20-DAY CHALLENGE: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (DAY-20 FINAL DAY)

20-DAY CHALLENGE: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (Day 20) (Final day)

I hope you have enjoyed participating in the challenge
to spend 6 minutes a day reading brief devotionals about
“Living the Christian Life”
(hopefully you have grown closer to the Lord during this 20 days)

In addition to the United States, people hungry for connecting more
with the Lord have participated in 11 other countries (listed below).
Canada, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland,
Jamaica, Nigeria, South Korea, Uganda, United Kingdom

NEED SOME GUIDANCE FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING?

BIBLE PASSAGE(s):
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all
the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep
on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
no sacrifice for sins is left
(Hebrews 10:24-26)

Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
(Matthew 22:37)

MEDITATION:
The scriptures give us
some very basic and simple instructions for Christian living.

Be humble and consider others better than ourselves:
This keeps us from becoming ‘discouragers’,
gossips, egotists, backbiters, and prideful
(the scriptures say that God HATES
pride – whatever He hates, should not be a part of our life).

Spur one another:
We should be encouragers to each other.
We should do and say the things
that will encourage others to show love and do good deeds.

Meet together:
This brings us all together for a common purpose
and encourages us to keep on keeping on.
Together we lift each other up;
together we hear from God through the one He
has selected to share His Word with us;
together we worship and praise the Lord;
together we are stronger!

Stop sinning:
We may fall short at times, however when we continually sin,
the sincerity of our faith (and salvation) comes into question.
How can we combat habitual sins?
We starve the “flesh” and feed the “Spirit”
(a very simple but profound approach).

Love God with all we have:
When we do this,
our total being becomes so filled with “good things”
that there is little room left for “worldly things”.
We have an inner desire to spend time with God
and to obey His commands.

God gives us these simple, easy to understand messages for
one primary reason – He loves us and wants what is best for us.
The world can’t even come close
to showing this kind of love and concern for us.
“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!”

ACTION:
How are you doing
in each of the five areas outlined in the scriptures?

Are you practicing humility?
Note:
Humbleness is not a sign of weakness,
but it describes someone with a gentle strength.
Are you more focused on yourself than you are on others?

Do you make special efforts to encourage others?
How often do you try to lift the spirits of others?
When is the last time you said something encouraging
to a pastor, missionary, teacher or anyone else
who is actively serving the Lord in some capacity?

Do you frequently meet together with other believers?
Do you enjoy the time with them or just endure it
so you can get back to what you want to do?
Is your time spent with other believers, a time of worship
for you personally, or do you expect to be entertained and
use the time to be critical of others in attendance?

Worship is what you make it.
Your responsibility is to listen to God’s Word
and not to focus on the delivery of the speaker.
Remember you are visiting God’s house
so He should be your primary focus.

Are you continuing with sin,
or do you try to avoid what has its grip on you?
Our adversary is much more powerful than we
are and he has been busy with his evilness for
much longer than we have been alive.
We need God’s help to overcome
and break free of the sins that strive to control us.

Do you love God with all of your being and all you have?
God asks for a return of 10%
of the blessings He has given you – are you obeying His command?
If you are, are you obeying Him cheerfully?
If you were on trial, would there be enough witnesses to
testify that your actions and attitudes prove that you love God?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know the struggles we face every day
and You know we are helpless without your presence. Help
us to grow ever closer to you and give us the strength and
encouragement we need to “starve the flesh”
and “feed the Spirit”.