This is week 4 of our journey through change. By now you will notice that the author has basically cut you loose to do the work with little or no help from him. At the beginning of this adventure I warned you that change is tough. The disciplines of scripture study and prayer require that we use spiritual muscles that over time may have atrophied. Any new habit requires consistency and perseverance over time. Repetition is fundamental to discipline.

If you made it through the 4 weeks and are ready to move ahead then you should repeat the entire process. I have a limited number of new books available and I can order more. Go to the welcome counter, pick up a new one, and start again. I feel you should work through the book 3 to 5 times before you will be ready to go it alone. Here is the key - consistency! When you miss a day make it up. When you miss two days in a week you are flirting with failure. When you hit or miss you have failed and need to start over.

Pick up your copy and get involved. It would be a "dream come true" if our entire church were to engage in this process. Keep in mind the point of the book is this - we all have sin issues we need to confront. The scripture deals with all such issues. We must learn to find those passages that deal with our situation and meditate upon them (even memorize them). As we meditate upon them we must pray and seek the change the Lord desires for us. This is introspection. It is about what needs to change in you and not in someone else. Then from that we develop a plan - "If such and such occurs I plan to do such and such." Then there must be a follow up at the end of the day to assess how you did. Then you can plan a strategy for the next day. This is what will bring about lasting change.

In His Grip,

PB

PS This Sunday I will give you a step by step battle strategy that will work every time you are confronted with temptation - guaranteed!

I am so excited. My challenge to you has netted a vast network of hungry souls eager for change. I estimate there are over 250 of you involved in the 28-day journey through Four Weeks with God and Your Neighbor. I also estimate that likely 1/3 of you have been 100% faithful, another 1/3 wants to quit, and another 1/3 have already quit. Please keep this in mind as you struggle through this process that the goal is change - deep personal and God-honoring change. It could be the change of the use of your tongue, your thought life, some addiction, a loveless marriages, submission to your parents, peer pressure and standing alone, contentment, or a plethora of other issues God wants to address in your life.

There are two major reasons why this can be and is so challenging. First, you have threatened any stronghold Satan may have enjoyed in your life for years or even generations. Second, you are using spiritual muscles that may very well have atrophied. This is about the discipline of the twin spiritual graces of the study of the Word and prayer. You have likely noticed that the chapters begin with scripture in an effort to apply that scripture to specific changes you need to make. As we get toward the end of the book, you will also notice many blank pages as the author basically cuts you loose to do this on your own.

Ultimately that is the goal - to teach you how to take the raw data of scripture, study it, meditate upon it, and listen to the voice of God telling you what changes need to be made, what needs to be "put off" and what needs to be "put on." If you have not advanced very far do not be discouraged. Start over again and discipline yourself to this ½ hour per day. It will eventually become second nature where you will not need the book. I will try to have more copies available at the end of the four weeks. I suggest you do this exercise for three consecutive months using the book and then try it without the book.

If you need help on a particular "change issue" email me and I will be sure to get back to you on where to go in scripture to find that issue addressed. I will also keep all of your questions confidential as your pastor, even from other staff members. My email address is drbetters@grpc.org. Don't quit! Don't be disheartened! Stay the course! God made you a promise...

Hebrews 12:1-13 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

In His Grip,
PB

Some of you by now are on your second week of the 28 day exercise, Four Weeks With God and Your Neighbor. Others are just beginning the process. Be sure to follow this blog and my four articles in the Redemptive Presence newsletter. The challenge of Week 1 was (and for those of you just beginning is) "We must change." That is why I directed all of us to Psalm 51 for an introspective look at your own condition so that we might cry out to God for a spirit of personal renewal and revival. This exercise is about change. We must take that survey of soul, a spiritual inventory, to identify what in our life needs to change. If your married maybe you should ask your spouse to answer that question. If you are single perhaps some of your friends will want to chime in. Week 1 requires a soul searching to identify your personal agenda and a commitment to change.

But, change requires discipline. That is the theme of Week 2. Godliness comes by discipline. And discipline cannot occur apart from the study of the Word and prayer. It seems rather silly to say that it takes discipline merely to talk to someone. After all, I do not need discipline to talk to the people I love. My attention span does not waver after a few minutes of discussion around the dinner table. In fact, I often am involved (as is my family) in two or three conversations at a time. Why? Because I love my family and I WANT to talk to them. I cannot go for days or weeks at a time without any dialogue with my family.

Perhaps the reason we lose focus in prayer is because our desire for a two way conversation is not what we want. Instead, we want God to listen while we talk. This is where the twins must eat together at the same table. We must speak to God in prayer AND God will speak to us via the reading of and the meditation upon the Word of God. Our 28 day journey is designed to reduce our focus to one or two issues in your life where there is need for change. This is where we can all help each other. For example, if you are struggling with a specific sin and you do not know where to go in the Bible for help, then you can ask for help. We live in such an incredible age of technology. Just by posting your questions on my blog you may receive a whole plethora of directions from others who do know where that issue is dealt with in the Word. So go to my blog and post your questions.

Time will not permit me to answer each request, however, blogs are designed in such a way that we can help each other. And isn't that what this is all about - Body Life? In fact, I can envision some of you pairing up to help each other walk through Biblical change. We must look beyond the 28 days and use this amazing tool to touch each other's lives. My greatest joy is preaching. My second greatest joy is teaching. In this blog context we can study the Word together. So I will look for your postings as the Lord leads. May He touch you by His grace.

In His Grip,
PB