There are no
guaranteed results from this trip through the furnace. (In case you missed it, the first post of this “workbook” is “Through the Refining Fire: Intro.”) It all has to do
with your willingness to be honest, transparent, and obedient, and with how
much you invested in self-introspection, prayer, Bible reading, and learning to
listen to the Spirit.
And once
again, there is no real end to this journey.
I would love to be able to say, “Congratulations on working your way
through the Graduate School of Faith.
Here is your diploma.” But that
can’t happen. Because we will never
graduate until eternity comes for us.
But as you
climb higher and dig deeper with the Lord - as you shift your focus from the
temporary to God’s kingdom and His righteousness. - your life will become more
vibrant, alive, and fulfilling. It might
still be painful, but it will be a bittersweet pain, knowing that God is with
you through it all.
And most
likely, we will end up in the furnace again from time to time. We will slip.
We will at times get tired of digging and climbing. (Oh, don’t I know it!) But we will be drawn back to God, because we
know the blandness of life apart from Him and the exhaustion of trying to do it
on our own.
Before we
get into some ideas for future challenges, I would like to pose a few more
questions for reflecting back on the whole journey that you have been on up to
this point. (Some of these will overlap,
but that’s okay.)
1.
How has this journey changed me and my relationship with the Lord?
2.
What stood out to me the most from all that I’ve learned?
3.
How do I define humility? Do I
live in humility? What in my life confirms
it or contradicts it?
4.
If I’m not living in humility … then what? What else am I relying on, trusting in,
serving, reaching for? What is taking
His place?
5.
Can I honestly say that I find my identity, my deepest fulfillment, and my
security in the Lord? If not, why? What else am I trying to find identity, security,
or fulfillment in? What does God want me
to do about it? (Pray about it.)
6.
What am I still fearing or struggling with? In what ways am I still hurting or broken or
weak inside? Are there any negative
self-thoughts that still plague me? Is
there anything else I am still striving for?
(A good relationship with the Lord doesn’t mean we won’t still hurt or
have broken pieces or longings. It just
means we can run to Him for comfort and help in living with those hurting,
broken pieces and the unmet longings.)
7.
What does He want to do with those hurts and the broken pieces and the
fears and struggles and longings? What
does He want me to do about
them? (Ask Him about each one!)
8.
If I never get what I ask for and never have my expectations met, will I
be okay with that? Do I trust Him enough
to still cling to Him, to trust Him even when times are dark and my heart
aches? Have I gotten to the point where
I know how much I truly need Him … not just needing what He can give me or do
for me, but simply needing Him?
9.
If not, what am I “needing,” instead of Him? What fears and doubts and wayward desires are
still lingering? What expectations am I
holding onto? What am I still trying to
control? Why is it hard for me to let
those things go? And what will it take for
me to finally let go of those things, to place them fully in the Lord’s
hands? (Ask Him!)
10.
Do I have a sense of His presence?
His faithfulness, goodness, and love for me? If not, what can I do to tune into them more,
into Him and His Truths? (Ask Him in
prayer.)
11.
Have I allowed His unconditional, unearned love to enter all areas of my
past, my life, and my heart - to fill me, heal me, and make me whole? If not, what is blocking it or what areas are
still closed off to Him?
12.
Am I living in an awareness of His holiness? What in my life might show that I am
not? (Disobedience, lack of seeking
after Him, no sense of conviction, etc.)
But if I am, what does His holiness mean to me and how does it affect my
life and faith?
13.
Do I work at the jobs He gave me (even the little ones) with all my
heart, for His glory? Do I seek to
glorify Him in what I do? Do I focus on His
kingdom and on eternity? Or am I living
for myself and focused on my life and on what is temporary? In what ways might I need to change?
14.
In my own words, what does it mean to be “humble like a child”? How can I live it?
15.
Where and how do I go forth from here?
16.
Is there anything that is missing in my life right now or any big
regrets? Is there anything I can do
about that? (If you can’t do anything
about past regrets, forgive yourself and look ahead to wherever God is leading
you next. Living in the past only sucks
the life from your future.)
