40 ways to get closer to god

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    T he God Challenge

    Wud u ik v s Gd? I s, s isi i bI sii xp. I did wi

    is bk bus I p v i ud u. I dw i dk. I w i bus, w, I wk. I w b bt Cisi. I w s Gd, bu I seem o ever quie ge here. I sin, ask orgiveness, and sin again. Id v sws, d I d w u ik, Tis guywroe a book because he really has i all ogeher. I d.

    Bu Im fy-wo while wriing his senence, and looking back

    v ps s, I iz Iv ws i wkwi Gd. I usd b w, d w I s. Ms is bus books dpeoplebks v sdgood ideas wih me or how I could move orward in my spiriualwk, d pp w v pd u pu s idsi pi. S I w is bk s Gd . I wds, I u I ud si wud

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    T Gd C

    u, sk u s ids d d s wk, wi d su bi u v vd bi u dw

    p i u spiiu wk.In his book youll nd a bunch o spiriual pracices Ive ried

    and used and ound o be efecive. Teres nohing phony in dp, d-up---bk, -is-v-u-I-v-v s i. Evi is pid . I , i u i sw d w sdki bu w w s Gd, s v ids

    Id s wi u w xpi.Ad is: Ts su. Jus di is bk wk u spiiu, i s w wi PManning on V won make you a grea quarerback. I akeswork o ge beter a anyhing. Nobody buys a guiar one day andss si iks x. Yu d pik up s ubs Wdsd d xp wi u Sud. I u sius bu i, u d s wk. Yu

    i ou. You pracice. You sar wih he basics, learn hem, andhen keep pracicing unil you ge beter. In ime, you noiceimprovemenwheher is gol or music or cooking or growingup i Jsus. R spiiu w ks i d .

    S is bk is p s. Yu d i, i u, d sw pps. Mb u k bu ids wi up ids, d u did s ids .

    O b u k si pp d did wiu us dw s pp d vib i. Jui is w di i s us.Use he wriing spaces provided and explore wha youre hinkingd i. Wii dw u s d sus vidsheir place in our lives. Teres no hiding when we wrie ourus dw.

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    T Gd C

    D xp is , us I s u. W I pis u is is:Disciplines are he ONLY sraegy I know or

    growing your Christian life. I gure youve purchased his bookbecause hose oher mehods you ried (going o Sunday school,ihing, praying beore meals, waching elevangeliss) were nicebu did p u dp wi Gd.

    Tose pracices aren bad, o course. Tey jus don go aru. S isd, I i u isi p s Gd. is bk ds. D xiss, d s iu u dw p w u d. A d,u sud v s ud skis vi wd, wi dp, dwi s Gd.

    I you oo are a wreck, my prayer or you is ha youll dis-v u v u spiiu dp u uw u b is bk. I wis u bs s u swki p.

    Jerry MacGregor

    Nehalem, Oregon

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    day one

    At Your Service

    The primary reason Jesus calls us to servanthood is notjust because other people need our service. It is becauseof what happens to us when we serve.1

    JohnortberG

    I you ask mos people o ell you abou a ime when hey elu ud, dds wi u s bu iw usd i w ds d ws. R, will likely recall an inciden where hey se heir own agendaaside and helped someone else. Maybe hey uored an inner-ciykid or wen on a mission rip or served Chrismas dinner a asoup kichen. Perhaps hey perormed some simple ac o service

    i w i, ssisd ib s id. Tpi svi s u bis us j, i w udki wi i tiud.

    Despie he ac ha serving ohers ofen brings us ulllmen, pp d d i. W v iis, bu w sobusy. Ad bsids, w d u kw wi ds, ud u, ddss?

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    40 Ws G Cs Gd

    I hink many o us spend more energy han we realize keepingourselves isolaed rom he needs o ohers. We may no be aware

    i i u bkd (s M s wud s), is Cut. Ou ibs b svi v ps,bu hey can be suering or huring in some way, and is possiblew ud d si sip sw v .

