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Romans 12:2
Encouragement to fulfill God's purpose through Practical Life Application and Navigation

40 Day Challenge – Week 8

 Day 36

 

 
For our final week of the challenge, we’ll be Decluttering your Spiritual Life with Declutter & GO! REALLY?? Is that even something Christian needs to do? YOU BETCHA!!

After cleaning out the previously discussed areas of your life, the result should be more time, money, freedom, energy, and joy to enjoy life and serve God. We’re going to discuss not only ways grow your personal relationship with him, but also how to make sure your spiritual journey stays decluttered along the way.

GOD SPACE

Do you have room in your life for God? Just like the end result of cleaning out a messy closet or drawer, have you now made enough space in your daily routine, and in your heart and mind, for God to have an inviting place to dwell? He deserves so much more than just the leftovers, the fractions of fleeting seconds available between the rush of activity, or the fluke moments where, by chance, there is some time for him. You get God’s best; he puts you first. Shouldn’t you afford God the same standing in your life?

“[B]ut God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

You might have heard that verse a dozen times or perhaps never before, but take a moment and think about the weight of the message in these few words. God wasn’t rewarding us for being good or beaming with pride at our perfection. Not even close. While we were still sinners, WHILE we were misbehaving and completely flawed in nature and character, God made the ultimate sacrifice and sent his beloved son to suffer on our behalf and redeem us because he loved us so very much. Awesome, isn’t it?

The truth is that while you owe God your life, he doesn’t want your heart out of guilt or fear. He longs for you to desire a relationship with him: to love, honor, and serve him. He allows free will for this very reason. He gives you the choice. And that’s what it’s all about, folks, choosing to declutter each area of your life, the life that Christ gave you to begin with, so you have more of what you need to put him first.

We challenge you to not only make room for God, but evaluate your effort and commitment to him. Is there room for improvement? Growth?

Tomorrow, it’s ‘GO’ time!

 

 

Day 37

 

 
Let’s say you’ve decluttered and made room in your life for what’s truly important. You’ve worked through the different areas that needed cleaning out and have more time, energy, money, freedom and joy. Then what? Isn’t this enough? Well, not necessarily. This is the first VERY important step of the process but there is more good stuff to come.

First, pat yourself on the back for a job well done. It’s not easy to change old habits and routines, even when they aren’t good for you, and perfectly okay to pause for a moment and reflect on how far you’ve come.

But then what to do next? So many people get tripped up at this point, and we don’t want you to become one of them.

This is where you GO! Declutter first, then GO! Declutter & GO!

You must use this extra time and space to do what God desires for your life and act on what your heart yearns for so desperately.

A GREAT IDEA WILL FOREVER STAY THAT, ONLY AN IDEA,UNLESS YOU PUT ACTION BEHIND IT.

Even when decluttered, we can still become complacent and stall, that’s why this is a TWO-STEP process.

You must DECLUTTER & GO!

We aren’t living in a dress rehearsal and every minute that ticks by is lost forever. God paid a price for our time and freedom, a price greater than anything we can wrap our minds around. We’re pretty sure he didn’t do this for us to abuse the privileges he provided. Don’t waste your time and don’t waste his. Do the things you feel called to do, put action behind your desires, and go after them.

We challenge you to reflect on what actions you need to take to get from ‘where you are’ spiritually to ‘where you want to be’.

Tomorrow we’ll share some inspiration for getting started and making this a reality.

 

 

Day 38

 

 
So HOW do you ‘GO’? How do you put actions behind the desires of your heart and actually MOVE on what God is calling you to?

MOTIVATION is key! WHAT motivates you to take that first step? Responsibility? Desire? Logic? Necessity? Here are some ideas that might give you that much needed kick!

DIRECT REQUEST – Jesus said, “Come follow me.” To those called, he didn’t suggest to come back when they were done with other things and make time for him then. Jesus meant NOW, and the men that followed him knew it. They obeyed by serving with their whole hearts and were instantly transformed and called disciples. Those that didn’t, and there were many, had too much stuff, too much clutter, to be available for Jesus. Can you imagine how they were kicking themselves after the fact, when the evidence was irrefutable that Jesus was Lord?

DON’T JUST USE GOD AS NEEDED – No matter how busy or lazy we are, it’s amazing how quickly we find God when we need him. When we’re facing insurmountable odds or going through a challenging time, we seek him out immediately. Yes, God wants us to seek him out during tough times, but there’s so much joy and blessing to be had when we obediently place him in the center of our lives when life is going along just fine too.

PRAY – Lift up your petitions to God, but do it with the respect that he deserves, and with the confidence of God’s infinite wisdom and unfailing love for you. A consistent and meaningful prayer life is the best first step in building your relationship with Christ. Make an effort to carve out daily time with him and your return will be tenfold.