17. Is there any
prayer that I should pray, but I am hesitating to do so for some reason? (Sometimes
we know what we should do, but we procrastinate and hesitate until the
“knowing” goes away. And examining the
prayers that are hard for us to pray may give us a clue as to when we are
refusing to do things God’s way. Here
are some examples of prayers that are hard to pray. If any ring a bell with you, ask God to help
you figure out why.
a. “Lord, help me forgive so-and-so for . . .”
b. “Lord, I fully give You this concern. May Your Will be done in it.”
c. “Lord, forgive me for . . .”
d. “Lord, make me an instrument for You. Use me as You Will.”
e. “Grant me wisdom about . . .”
f. “Give me the strength to . . .”
g. “Lord, how am I responsible for this problem
and what should I do about it?”
h. “How do I need to change to be more like
You?”
i. “Lord, have I done anything to grieve the
Spirit?”
j. “Lord, open my eyes to what I can do or to
needs around me.”
k. “Lord, I need to admit/be honest about/confess
fill in the blank to You.”
l. “Lord, fill in the blank with the prayer you
know you need to pray but haven’t yet.”
18.
In what ways would I like to be different by this time next year? What needs to change to accomplish that?
19.
Looking back over this journey and my life, I want to thank the Lord for
fill in the blank as many times as needed! (Then pray it out loud to Him.)
Piece Eleven:
Additional Challenges and Verses for Reflection
I would like
to include some extra challenges and ideas to continue your journey and to
continue drawing nearer to our heavenly Father.
If any interest you, give them a try.
No matter what you do, anytime you choose to read the Bible more, pray
more, or be more diligent in your walk with God, you will grow. So here are some ideas for further
growth:
Challenge #1: This one comes
from the Lemon Tree Challenge that Jen and I started. Basically, what you do is think about
specific things in your life that you want to change (the Lemons). These should be things that you want God’s
help in changing. Maybe it’s controlling
your tongue, being more generous, speaking the truth in love, etc. (You may want to do this with a partner. Each of you would come up with your own
“lemon list.” Then you would meet for
support and prayer and accountability as you seek to think, act, and behave in
a more godly way.)
Then set a
goal for yourself about how you want to change it. Make your goals concrete and specific, so
that you can know if you are accomplishing them or not. For example, instead of saying “I want to
control my tongue better,” you could say, “I want to stop saying negative
things about people and let only positive, constructive things escape my
mouth.”
Find a Bible
verse or verses to go with your goal.
These will be your biblical guides for how you want to change or what
you want to become. And choose a time
frame for how long you will conscientiously work on this “lemon.” (When Jen and I started this, we chose a year
to work on several “lemons.” I’ll show
you below.)
Pray, pray,
pray over what areas He wants you to tackle, and pray for His help to do it. And then, seek to apply these verses to your
life. Write them down and look at them
often as you seek to change bad habits and characteristics into positive, godly
ones. Lemons into lemonade!
To give you
an idea of what this challenge looks like, here is the original Lemon-to-Lemonade
List that I wrote when Jen and I started our challenge.
My Lemons:
Lemon #1: I don’t like it that I
say things that I shouldn’t, and that I don’t say things that I feel I
should. Sometimes I say negative things
in the name of making conversation, and sometimes it’s just gossip. Lately, it seems to be easier to make
negative comments than positive ones.
And sometimes there are things that I feel God wants me to say, but I
get timid and don’t say them.
Goal: I’d like to be sensitive to God’s leading
about what I should/shouldn’t say, and to have the courage to follow through, and
to maintain gracious speech and a gentle spirit.
Guiding
verses: Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.”
1 Peter 3:4: “Instead, [your beauty]
should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Lemon #2: I also have a tendency to get all
hermit-y and focus solely on me and my family, instead of reaching out to others. I tend to stay away from boring small talk
with strangers and to see others as an intrusion or nuisance.
Goal: I want to be more approachable and gentle and
gracious. I need to remember that people
are God’s highest priority and that I need to put them and their needs over
myself. I want to see them as God’s
children, as a mission field that I can reach by my kind words, thoughtful
actions, and godly behavior and attitude.
I want to be available to God and sensitive enough to hear when He says
“Do X, Y or Z for that person right over there.
And be sure to give the glory to Me and to point the way to Me, that
he/she may know Me through your actions or words.”
Guiding
Verses: Mark 12:30-31: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength’. . . and ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ There is no commandment
greater than these.”
Romans 12:13 “.
. . Practice hospitality.”