    Its human nature to be self-focused. Tas why Jesus had o is ws b uss. H d isu svd, bus i ds u. H d is -

    ws: I wud , us d isd k up is ss d w . F wv ws svis i wi s i, bu wv ss is i d sp wi sv i (Mk 8:3435).

    He also said, Whoever wans o become grea among youus b u sv, d wv ws b s us b sv . F v S M did b svd, bu serve, and o give his lie as a ransom or many (Mark 10:4345).

    W w u d d us svi s, wsv u w ivs. W w sv s, w xpi Gdslove and rue ulllmen. And hose we serve ge a angible experi- is v u us. W wud d xii?I biv s us kw , dp dw. Bu is si difu b spiiu pi svi u u ddo si. Su, w ik i wud b i b d-d.

    W ik vuis is b. Bu i, w bus, w dkw w d, b w d ik svi . Isivi d s. I ks i w ik w d v.

    And ye, i we claim o be ollowers o Jesus, service is exaclyw w d d. Jsus sid i w w di is kid w v v s b svi . Ad did p B. Svi s u is u

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    A Yu Sv i

    any oher way. Serving eaches you humiliy in a way ha alkingbu uii v wi.I allows you o acually imiae Chris,

    which is he goal o he Chrisian aih.Lk, sis w v b bdi, v i i is u.

    We have o decide o love, because servanhood is an expression u v Gd, d u v s. S pi s-vi is v s ib.

    Cisis usd d ik uaih is o be ullled or o realize our poenial. Um . . . has no

    wha Chris said. Te goal o our aih is o become more likeJsus, s wud i w ivi i u p. Svis ds Cisikss.

    today s ChallenGe

    Yu d is sv s i pi w. T

    rs sep is o nd someone in need o service. Unorunaely, manyo us live our lives isolaed rom need (or we simply ignore i whenis i ud u ss). Bu s u buis is ppwho are in need o prayer or one reason or anohersickness,unemploymen, a deah in he amily. Tis week, nd someonerom your church or your neighborhood who is going hrough difu i. Yu v sk u ps d

    s i u u ds s su ii pubi.Pps id u bu si iwih a chronically ill child, or someone who needs o have Godsv sw i v ib d pi ws.

    Your job: Wrie a noe o encouragemen o he person youvedecided o help. Deliver he noe along wih some pracical help.You may decide o make a meal (or buy one, i you cook like me)

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    40 Ws G Cs Gd

    and bring i o he amily. Ive discovered you can pick up a rozens, bd sd, d p-d i bd, d

    youve go a homemade meal o share. Or jus deliver a bag is wi s bsisbd, ik, s, d sup,pu but, d j.

    O course, you may decide o provide oher orms o help:mowing a lawn, shoveling snow, doing simple home repairs.Make yoursel available and lisen o wha someone needs, hensip d.

    Righ now, you may be hinking, Holy cow! Is HA whatthis book is going to demand of me? Tat I actually go and DOsomething?Well . . . yes. Sorry, bu heres no shorcu o spiriualw. I u w s Gd, u i v bk u u d pts, sp u i i, d si w. S I sd u u wi sk kyou uncomorable . . . bu is a ask you can do. All o us areb d s sip svi s s i d.

    S u i d sv sbd.

    ___ Check here when you have compleed odays God Challenge.

    Notes

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    day tWo

    Hungry for God

    We are beginning to realize that we hunger for God andthat for far too long we have settled for far too little. 2

    John Kirvan

    Every year, Americans spend an esimaed $40 o $50 billioni s wibui di bks, sii up JCi, jii Wi Ws, d wki wi s wprovide meals, suppor, and counseling, or a price. Tey all s dvi: E ss, v . Si, di idus ius w.

