Here’s the challenge that many of us face. We’re way too busy.  And we’re spiritually malnourished.  Here’s a solution.

It’s the project we’ve been working on since last September.  It’s our Celebration Challenge.  WAIT! Before you click out of this blog, let me explain.

Getting spiritually nourished isn’t about quantity.  It’s about absorption.

Getting spiritually nourished isn’t about quantity.  It’s about absorption.  As an example, you can consume massive amounts of calcium in supplements, but your body will not benefit much if it can’t absorb it.  (It needs things like vitamin D in order to do that.)

Similarly, you could read ten chapters of the Bible every day, but if you’re not absorbing it, you’re not benefiting.  When we take one or two verses of the Bible and memorize them, we’re in a much better position to absorb it over time.  Here’s a great example.

We’re currently working on Ephesian 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Have you memorized that?  It’s 22 words.  You CAN do it.  In fact, if you read it aloud slowly for about ten times, you’ll probably have it memorized.  THEN you can start to notice things like:

1. It starts with “we.” I’m reminded that God’s purposes are not just about ME, but about WE (the church).
2. We’re “God’s” handiwork. This is his plan, his initiative, his creative power.  As the song reminds us, “my life is not my own, to you I belong…”
3. We’re God’s “handiwork,” or craftsmanship. Each of us uniquely formed and crafted by our loving, creative God. God spent time carefully designing you the way you are, including your personality, your gifts, etc.
4. We’re “created in Christ Jesus.” We have new life because of our connection with Christ.  We are a “new creation” as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.  We’re not created in a vacuum, but in Christ.  Our real life is understood in light of our connection to Christ.
5. We’re created “to do good works.” Your life has a purpose…even a blueprint.  When you’re struggling with frustration and dead ends, remember that God created you for good works…things which reflect his greatness into this world.
6. God prepared these works in advance. Put another way, he “ordained” them.  This is a powerful stamp of divine purposefulness in your life, despite what others may say or think about you.

So there are six powerful truths to connect into your life.  And you can “study” the Bible like that with only this one verse?  You don’t need to spend 45 minutes a day reading.  (I mean, it would be great if you had the time, right?)  In your commuting, in your time on hold, in your quite moments, in your frustrating ranting, in your elevator rides, in your waiting for the kids to get off the bus, in your hurried breakfast on the go…you can study the Bible…and you can begin to nourish your soul at a deep, deep level.

For more verses in the Celebration Challenge, click here.

And then join us this weekend (Mothers Day) as we continue to explore The Day That Changed The World.

-Pastor Mark