January 2, 2016
Too often, we make huge plans and major resolutions, and we get burned out when we can’t keep them. What if you could learn to make small, manageable, incremental changes that really added up? When we guard our words, make our thoughts obedient to The Word, and cultivate new actions, we can see long-term life change.
Beginning on Sunday, January 10th, Lake Wildwood Baptist Church will kick off a series called “Small Things Big Difference.”
Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden said: “It’s the little things that are vital. Little things make the big things happen.” It is often the SMALL THINGS no one sees that results in the BIG THINGS everyone wants.
There are three key areas to which we can make small adjustments and see a big difference. They are our THOUGHTS, WORDS, & HABITS.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). That great Country theologian, Willie Nelson put it this way, “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”
When you sow a thought you reap and action, sow and action-reap a habit, sow a habit…reap a destiny.
The tongue has the power of life and death… Proverbs 18:21
Remember the playground poem we all learned about sticks and stones? Yeah, well…it’s a lie. Words do far more lasting damage than sticks or stones could ever hope to inflict.
What if we could learn to make small changes in our words that turned them into life giving affirmations? Napoleon Hill wisely quipped, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”
According to Benjamin Franklin, it is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them. True enough. I’ve found the “replacement” approach to be quite effective. Where you “replace” a bad habit with a good one. At the end of the day it takes discipline. Yup…the dreaded “D” word.
Discipline is simply the choice between what you want NOW and what you want MOST. In week four of the “Small Things Big Difference” series, we will see this idea unpacked through the Apostle Paul’s writings.
I hope to see you all this month as we take an honest look at “Small Things Big Difference.”
Grace & Peace,
Paul J. Dziadul
Pastor, Lake Wildwood Baptist Church
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