    Ye every year obesiy raes climb. And he percenage o

    Ais w bid bs iss s w. Si isw wi is piu.Why is his? Perhaps i has somehing o do wih he ac ha

    i w v u, u uu s b spius. Ta culure ells us o indulge. I reers o people as consum-s. W s d jus w u bu, , drink, bu ha doing so will somehow make us happy, successul,

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    40 Ws G Cs Gd

    d ppu. Ms us biv i w d iduu ppis, w v i d s. W dsv sk

    di ip ud sud.An imporan sep o growh oward God is o realize ha

    our culure is no normal. We are ar more ocused on con-sumpion and acquisiion han mos o he world. So he rssp wd i is i u viw usvs. Wneed o realize ha some o our indulgences are no reedom,bu pis ddii.

    F uis, i uus ud wd, ip-an spiriual pracice was ha o asinggiving up ood (oroher hings we enjoy) or a cerain amoun o ime in ordero ocus on God and pray. I is sill common in many pars o wd.

    I u uu, si is ppu, bu i is pps -ss spiiu w. Fsi k s. Fs, ppi hings is ppi

    food. Fasing rom he Inerne, or example, even or a day,migh be harder (and more spiriually healhy) han simplyabsaining rom ood. So dont think of fasting as merely skip-ping a meal, bu as puting of somehing we enjoy doing in ordero ocus on God.

    When Jesus augh abou asing, he began by saying, Whenu s . . . H did s, Iu s . . . Fsi ws

    p iius i Jws i is uu.Why would we even wan o deny ourselves in his way? Obvi-

    us, w p wiu si, s w b?Mji Tps, i bkSoul Feas, wis:

    In he ancien Jewish radiion, asing had wo primary purposes.T s ws xpss ps i p si.

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    Hu Gd

    Te second purpose was o prepare onesel inwardly or receivinghe necessary srengh and grace o complee a mission o aihul

    svi i Gds .

    3

    Perhaps he reason we don as is ha we really don domuch repening. We ake grace or graned and label our sinss uu idisi sip isks. W s bi

    weak on he concep o missionwe grind hrough lie anddo no see he challenges in our way as a God-given mission.We subsiue waching ohers engage in batle (in spors) or

    dvu (i vis vid s) d v sid pssibii pps Gd s dvu wsus bk up.

    Fasting can take us deeper into our spiritual lives and provideclariy abou wha really maters, wha really eeds our souls.

    As Tps bsvs,

    A w w w u susis u i p psid? D w v i vii Chrisis u i? Wwill comprehend litle o how we are nourished by Chris unilw v pid usvs kids sus kpus iv is su.

    4

    Ds dsib u? C iv is su? Operhaps you are anyhing bu conenyou wan o live a lie

    is dp d i. Yu u Gd.Ironically, he pracice o asing can begin o saisy hahunger. I is no an easy pracice, bu i is one you can slowlyge beter a. I youve ever ried o change your liesyle, orexample, by exercising, you know you can jus jump of heu d u . Fsi, sii, is pi bsbu i s sps.

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    40 Ws G Cs Gd

    T Bib is v si is pi is bbid wi p. T id is vui bsi

    d si s i d us Gd d bd b is Wd d b p.

    today s ChallenGe

    d, u is v sip si.Insead o eaing lunch during your lunch break, spend heime reading a couple o psalms, hen ake a bi o ime orp. Pps u wi w us u ps sp-cic siuaion youre acing where you eel you need Godshelp. Perhaps you will inercede on behal o a riend or amilymember who is sick or acing some sor o sruggle. (Note:Loading up on a huge breakas because you know you williss wi bk, us ; s

    bks d di.)Jsus sid w w s w k bi d

    i (see Mathew 6:1618). So during your normal lunch break,ge alone. I someone asks you o lunch, ell hem you have ppi. (Yu d v is wi Gd.)Spd u i pi isd i.

    I , u bi u. Rsis u

    o snackwai unil dinner. Drink waer. Le hunger painsremind you o Gods presence wih you, and remind you op, v i ids u di iviis. Aw is v susi u.

    I u si s b s sii-can pracices o enhance my spiriual lie. Ive ased romood (as well as rom V, he news, Facebook, he Web, and

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