LISTEN – An area that often gets overlooked is the opposite of your prayer life. Instead of talking to God, be sure you stop and spend quality time listening. In the clutter of our loud and demanding lives, we often get so lost in the talking that we don’t close our mouths long enough to hear a thing. How can God speak to us, answer our questions, and care for our hearts if we don’t pause to hear his voice and embrace his wisdom?

Challenge yourself to find the motivation to amp up God’s place in your life. There is always room for improvement. Go to the next level!

 

 

Day 39

 

 
Quick tips for making the most of your walk with God:

SOCIAL SELECTION – When you are choosing with whom to spend time, make an intentional effort to enjoy the company of those friends and family members who will encourage your walk with God. These are the friends that will hold you accountable and those you can rely on for spiritual encouragement, guidance, and truth. Use good sense and keep yourself in the right situations with the right people. Don‘t overlook the impact your social environment has on your spiritual life.

WORD CONSUMPTION – Do you enjoy reading Christian material and listening to music by Christian artists? There are enough fiction and non-fiction books to satisfy any interest and speak to every genre imaginable, and music available to suit every taste. As a friend told us, it’s not the music that’s Christian but the words. So true! Surround yourself with words that soothe, inspire, encourage, and motivate. It’s a great way to effortlessly infuse more of God into your daily life.

THE CASE FOR CHURCH – Statistics show time and time again that believers who attend church regularly and actively live out their faith live longer lives, recover from illness more quickly, succumb to divorce less, have more energy, feel more hope and are, in general, happier people. Doesn’t this list make you want to grab a piece of the action?

We believe the church to be an instrumental part of our walk, and we strongly encourage you to make it a part of yours, but do the research and make sure it’s the right church for you and your family – and this includes evaluating the pastors as well as the church. This may sound judgmental, but focus on the intention behind the action. Your spiritual walk is one of the most important aspects of your Christian life and you can’t be too careful in getting it right. Trust us, a pastor that’s worth his salt is praying you get it right too and would wholly support your efforts and due diligence in checking him or her out.


We challenge you to embrace God in every area of your life- with the people you hang around, the material you consume, and the church you attend. Make it all count!

Tomorrow – PLEASE join us for the last day of the challenge when we’ll wrap up with how to stay decluttered in your Christian journey!

 

 

Day 40

 

 
THIS IS IT! You’ve made it to the final day of the Declutter Now! Challenge! CONGRATULATIONS!

To wrap things up, we thought it would be a good idea to touch on a topic that some Christians might find taboo. Spiritual Clutter!

Spiritual clutter can hold you back and trip you up just as much as any other clutter in your life. Let us explain…

  • Just because a church is a church, doesn’t mean it’s the right one for you.
  • Just because a pastor preaches from a pulpit, doesn’t mean his message is theologically sound and biblically based.
  • Just because a Christian organization has very real needs, does not mean YOU have to be the one, time and time again, to rise to the occasion.

Even our spiritual lives can get cluttered by misinformation, unhealthy relationships, guilt, obligation, and the like. We are NOT saying that this is the norm or that this will necessarily happen. We are merely suggesting that EVEN in a Christian environment where you are surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ, there are still those that don’t have your best interests at heart or simply don’t know any better. And of course, Satan is always lurking as well. YOU must use solid discernment, make intentional choices, and take responsibility for what you allow in and around your life.

When all is said and done, your life should be decluttered enough to give God the time and space he so sweetly deserves. Think about it this way – ALL we have and ALL we are is from God. Everything from start to finish – the whole kit and caboodle – is his work. Our salvation and eternal existence is available because of what he’s done on our behalf. Doesn’t it just make sense to give God your firsts?

The magnitude of what God has and will provide for us is insanely far-reaching and mind-boggling. How could you, in good conscience, settle for giving God anything less than your absolute best with a front and center spot in your life? Would you expect God to settle for anything but that? You shouldn’t and he won’t.

The ultimate challenge is to declutter your life and make room for the most important person of all. GO get God! Start living the joyful existence he desires for you, free from the bondage of sadness, anxiety, guilt, obligation, fear, unrest, and clutter in all forms. YOU CAN DO THIS! We’re praying for you!

We thank you for joining us in the 40 Day Declutter Now! Challenge. We’d love to hear about your personal decluttering journey, so please write us at declutternow@actionplanministries.com. We sincerely hope that our 40 days together brought a newfound awareness and inspiration to uncover the hidden joy and freedom in your life. Now that the challenge is over, we pray that living a decluttered life will become a new mindset for you; a new lifestyle. Once you step over the line and experience what
you’ve been missing, there’ll be no turning back. Good luck and may God so richly bless your journey.