do. Once you’ve written those goals down, let’s get started making the changes we know we need to make in our lives to see the results we’re believing for. Remember, without action nothing changes.
Together, as we choose to be men and women of action, we will Celebrate Freedom!
Tim Howe
Campaign
Director
