Recently I started to notice that the web is full of different challenges and dares that people come up with (yes, just now I started to notice). There is a cinnamon challenge, 10 crackers in a minute challenge, blindfolded make-up challenge, coke and mentos challenge and a number of others lame things to do…
I also like challenges. Recently, at our small group gatherings we started sometimes to have challenges as well. We tried a few already, and I love them. They really help me to take one thing at a time and try to be really a doer of the Word, for it is said in James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves”. I decided to share them with my friends.
These challenges will be a week long, but encourage you to implant them into your life beyond this week.
So here we go. The first challenge! I CHALLENGE YOU TO REJOICE!
It is written in Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice”.
It is interesting that this commandment is given to us twice in just one verse. Why is that? Why we don’t read: “Thou shalt not kill; again I will say, Thou shalt not kill”? Were Philippians so slow that Paul had to repeat? Or rather it was just something that we don’t pay enough attention to? We don’t usually consider the command of rejoicing as important as the command not to kill. Yet, we read it in the Bible, in the Word of God: “Rejoice in the Lord always”. So I challenge you to try to rejoice in the Lord for at least a week. Here are some of the things that will help you:
1) Don’t do it yourself. Do it with God. Start your day by asking God to help you rejoice in Him today.
2) Notice invisible joy. Try to notice small things that can bring joy: sunshine, people around you.
3) Focus on what you have rather than on what you don’t have. Be grateful and give thanks to the Lord.
4) Live in the normal schedule. It is hard to rejoice when you’ve slept 4 hours at night, or when you work 7 days a week. Don’t waste your time and don’t procrastinate, so you can have normal 8-9 sleep and at least one day off. You will feel much better.
5) Distinguish between things and activities that bring you true joy and “cheap substitutes”. For example, I often attempt to rest by watching movies or surfing the web, but to tell the truth it wastes my time, and get me even more tired. It is important to figure out what are these “cheap substitutes” in your life and get rid of them (at least for this week of challenge).
6) Rejoice in God when everything is good, and rejoice in God when everything is bad. After all, this is about rejoicing always.
7) Be careful. As you start this challenge, if you dare at all, devil might attempt to do his best to kill your joy this week. Remember, don’t do it alone, do it with God.
Try it. Try to live out the Word of God. Share this challenge with your friends, and please tell me how did it go cause I will have more for you in a week or two.
It is interesting that this commandment is given to us twice in just one verse. Why is that? Why we don’t read: “Thou shalt not kill; again I will say, Thou shalt not kill”? Were Philippians so slow that Paul had to repeat? Or rather it was just something that we don’t pay enough attention to? We don’t usually consider the command of rejoicing as important as the command not to kill. Yet, we read it in the Bible, in the Word of God: “Rejoice in the Lord always”. So I challenge you to try to rejoice in the Lord for at least a week. Here are some of the things that will help you:
1) Don’t do it yourself. Do it with God. Start your day by asking God to help you rejoice in Him today.
2) Notice invisible joy. Try to notice small things that can bring joy: sunshine, people around you.
3) Focus on what you have rather than on what you don’t have. Be grateful and give thanks to the Lord.
4) Live in the normal schedule. It is hard to rejoice when you’ve slept 4 hours at night, or when you work 7 days a week. Don’t waste your time and don’t procrastinate, so you can have normal 8-9 sleep and at least one day off. You will feel much better.
5) Distinguish between things and activities that bring you true joy and “cheap substitutes”. For example, I often attempt to rest by watching movies or surfing the web, but to tell the truth it wastes my time, and get me even more tired. It is important to figure out what are these “cheap substitutes” in your life and get rid of them (at least for this week of challenge).
6) Rejoice in God when everything is good, and rejoice in God when everything is bad. After all, this is about rejoicing always.
7) Be careful. As you start this challenge, if you dare at all, devil might attempt to do his best to kill your joy this week. Remember, don’t do it alone, do it with God.
Try it. Try to live out the Word of God. Share this challenge with your friends, and please tell me how did it go cause I will have more for you in a week or two.