Lemon #3: My house is a disaster.
Goal: Make it reflect God’s glory and peace and
order. Do the best job I can (or at
least do my best to do my best, because sometimes that is all that’s possible),
for God’s glory.
Guiding
Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you
eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Lemon #4: I tend to go right to worrying about
things, obsessing over them. And
sometimes I only inquire of Him when I’m at a loss of what to do, instead of
inquiring of Him first.
Goal: I want to make it a habit to come to Him
first for help, guidance and answers, even in the small things. I want to make it a habit to ask Him what He
would have me do and to pray before I go about my way. And I want to remember to pray with
thankfulness, to commit my concerns into His capable hands, and to leave the
results up to Him, developing trust and faith in Him.
Guiding
verse: Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
This was my
lemon list. This is what I kept working
on even after Jen had to take a detour from our plans. And if you’d like to, make your own. Let God’s Word be your guide, and
deliberately seek to apply His Word to your life. You will see wonderful changes. (Sometimes, after some pain first.)
Challenge #2:
Spend time in
the Word and in prayer seeking out a set number of “Life Verses.” Write these verses down and also write down
what they mean to you and why.
I am working
on finding five verses that sum up my faith journey. This is hard to do, whittling down all of
Scripture to a few verses. But it’s a
fun challenge. And it will be such a
neat thing to be able to memorize and recall the verses that mean the most to
me personally. For me, so far, this is
what I have come up with. (But I’m still
evaluating other ones.)
Verse 1: Psalm
46:10: “Be
still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth.” To me,
this is the ultimate test of humility and trusting God’s love. Can I be still and rest in Him, no matter
what? And the only reason that I can be
still is because He is God, not me. And additionally, everything comes down to
His glory.
Verse 2: Joshua
24:15: “But
if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the
Lord.” Oh, I love this
verse! It sends chills down my
spine. To be able to stand before a
world that rejects Him and that lives for themselves and say, “We! Choose!
God!” is awesome!
Verse 3: 1
Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you
do, do it all for the glory of God.” Once again, it’s about God’s glory. This should be the test of all things we
do. It should be the reason why we do
the daily, monotonous things to the best of our ability. And it should be why we do the big things,
the things that get attention and praise.
All of that glory should be given back to God. And it’s the reason why there are no small
things in God’s eyes. Even just feeding
your family dinner has the potential to be worship, to honor God - if you do it
in the right spirit, conscientiously, and for His glory.
Verse 4: Micah
6:8: “He
has showed you, O man, what is good. And
what does the Lord require of you? To
act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Enough said!
Verse
5: Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all
these things shall be added to you as well.” This is an old favorite of mine. This should be how we prioritize our . . .
well . . . our priorities. Our job is to
focus on His kingdom (on winning people to Christ, being living examples of Christ
to them) and His righteousness (on seeking to reflect this in our lives) … and
His job is to be concerned about us and our needs. But how much heartache we make for ourselves
when we get this backwards, and how much the kingdom of God suffers because of
that!
Challenge #3:
Pray over how
God wants to use you and your future.
And pray that the Holy Spirit reveals a Bible verse to be your mission
statement. Write your “mission
statement” somewhere, and remember that this is God’s call for your life.
For me, I
inadvertently found mine while I was doing my regular Bible reading. I was in Isaiah when I stumbled across this
verse, and it hit me like a lightning bolt.
I wasn’t looking for a mission statement, but when I saw this, I knew
that God was saying, “This verse is for you.”
Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of
the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners.”
Now, I am
not saying that I have been anointed or anything, but I am praying and hoping
that God uses the things I write to bring healing to the brokenhearted and to
help people get free from the walls that keep them prisoner, that keep God out
of their hearts. I am hoping and praying
that it helps them find freedom in Him and in His love.
(Now, I have
to say here that when I picked this verse, I didn’t realize that Jesus applied
it to Himself in Luke 4. In no
way am I trying to set myself up anywhere near Jesus, but I do think that
it is a great call, honor, and challenge to seek to model Him and to be
passionate for the things and the people that He was – is – passionate
about.)
Challenge #4:
This is
another one that I am in the process of working on. I got sidetracked for a long time, but I
really want to get back to it. Here’s
the idea: Read a Psalm a day, and choose
one verse or so out of each Psalm that really speaks to you. Write it down, and add another verse from the
next Psalm the next day. Basically, you
are compiling your own personal Psalm, making a running list of the most
meaning verses from each one.
