INTRODUCTION:
Without the Word in your life and heart, there is no relationship, and when there is no relationship…Well, let the Word speak for itself…
It says in Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
Matthew 4:4 (KJV) says, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Jesus had ventured into the wilderness; fasting for 40 days. Afterward, His body (his flesh) began to hunger for food. This was when satan thought he had a perfect opportunity to tempt and discredit Christ. He, the enemy of God, said in verse 3, “If thou be the Son of God, ‘Command these stones that they be made bread’” What was Jesus’ response? Three important words: IT IS WRITTEN. It is clear that He was making an importance on the Word of God and how powerful it is to not only read the Word and get it in your heart but to speak it out loud.
John 17:17 (KJV) says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
If you don’t take time out of your “so called” busy schedule to spend time with the one who died on the cross FOR YOU, how can you say that you have a relationship with him. And not just reading the Word but letting it fall into the depths of your heart.
The Word of God is like food. Our body needs food to survive, right? The same with our spirits! It needs the Word of God to endure, to have life and life abundantly. Without the Word, there is death. When it’s living in our hearts, there is life.
Also, think about all those who risk their lives daily to just get a glimpse of the Word. Do you think they take those words idly? No. They treasure them and realize the importance of the Words of God.
It’s time to wake up! Get over yourself and stop placing YOU (Y-O-U) before God. Humble yourself. It doesn’t matter how tired you are, for God will energize you. Is your life busy? Rearrange your life and rid the things that are keeping you from building a relationship with Christ, which is an idol (that can be ANYTHING or ANYONE you place before God). STOP making excuses. Get off your butt and get into the Word.
There is something that God revealed to me. It’s simple but so profound: Christ died on the cross, not just for our sins, iniquities, and infirmities, but for us to be in right standing with Him…to be in a relationship with Him. If we were not right before God, there would be no relationship.
My prayer is that this challenge will help you get started reading the Holy Scripture, getting it into your heart, and building that relationship with God that is so needed for every true believer of Christ (and of course, He desires to draw near to you daily but it is up to you to draw near).
Let’s get into the Word. Let’s build a relationship with our Savior. When you have a relationship with Word (Jesus), you will have a relationship with God and His Spirit.
THE CHALLENGE:
- In the morning, read the given scripture assignment given for each day. (You can find ALL entries below)
- After reading it once, read it one more time that morning – underlining all the names of Jesus. Also, highlight the scriptures that stick out to you the most.
- Meditate on the given scriptures throughout the day.
- At night, read the given scriptures again; making it personal. How? By writing down what God is speaking to you through the scripture. Search your heart. You can write in your bible, in a blog, or in a journal; it doesn’t matter.
- Pray; giving God thanks for all He has done, for speaking to you, ask Him to change and transform your life, and anything else you want to pray about – prayer is important.
- Each week I will also be giving you a scripture to memorize that has been taken out of that weeks Bible verses
HOW IT WORKS:
- THERE IS NO SPECIFIC DATE FOR ANY OF MY CHALLENGES. START ANYTIME.
- Leave leave a comment on the challenge post; letting me know that you are accepting said challenge.
- If you own a blog and you decide to post each day what God has been speaking to you through this challenge, link this entry in your blog post so that I may track and read what you have to say and so that others, like yourself, can start the challenge as well.
- If you don’t own a blog and you are writing in your Bible or a journal, that is fine, but I want to let you know that if you so desire…you can post what God is telling you in each days comment section but that is entirely up to you.
- At the end of each of this challenge, please let me know on the last post what you thought of the challenge and how it changed you relationship with God.
THE RULES:
- No badgering of any kind. Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
- Be positive. Don’t put your negative input anywhere on this blog or any site affiliated to this blog. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
- Please do not be quarrelsome. It says in 2 Timothy 2:24 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all,”
CONCLUSION:
My prayer is that each challenge draws you closer to God; in the end having a more intimate relationship with your Savior unlike ever before.
Remember, each days posts will be either under the category, “Challenges” or below – at the end of this post. Also, just a reminder, I am doing ALL challenges with you. If you have any questions, let me know.
Draw Near to God 