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May, 2007 Here’s My Heart... The following is from “Winning
Words For First Place Losers”, written “On his first Sunday, the new pastor delivered a great sermon. The next Sunday the congregation was anxious to hear what words of wisdom their new pastor had for them that day. To their surprise, he repeated the same sermon they had heard the week before. He did the same thing the next Sunday, and the next, and the next. Finally, a “committee”was sent to talk to the pastor. They wanted to know why he was repeating the same sermon week after week. After all, he had been called because he was well-educated, known for his fiery messages and Spirit-filled words. His reply caught them completely off guard: ‘I plan to repeat the same words each Sunday until I see you doing something about it!’” Mrs. Crews makes a very valid point, doesn’t she? How long will I have to hear (or read) God’s Word until I do something about it? James 1:22 admonishes us, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”(NIV) We deceive ourselves when we think merely reading God’s Word each day, or listening to God’s Word each week, is enough to bring about positive change. If nothing changes....nothing changes! It is not until we put God’s Word into action that anything happens. Let me encourage you today to be a hearer AND a doer of the Word. What is God speaking to YOU right now that you need to act upon? Outreach? Greater faithfulness? Tithing? If you can answer that question, then what’s stopping you? Blessings. -Brother Jim |