Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian
must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.
–Garrison Keillor–

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For the past several years, I have been studying and researching healthy life style alternatives, healthy foods, longevity, and things to do to live long and strong.  It is been an eye-opening experience.

A couple of years ago, Leland decided to cut extra sugar out of his life.  We began reading labels on everything we ate.  Imagine our total surprise and outrage to discover that sugar is in almost EVERYTHING we eat including our meal replacement drink!?!   Even in that special cereal (K) that is supposed to help us eat healthy and lose weight, sugar is the #2 ingredient.

Sugar was in everything from horseradish sauce to tasteless cereal purporting to be healthy for us because they go to great extremes to find special ingredients to make it good for you.  You know, those ingredients like brown rice syrup and cane syrup that tend to sound healthy but are just another form of sugar?  Did you know that most brown sugar for sale in supermarkets is simply refined sugar with molasses added to it?  I didn’t.

So here I am after years of studying about healthy lifestyles, what to eat, longevity, exercise, anti-oxidants, etc., and I am chock full of information.  I am overloaded and well-versed in things I need to change, apply and do, and still discovering areas that need to be changed.  I know all sorts of amazing facts and have great knowledge about anti-aging, health, and longevity.

I have information overload.  Just like many Christians!

What do I mean by that?  Information is not the same thing as action.  We can study the Bible and read faith-based books designed to build up our faith to extreme levels.  We can have faith-based magazines coming into our homes by the truckload.  We own videos, cassettes, CD’s, DVD ‘s, and several shelves of faith-based books.  Our minds are stuffed full of information about the goodness of God.

BUT! Just like longevity and health information, until that information becomes revelation and we DO SOMETHING WITH IT, it is just useless facts sitting in our brain.  It does us no good until we apply it to our lives.  Talk is not cheap – talk can destroy our lives.  We need to quit talking and start doing!

So the next time we read a scripture such as John 13:34, “…love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another;” let’s stop and ask ourselves, “How can I apply this to my life in a way I’m not doing now?”  We are commanded to love others so look for ways to love other people, especially the ones we deem hard to love – you know – that ornery co-worker who knows it all or that ex-whatever who, the very thought of, still makes you clench your jaw.

Until we apply what we learn, we just have tidbits of information that lead to no life-changing actions.  We will wonder why we are living a defeated life and look to blame everyone but ourselves.  Until we DO we simply know and don’t change.

I KNOW if I don’t DO that treadmill, my body won’t CHANGE.  So if I KNOW AND DO, then I will CHANGE!