I never
really cared for the Psalms before (I know, I know. . . gasp!), despite the
fact that everyone waxed poetically about them.
But for some reason, my eyes have been opened to them lately. And I have moved from seeing them as “poetic”
and whiney and redundant to being so deeply personal and moving. There is something in each one that speaks to
the very core of humanity. And it’s been
neat to work on digging for the most personally meaningful part of each
one. (And if you’d like to, you could
write down why each one is so important to you or what it means for you.)
As an
example, here are my favorite verses from the first five Psalms.
My Personal Psalm:
1:1-2: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of
the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law he meditates day and night.”
2:11-12:
“Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with
trembling. . . Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
3:3-6: “But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory
on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I
cry aloud and He answers me from His holy hill.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn
up against me on every side.”
4:4:
“In your anger do not sin; when you are on
your beds, search your heart and be still.”
5:3:
“In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.”
Challenge #5: Forty days is a common theme in the Bible. Here is a 40-day challenge: Every morning for forty days, spend some time
asking God to reveal a new verse that He wants you to take to heart or
something that He wants to tell you that day.
Compile these verses and truths, and spend some time in prayer and
contemplation about each one. Find out
what God wants to teach you or tell you and how you can apply them to your
life.
Challenge #6:
Pick one
topic from the Bible that you want to learn more about or apply to your life
more conscientiously. Study all
references that you can find about it in the Bible or in other writings from
godly authors.
It seems
that, for me, a lot of growth happens when I find myself contemplating an issue
that I want to know more about. At
different times in my life, I have wondered what it meant to really live
gracefully, to be broken, to walk in the spirit, to be humble, to fear the
Lord, etc. It seems that God often
brought them to mind just before He would challenge my growth in that
area. And as I dug deep into these
issues and took them seriously, my life and my walk with God were changed. For the better! (Once again, sometimes after a lot of pain
first.)
It’s easy to
read the Bible while glossing over the issues and topics and commands that we
find. Don’t gloss. Be deliberate about digging deeper, learning
more, and finding out how you can apply them to your life.
Challenge #7:
Put aside the
phone, the computer, the gadgets, etc., and get out into nature for a walk with
God. Spend some time daily talking to
Him and listening. Or set aside a time
each day when you shut off all the gadgets and become unreachable (within
reason, of course, especially when you have a family and need to be able to be
reached in case of emergency). Let this
be your quiet time between you and the Lord or time to just enjoy Him and His
creation and recharge your batteries.
Challenge #8:
Seek to do a
couple acts of kindness a week. It
changes you when you begin to really look at people and find ways to brighten
their day, even if it’s just by holding the door open for someone to walk
through. If you like, write down what
happens. Start a blog about it. Share it in the comments section. I love hearing about people reaching out to
others in kindness. We need to hear
about these kinds of things because there is so much negativity in the headlines
nowadays that it’s easy to get discouraged and lose hope in people.
Challenge #9:
Try to say
whatever compliments come to mind. There
are not nearly enough positive things being said to people nowadays. And I think we are all hurting for some
encouragement.
Oftentimes,
we think things like, “What a beautiful hair color” or “Neat glasses” or “What
a brave thing they did or said.” But we
don’t say them. Venture out of your
comfort zone and spread the kind words.
People love it. People need
it. They just smile from deep
within.
And you
never know who might really have needed to hear that. Some people never get any encouragement from
anywhere. Try to be a constant source of
life-giving, encouraging words. This not
only encourages them, but it helps you to see the humanity in people around
you. And it opens doors into their
hearts and lives.
And take a
moment to tell those who are closest to you what you appreciate about
them. If you have children at home,
start a tradition such as “the special plate.”
When someone needs a word of encouragement, has done something special,
or needs to hear gracious, merciful words because they were having a bad day,
put the plate at their dinner spot. And
then have everyone tell that person something they appreciate about them. We need to be proactive in building up our
families in a world that runs on tearing people down.
