The J.E.S.U.S Challenge
Hello!
The J.E.S.U.S. Challenge
The JESUS Challenge is a challenge that I have seen floating around on social media. Right now, I think I could use a bit of a challenge. This challenge is supposed to be completed each day of the month. I know for some of us, this could be very overwhelming or intimating. If it is easier for you do it weekly or however many times a week you can, then do so. This challenge is to bring us closer to God and His Word. The goal of this challenge is to be intentional. I am going to start this challenge today. I know that it is not at the beginning of the month but its close. I want to invite you all with me on this challenge.
To get started with this challenge, you will need your Bible, a journal, and a pen and the Bible App. There are 5 parts to this challenge. You have: Journal, Experience, Study, Understand, and Speak. There is no time frame you need to meet for this challenge. I have heard others say that it took them 45 minutes to an hour to complete this. You start and end when you need to. There is no pressure on time frame. This challenge is is going to be a journey and hopefully become a new lifestyle for you. Be gracious during this time and let it turn into what it needs to be for you and God.
J: Journal
The first part of this challenge is to journal. You are going to journal to God. Talk to Him like you would your friend. Share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Be honest during this time. It’s okay to be share the raw thoughts. Something I have learned for myself is, to be real with Him. He wants you to come to Him no matter what is going on. Share your thankfulness but also your requests. Share your day, the ups and downs. Share everything with Him.
Try to spend about 10-15 minutes writing (or however long you want).
E: Experience
After you have journaled, now you are going to experience. Turn on some worship music, sit and be in the moment with God. You just gave Him your heart in the journal, so now you want to sit and experience His heart and presence. You can turn this into whatever you want but be intentional about being in His presence and listen. You can sing, you can pray, you can sit and be quiet. You can write what you are experiencing or write about what God is speaking to you. This just just a time to learn how to be in His presence.
S: Study
You have journaled and experienced God’s presence. You have now created a space where you can study His word. This is where the verse of the day or passage of the day comes into play. (This is where the Bible App is helpful for me.) I encourage you to write down the verse/passage of the day. Then to say the verse/passage out loud. There is a lot of power when we speak scripture out loud. During this time, try to memorize the verse. The more that we memorize, the more that we can know the Truth.
The Bible App has a verse of the day each day. If you are unsure where to start or begin, you can also download the app and read the verse. The cool thing about the Bible app, it will direct you the the passage where the daily Bible verse is at. So you can read the whole passage.
U: Understand
Now that you have read and wrote down your Bible verse/passage, now it is time to understand it. Reading the whole passage around the verse is a good way to understand it. I encourage you to ask yourself a few questions about the verse/passage:
What does this verse teach me about God?
What does this verse teach me about myself?
How can I apply it to my life?
Scripture can feel like a bunch of words sometimes and its easy to just check it off our list of to do’s. We want to be intentional with understanding the verse/passage. What has helped me in the past is praying before reading/understanding the verse. Asking God to open up my mind and heart to receive His message. If my day or morning has been hectic, I usually ask Him to help with the distractions so I can focus on us.
S: Speak
Once you have completed the journaling, experience, study, and understanding. It is time to speak it. With everything that you have just completed, I encourage you to pray to God about it. Speak it out loud if you can. Speak to God about the verse and pray the verse over your life. Like I said earlier, be real with God. Tell Him your prayer requests and questions. Thank Him for all that He has done for us. Speaking out loud to God can be weird if you have not done it before. By doing this, we will get more comfortable about it. We will have more confidence when it comes to strangers, friends, co-workers, etc. The power of speaking God’s Word is huge!
The relationship we have with God is a relationship that can always grow. We can always invest more time, and by doing this we learn so much about Him and ourselves. I will be starting this today, I encourage you to do it with me. I am available to walk through this journey with you. You can always reach out to me if you have questions or thoughts. I would love to hear about your journey through this challenge. You can always email me at breeashleyblog@gmail.com or by going to Contact Us at the top of the page and it will send a message to my email.
Created for a purpose.
