Monday 30 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 29

Day 29 - December 1st.

GUIDANCE

Ask a friend that knows you well to pray with you if you have a big decision to make. You could also ask them what areas they see strengths in you and how they feel God might use them in the future.

Sunday 29 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 28

Day 28 - November 30th

WORSHIP

The Old Testament documents the continual failure of God's people to follow his commands, yet one thing they were good at is in worship they reminded themselves of God's goodness to them in the past. Check out Nehemiah 8.

Make a list of things you want to thank God for. You could share things from this list with others throughout the day. You could recite at least ten instances of how God has blessed your life in the past year.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 27

Day 27 - November 29th

MEDITATION - ART

Artworks such as painting and sculpture have been used for centuries to inspire private reflection and meditation. Take time to take in some art to inspire your meditation.

I have no hesitation in recommending an exhibition in The National Gallery (Trafalgar Square, London) named 'The Sacred Made Real'. It is a look at the golden age of spanish religious art in the 17th century. The exhibition has 16 paintings and 16 sculptures and the curation is excellent, the works really stand out individually and interact with each other and the space due to being very well spot lit and placed in the 6 different rooms. The life like sculptures using techniques such as polychroming are what this exhibition really is about. I took it in early this month and it is open until January 24th. If you get a chance please do go, leaving yourself around one and a half hours to really take it in. For details of the exhibition, here's the link. If you travel by train to London you can get 2for1 on entrance to the exhibition by showing your train tickets. Check out this link for details on this offer.

If you cannot get to this specific exhibition, a couple of the paintings are permanent residents of The National Gallery so you could see them another time.

Friday 27 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 26

Day 26 - November 28th

Service

Common courtesy. Make time this week to make sure you have replied to invites, send a card of appreciation to a friend, send an encouraging message. It values people if you make a firm reply to invites. Build up someone this week.

Thursday 26 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 25

Day 25 - November 27th

Submission

Be more aware of advise given to you and act on it.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 24

Day 24 - November 26th

SIMPLICITY

Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others. This could be a conscious effort to analyse your purchases (eg. Fairtrade).

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 23

Day 23 - November 25th

STUDY

Memorise particular scriptures that you find helpful in the face of temptation. Quote these scriptures in the face of temptation as a way to say no to the devil and his schemes, just as Jesus did when he was led into the wilderness (Luke 4).

Monday 23 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 22

Day 22 - November 24th

STUDY

Read the same scripture in several different translations. Think about the different words used and spend time thinking about the scripture. If you do not have more than one hard copy version of the bible, a great resource is:

http://www.biblegateway.com/

Here you can type in any search for keywords, reference and books of the bible. You can read in numerous translations.

Sunday 22 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY 21

Day 21 - November 23rd.

PRAYER

Develop a habit of short prayers as you go throughout the day. if you have just seen someone you know, say a quick prayer for them. If a stranger catches your attention, pray for them. Your prayers may be the only prayer they receive that day.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY TWENTY

Day Twenty - November 22nd

Having looked through the Lord's prayer as an intro here is an extra idea.

PRAYER

Make a habit of starting and finishing your day in prayer. Just before you go to sleep, pray over the day you have just had, giving to God conversations had, decisions and actions made etc. Pray for the next day too. When you wake, may you say to God "Thank you God for a new day, I give it to you" rather than "O God, it's a new day!"

Friday 20 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY NINETEEN

Day Nineteen - November 21st

PRAYER

Let's move on to verse 13:

13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one

Contemplate the things you find difficult in life and lift them to God, We are reassured in 1 Corinthians 10:12,13 by Paul who say,

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

May this scripture lead your prayers today.

Thursday 19 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY EIGHTEEN

Day Eighteen - November 20th

CONFESSION - PRAYER

Now onto verse12:

12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

This verse actually acts as part of the confession discipline. Think for a moment over the things that you need forgiveness for. This could also mean making things right with someone that you have wronged.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY SEVENTEEN

Day Seventeen - November 19th

Prayer

Let's move on to verse 11 of the Lord's prayer:

11Give us today our daily bread.