Challenge #10: Get rid of a
couple things in your house a week (or you pick the number and frequency) that
are not glorifying to God or that are cluttering up your home and stealing your
peace and joy. Pray for God’s guidance
about this. Ask Him if there is anything
that needs to go or if there are any “welcome mats for Satan” in your home:
anything that celebrates evil or sin, any occultic articles, any “false
religion” articles, anything that stumbles another believer, or that has become
an “idol” to you. Maybe it’s a movie or
a CD or a magazine or a bad habit or a pile of papers or something you spend too
much time or money on. Get rid of them -
for His glory - and see how He blesses you for it.
Challenge #11:
Every time you think of something negative about another person, pray
for that person instead. Pray that God
blesses them and that you learn to see them the way that God sees them.
And, it’s
also a great idea to train ourselves to be more concerned with the plank in our
own eyes than we are with the speck in someone else’s. So every time you start to complain about
someone else, stop and turn your attention back to yourself. As you ruminate over what they did, stop and
say, “But I am guilty of . . .”
As an
example, not too long ago, I was bothered for days because someone was sharing
something about me with others that was a misrepresentation, and they were
delighting in this misrepresentation.
But they would not listen to me when I tried to correct them. Well, I was really bothered by this, but I
had no recourse. So I complained in my
head about it for days. And it was
eating me up inside, making me bitter and miserable.
But what
finally put a stop to it is when I realized that, in God’s eyes, my thoughts
and critical attitude were probably “more” sinful than what this person was
guilty of. And I found myself saying,
“Yes, Lord, what they did wasn’t right, but I am guilty of pride,
unforgiveness, and a harsh, critical attitude.
And this is a sin against You.
Forgive me!”
It helps us
keep a soft, forgiving, repentant heart when we look at ourselves instead of
others.
Of course,
it is a great thing when we move from saying, “Look at the wrongs they have
done to me” to saying, “Lord, forgive them for they don’t know what they’ve
been doing.”
But it is an
equally great thing to move from “Lord, forgive them for they don’t know what
they’ve been doing” to “Lord, forgive me
for I don’t know what I have been doing.”
God will
deal with the sins of others. He is the
one who will avenge wrongs. We just need
to be concerned with the plank in our eye and the things we do that are
sins. And all sins are really sins
against God. He alone has the right to
judge and punish. And additionally,
Jesus’ death already paid for those sins.
So we have no right to condemn those whom God forgives. They are not accountable to us, but to
God. If we keep this in mind, it will
help us to put bitterness, criticalness, and indignation aside. (These things just kill us slowly on the
inside anyway.)
Challenge #12:
Every morning when you wake up, invite God into your day first
thing. Ask Him to be with you and to
help you to be sensitive to anything that He wants to tell you. Ask Him if there is anything He wants you to
know, do, or pray about today. Invite
Him to prioritize your day for you. What
does He want you to accomplish today? In
fact, try adding this prayer to your morning prayers: “Lord, use me today as You will, to bring
glory to Yourself and encouragement to others.”
And see what opportunities God brings your way.
Challenge #13:
As already
said, write a letter to God about anything you have wanted to say. And read it out loud to Him in prayer. And if you would like, make it a regular tradition,
saving all your letters to look back on.
Challenge #14:
Every morning, start your day in prayer and specifically ask God to use
you to be a blessing to someone else that day.
Ask Him if there is anyone that He wants you to reach out to, and watch
for anyone that He might bring into your path that needs some encouragement or
help. Sometimes, just keeping our eyes
open reveals a world that we never noticed before – a world in need of a kind
word or deed or smile.
Challenge #15: Simplify your life. Spend some time reflecting on what you need
to get rid of in your life to make it more about quality than quantity. And don’t look at only your possessions. Look also at your activities, priorities,
relationships, etc.
Do
you take time to care properly for yourself and your family, or is life too
busy to do it well? Do you spend enough
time with your family or take family vacations, building memories and
relationships with your children? (Your
work will always be there when you come back.)
Do you rest on the Lord’s Day, spending time celebrating Him and His
blessings, trusting Him to meet your needs even if you take that day off in
obedience to Him? Do you have at least
one quality friend, or do you avoid depth and settle for surface
relationships? Do you buy boatloads of
junk, or treat yourself to one good item that you love? Simplify your life and make it more about
quality than quantity, more about people than things, more about inner
abundance than outer abundance.
Challenge #16:
In an effort to explore life and all the wonderful opportunities and
blessings that God provides, try to explore a new facet of life or take up a
new hobby, either by yourself or as a family.
