Day 1 – Friday, April 1st, 2016
I have seen throughout my life times of prosperity and times of distress. By far, the times of prosperity have been during the periods when my heart has been most wholly devoted to the Lord God. This should come as no surprise, as it is specifically stated in the Bible that when we love God about all else and worship Him alone, we shall prosper:
When you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you.
(Deuteronomy 30:2‑3)
I recently attended a retreat where I spent three full days in quiet prayer, Bible study and worship, only to realize that my heart had all but gone astray, worshiping many other gods except the One true God, who deserves my whole heart.
Thus, I have decided, as continuation of The Phoenix Project started in November 2015, to create “The 90-Day Life-Change Challenge,” whereby I consciously return my heart completely to the only One who can rescue me from destruction.
As you may know, I recently had a baby who turned 8 months old this past Sunday. I used my pregnancy as an excuse to turn my heart from God and to the idol of food, among many other idols. So I will start there. My biggest idols are sugar and wheat, although I will also include alcohol, soda, coffee, tea, and a few others. During these 90 days, I will fast from these items and offer them as my sacrifice of praise to Him, who above all created these things. I wish to worship the Creator, not His creation. I must also fast from laziness but use my time to exercise my body to attain the health that He created me for.
Secondly, I have turned to other idols, time-wasters, to occupy my mind rather than allowing the Lord to cultivate it with the things He would have me use it for. These idols are just as much life-suckers to my mind and spirit as food has been to my body. If seeking God requires all my heart and all my soul, I must sacrifice these things too. My time-wasters include television, movies, games on my phone, and a few other things.
However, the truth is that idols cannot merely be removed; they must be replaced. And to be perfectly honest, I am powerless to do it alone. Will power is not enough. I cannot depend on my emotions on any day to be so level and focused that I can make proper decisions. Neither can I simply focus on the 90-day term, put my head down and plow through. I must depend on God for strength to be successful in turning my heart back to Him.
I must daily come to the Lord in surrender, allow Him to go deeper in me than my purposes, plans and desires for these 90 days. I must allow Him to change me. He is my “reset button.”
I am being joined by other friends who are also committed to this journey to put time back into our lives and Life back into our time:
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
I must abide in the Lord, have a constant conscious connection to Him, “listen to His voice and hold fast to Him.” But the question is, How?
My pastor recently gave a message whereby he helped me pinpoint four methods through which I will do so, four things I will do in place of the sacrifices I have noted above:
1 – Through worship: Daily seeking the Lord in prayer, reading, Bible study and singing the choruses that express my deep longings and fervent love for Him.
2 – Through my own uniqueness: The gifts that God has given me, doing the things He has given me a love for, like writing or running. This also includes honoring God with my time with work and bettering myself for the benefit of my work, such as reading or training.
3 – Through community: We are biblically mandated to be connected to others, instead of isolating ourselves and cutting off relationships.
4 – Through the Lord Himself:
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. … You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:4-10)
While I know the process of “taking off the old self” and replacing it with “the new self” is lifelong, I want to be strict with my focus over the course of the next 90 days and see all that He has for me on the other side. Will you join me in this journey?
When we “set” the thermostat in our home, we expect the air temperature to rise or fall accordingly. Will you “set” your mind on God with me and watch as He rises to His promise of Life?
The Art of Choosing True Life 