Two points on this to direct your prayers. In James 4:2,3 James says,

"You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Yesterday you prayed into God's will be done. Keep praying that God would reveal to you His will. Ask God for what you need according to His will. God created you with needs, so bring them to Him.

It is also worth to note that God too IS our daily bread. Praying for your daily bread demonstrates faith, you are not praying for God's provision for years in advance, but each day. In Exodus 16 God provides daily manna. When they stored more than they could eat in one day, the next day they woke to find it rotten. trust God that he provides for you each day.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY SIXTEEN

Day sixteen - November 18th.

PRAYER

Yesterday you will have read over the Lord's Prayer and focussed your prayers on verse9. Today focus on verse 10:

10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

Let these words direct your prayers. Pray for God's kingdom come in all areas of your life especially those that you feel you do not submit control. Pray for His will to be done. Pray this prayer over those you know . Let God guide you in whom to pray for today.

Monday 16 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY FIFTEEN

Onto week three. Now you have spent some time meditating on God and may be in a place where you feel like you can understand just a little bit more who you are praying to, we are going to spend the next five days worth of challenges praying. There are going to be many days through this year where the challenge is one of prayer.

Day Fifteen - November 17th

PRAYER

To start us off properly in prayer we are going to pray as our saviour Jesus taught us. In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus says this of prayer:

5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.


We are going to look more in depth at the Lord's prayer this week. Today spend time thinking about verse9:

" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,'

Let this verse direct your prayers and think about the impact this verse has on your life and to whom you are praying.

Sunday 15 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY FOURTEEN

Day Fourteen - November 16th

MEDITATION

Pick an everyday object and find a way of linking it to God.

Saturday 14 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY THIRTEEN

Day Thirteen - November 15th

MEDITATION.

ARTS: Paint or draw. Ideas: Perhaps a scene from the bible. Something in creation that inspires you.

Friday 13 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY TWELVE

Day Twelve - November 14th

MEDITATION:

NATURE: Go for a walk through a forest or somewhere beautiful closeby and get amazed at the world and what God has created.

Thursday 12 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY ELEVEN

Day Eleven - November 13th

MUSIC: Play a worship song or a song that has powerful lyrics. Listen to it at least a couple of times and meditate on what the words mean.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY TEN

Day Ten - November 12th

MEDITATION

Scripture: Read a story from one of the gospels and take time to imagine yourself there at that very time.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY NINE

Day Nine - November 11th

MEDITATION

Dreams: Pray to God that He would come and speak to you in your dreams. Pray before you go to sleep. Pray for willingness to listen and protection as God ministers to you. You may wish to start a dream journal or add dreams to an existing journal.

Monday 9 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY EIGHT

We have now made it through week one. Well done. Many of the challenges you may do already, some you may think 'So what's new?!', with some you may have already seen positive results from and others you may not for a while or in fact ever see positive results from. Some disciplines you may have found more easy to do than others. Please do persevere. We each connect with God in a unique way and will find certain challenges easier than others.

Week One has explored a variety of the different disciplines. Week Two we are going to explore one discipline, that of MEDITATION. Unlike many forms of mediation that aims to clear the mind, Christian meditation aims to fill the mind with things of God. Meditation is key in the build up to effective prayer. We meditate on God to begin to comprehend His heart and His will for our lives and the world. Effective prayer seeks the heart of the Father and the result of effective prayer is seeing things from His perspective. So let us begin to know God a little better.

