Don't Put It Off

I learned this as a student, but especially as a teacher: Don't wait too long before you start practicing the new lessons you learn. I teach math at the college on Monday and Wednesday nights. The students who seem to struggle the most are the ones who put off doing their homework until the last minute. I encourage them to practice what we go over in class a little bit everyday. Many will wait until Sunday night to practice the problems we learned the previous Wednesday night. But by waiting that long, they forget what we went over. The most successful students are the ones who start practicing immediately, and continue to practice a little bit everyday.

The same is true about the Word of God. After hearing a very moving sermon on Sunday, we may find ourselves reflecting on how we should make some changes in our lives. But if we don't start practicing those changes right away, we can easily forget all about the sermon. How many times has somebody sent you a touching devotion via Email that you had once heard but had since forgotten? I know that happens to me more times than it should. If we act on it right away, and continue to practice it everyday, we tend to never forget the lesson because we make it a part of us. What would God have you to start practicing right away?

Romans 2:13 says, "It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous."

Father, help us to put into practice the lessons You teach us. Remind us that if we don't start right away, we are sure to forget. In Jesus name, Amen.