Take a class of some kind, start a garden, start taking hikes, research
something fun, build a tree fort, start a small business, camp out in your own
backyard. There are so many ways to add
new life to your old life. Give some of
them a try. (But pray about any bigger
moves or activities, though, such as starting a business, etc.)
Challenge #17: The next time you sit down to watch a show or
movie or read a book, pay attention to what is being glorified in it. And remember that God and angels are watching
over your shoulder. If this fact makes
you uncomfortable, maybe you shouldn’t be watching or reading it at all. And keep in mind that the more we support
those kinds of movies and books and music, etc., the more we encourage the
spreading of them in our society.
Instead, read a book from your church library or The Love Dare, or watch Courageous
or Fireproof or Facing the Giants or Flywheel
or Do You Believe (my favorite!!!), and
be inspired. (Please watch these! We need to support them because we need more
movies like them!)
Challenge #18: Do something you know you have been needing
to do but haven’t had the courage to do yet.
Keep a vow. Ask for
forgiveness. Forgive someone else. Forgive yourself. Take that step of faith. Take your family to the park or your spouse
to dinner. Find an accountability/prayer
partner and become transparent with another believer about your struggles and
fears. Ask God in prayer, “What is the
next thing that You want me to do?”
Challenge #19:
Find one thing in your life that you can begin doing for God’s
glory. Maybe it’s a small, boring task that
you’ve already been doing, like doing dishes or laundry or cooking. Or maybe it’s something like how you talk to
your kids or someone you don’t like or how you treat your boss/employees. But pick one thing that you will begin doing
for God’s glory from here on out. (Ask
God’s help in this.) And see how your
attitude changes as you do it.
Challenge #20:
Verses for
Further Reflection
Examine
these familiar passages from the Bible, and ask God to help you to see how you
are doing with each of them and how you can apply them to your life more. (And dig for your own passages, too. There are so many practical, specific
commands and guidelines in the Bible.)
Matthew 5:1-12
Galatians 5:16-26
Exodus 20
Psalm 119:1-16
Psalm 15
Psalm 37
Colossians 3
James 4
Challenge
#21:
Consider and
pray about how you are living (or not living) these verses. Ask God how He wants you to change or what He
wants you to do differently or how He wants you to live these out more:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient,
love it kind. It does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud. It is not
rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.”
Challenge
#22: Take the “250 Questions to Ask God” challenge. Some of these we have worked through in this
book. But I have also included a lot of
others in the hopes that we can all learn to listen to God better and that our
spiritual lives become more enriched. Or
do the “Iron Sharpens Iron Bible Study,” preferably with a few friends. Or the “Don’t Be Such a Chicken” challenge.
Challenge
#23: Write your own story of how God has worked in
your life. Write it for yourself. Write it for your family or to pass down as a
legacy to your children or your church.
There are so many wonderful and unique stories of how God works in our
lives. And it would be wonderful to know
that these stories are not lost when someone dies. Write them down and pass them on as an
encouragement to others. Or just for
your own eyes. It’s amazing how much you
learn as you reflect back on your life and try to put it into words.
Challenge
#24: Pray over the next step, the next challenge,
that God wants you to take. Trust Him
that He will give you the strength and resources to do whatever He calls you to
do. Or start your own year-long
challenge. And journal about it. See what happens.
Challenge
#25: Pray for revival!!! Our country desperately needs it when you
consider the condition of our morals, values, and souls, especially when so many
of us call ourselves “Christian.” Oh, my
heart is breaking! Please, join me in
praying for a revival in our families, our churches, our communities, and our
country. We need it! Let’s do this together. Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit moves in our
own hearts and that it spreads out from there.
How about you? Will you join
me? Let’s see what the Holy Spirit does
when we humble ourselves before Him and call on Him to move mightily in our
country. To the glory of God!
Well, that’s
all I have to say. It has been quite a
journey for me, putting all of these thoughts into black and white. But it has been a privilege. And I pray that your journey with God keeps
going and growing! May you find the
security, peace, vibrancy, love, and joy that you were made for, as you draw
ever nearer to God and open up your heart more and more to Him and His healing
touch! Until we meet in eternity, God
bless you and keep you. To God be the
glory!