Day Eight - November 10th

MEDITATION

Spend some time today looking to Him. Who is God? What is He to you? To help get you started, here are some of the ancient names describing God:

Elohim – God’s power and might
Elyon – the strongest strong One
Roi – the strong One who sees
Shaddai – the breasted One
Olam – the everlasting God
Adonai – Master Lord, God owns all His creation
Jehovah – the self-existent One, the God of the covenant
Jireh – the Lord will provide
Nissi – the Lord my banner
Shalom – the Lord is peace
Sabbaoth – the Lord of hosts
Maccaddeshoem – the Lord thy sanctifier
Rohi – the Lord my shephard
Tsidkenu – the Lord our righteousness
Shammah – the Lord who is present
Rapha – the Lord our healer

Sunday 8 November 2009

spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY SEVEN

Day Seven - 9th November

FASTING

Today, go for a meat free diet. If you live with others - family/ spouse/ housemates - encourage them to do the same. In the UK we eat a lot of meat and the carbon footprint for this in unhealthy for our world.

Saturday 7 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY SIX

Day Six - 8th November

SIMPLICITY

Adopt plain speach. In Matthew 5:37 Jesus says,
"Simply let your 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no', 'no'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Friday 6 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY FIVE

Day Five - 7th November

SOLITUDE

Today, during your lunch break at work/school or wherever you are, spend it alone. If a lunch break is not possible, just spend 30 minutes or so whenever you can in your own company.

Thursday 5 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY FOUR

Day Four - 6th November

WORSHIP

Write a Psalm of Praise. Praise God for who He is all that He has done for you but also begin to write words of praise even if you do not feel like it. Whatever our situation, God is good and worthy of our praise.

Guildford Sky







This week has been an amazing spectacle right from my front room.

Rain, sunshine, moody clouds and orange drenched skyscapes.

One day it was absolutely bucketing down so hard for at least 20minutes and then gradually the skies cleared.

Another there was about 10 minutes of glorious oranges. No sooner had it all appeared it was gone again. It gave something for the commuters to look at as they sat motionless in their cars through Guildford town centre.

It is great to be able to enjoy God's heavenly displays even in a compact town centre.










Wednesday 4 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY THREE

DAY THREE - 5th November

So hopefully you will now have a quick regular prayer time during an every day activity and have an encouraging word on your computer at home and work. Here's you challenge for day three:

SERVICE
Do something kind for someone in secret. Let your act be purely for God's approval.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Spiritual Fitness Challenge DAY TWO

DAY TWO - 4th November

I hope you found it straight forward enough to pray for someone you know / a cause this morning while brushing your teeth or whenever you may do it today. So, we're going to keep the start of the challenge light, much like any discipline we need to set achievable tasks and gradually build our capacity. Here is today's challenge:

STUDY
Put an encouraging scripture from the bible or an inspiring quote on your computer at home or at work. You could set it as your desktop.

The UCB Radio media ministry have daily word on their website or they can even send you a daily scripture via text message on your phone although this will cost 25p per day! Here's the link: http://www.ucbmobile.co.uk/web/home/


Monday 2 November 2009

Spiritual fitness challenge DAY ONE

Spiritual Fitness - One a day. One year.

Following my previous post on 114 ways to spiritual fitness, I shall be posting a more manageable read each day which will give you a spiritual discipline to practice. I shall leave the original post on my blog for reference and as a resource, but I think if you have a read of my daily blog, I hope you will be inspired to invest in your own wellbeing through this spiritual fitness challenge. From my own experience I can guarantee you that you will grow spiritually and in your faith through investing in your spiritual fitness. To invest in your fitness you need discipline. This series will run for one year and I hope you can take it even further beyond.

I shall aim to post a day in advance, so here is tomorrow's challenge:

DAY ONE - 3rd November

We're going to start with something light.

PRAYER: Spend time in prayer during an activity that you know you will do each day eg. Brushing your teeth (I hope you do this each day!). Dedicate this time to pray for a particular person or cause or injustice.

So when you're brushing your teeth tomorrow morning, pray for your mate that's going through a tough time or perhaps some cause/ injustice going on in the world that really makes you angry. Then pray for them again the next time you brush your teeth and again the next time. Make it a regular time for quick prayers.