DOD 21, 40 Day Challenge

DOD 21, 40 Day Challenge


Warning:
I am back in Exodus.  Also this may be challenging.


Prep:
Still your mind.  Be quiet for 5 to 10 minutes with God.  Greet Him now.  Tell Him about your day so far.  Not how you feel.  Tell Him the details.  He wants to here you talk.  I can see my kids did something fun or scary on the playground but I still love to hear them come tell me what they experienced and how it went in their eyes.  Do the same with God.  Listen to what He has to say.  Steel your mind.  That is right, focus.  Block out all else going on and focus and listen expectantly to what God has for you. 


Warm-up:
Use your imagination of what it would have been like in Egypt while the Israelites were slaves.  Yes it was the most powerful and advanced civilization at the time but still crude compared to us.  Not the same kind of climate control.  Clothes were not as plentiful.  Showers and soaps at their finger tips.  Distractions from pain like TV or the internet.  
Now God comes in and starts striking the Egyptians with plagues so Pharaoh will release the Israelites.  Starting in chapter seven of your Bible scan through the sub headings and read the plagues.  Imagine what it must be like for the river you know so well to be flowing with blood.  How that must have looked and how it must have smelled.  What about frogs every where.  Homes probably did not sell up like they do now so you got frogs in the house jumping on you as you try sleep or croaking making noises all night or in your dishes as you go to cook and eat.  Keep going with you what it is like.
So this goes on for year different plagues devastating the land and people and animals.  Then God drops the hammer.  The Plague of the Firstborn.  He firstborn in Egypt dies except those amongst the Israelites. Including in Pharaoh's household.  He lost a son or daughter.  He lost an uncle, maybe his mother and cousins and nephews and nieces.  He lost more than one family member.  It speaks of the wailing.  Imagine the agony of the cries that night. 


Scripture:
Exodus 12:31-32 "During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.  Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go.  And also bless me.'"


Whoa! Did you get that?  "And also bless me."  Pharaoh has just lost multiple family members, his people are wailing for their dead and the country is wrecked because of his disobedience and he tells Moses to bless him.  The arrogance!


Take a break:
So a day or two before reading this I heard on the radio Mark Zuckerberg wanted the Facebook community to be like the church. This comment came to him after spending time with some influential church leaders.  His hope would the community would give and do good together.  It is a noble desire for good to be done.  I admire Mark Zuckerberg for that.  The whole comment irked me though.  Facebook like the church.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  Then I read this above and it came to me.  Before I start I am not here to bash Mark Zuckerberg.  He is created by God and dearly loved.  He is merely an example.  I remembered hearing something about Mark and Buddhism and some other just open believes so I went to Wiki.  Read up on his religion.  He is Jewish by birth.  He had went away from it but has come back to embrace some of it lately.  He has dabbled with Buddhism too.  He is beginning to lean more towards his Jewish roots.  He even says a Jewish prayer when things are tough. 


The point:
It hit me.  Mark Zuckerberg wants to access God when it is convenient for him.  Just like Pharaoh found God convenient when he was hurting and wanted access to His blessings.  That's what irked me.  Mark Zuckerberg wanted the church and its good without God.  What!?  The community and good of any group cannot match what a community of God's people can do and the love they can show.


The work:
Are you guilty of this?  Are guilty of wanting to access God when things are hard?  Are you guilty being obedient after God has kicked your butt but not when things are ok?  I am.  Where do you need to be obedient?  Let list off some options to consider:


Do you need to get off Facebook?
Do you need to get off the internet?
Do you need to get up early to spend time with God or go to bed earlier to get rest and not be tempted while tired?
Do you need to change phones, phone numbers, friends, habits?
Do you need to add something to your daily grind that brings you back to God?
Do you need to be honest with yourself, with others? 
Do you need to confess?
Do you need to think about someone else more than yourself?  Your wife? Your kids? Your co-workers? Your fellow drivers on the road? (guilty here)
Do you need to start hiding scripture in your heart? (scripture memorization)
Do you need to listen to Christian radio?
Do you need to text more or seek more community or let more people into your world?


Maybe it is start something or maybe it is stop something.  Maybe it is rest.  I don't know.  This is you and God time. Examine your life. Where can you be more obedient or maybe where do you need to start?


Share:
Share whatever you want that struck you here.  Share how you are going to apply this.  Share ideas to help kick start the brains of us that are not that creative.


I love you guys.  God loves you.  He wants to bless you.  He wants to.  Hear that.  God wants you.  He wants to bless your life.  Not the same as He blesses mine or Jamie's or anyone else in the group.  He wants to bless you specifically for you and your life.