31 Day Challenge

Photo by: (c) huhulin www.fotosearch.com Stock Photography

31 Day Challenge

A thought to ponder.... 

I wonder if there were to be a poll on how many Christians grumble against each other, what the outcome would be?

In July, I got the chance to go to a Ladies Camp Retreat. I had the most amazing enlightening privilege and experience of listening to the guest speaker, Kari Patterson, teach about One Courageous Community within our churches. The theme verse was John 17:11 “That they may be one as we are one.” When Christians are not unified and are divided, they cannot produce the fruit that God intended them to produce. In order to reach the lost, we must be unified with one spirit and one mind and live in a Christ-like manner. We cannot be isolated into groups, ostracizing each other, treating each other as outsiders, and causing strife, for if we do, we only demonstrate that the community within our churches is fragile and fracturing. If the vine is fractured and splitting into pieces, it will not grow and produce fruit. We must love and serve one another.

At the end of the camp retreat, Kari asked us to take on the 31-day challenge of practicing with friends and family to transform ourselves into being more Christ-like and strive to attain that one community - one spirit and one mind. Within the next few posts on my blog, I want to share a few of these challenges to help others grow into One Courageous Community. And if you have never heard Kari Patterson speak, I encourage women ministries at churches to attend one of her engagements.

One of the first biggest challenges brought to my attention at the camp and one I really struggled with is,  don’t grumble against each other. I think that this is something we can all struggle with and are all guilty of doing. There have been times in my life when I grumbled about someone and then later felt convicted about what I said. I thought to myself, "I just failed God in so many ways." My mouth was spewing out poison. In the book of James, chapter 5, verse 9, it states, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” We are told not to grumble against each other, but when certain people aggravate you, or they are rude to you, or they are unkind to you,  it can be difficult not to grumble or complain about them. However, it is so important that we speak encouraging and positive words about each other. We are to love one another and speak in a positive light. 

In Exodus 16 and 17, the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and Aaron. They could only think of themselves and their circumstances. They blamed Moses and Aaron for leading them into their present situation. They were so focused on themselves and their struggles that they forgot it was God who led them out of slavery. They should have been focusing on God, and praising him for all he had done for them. 

Grumbling can be a cancer that can grow and spread division. By not grumbling against each other, we can take the first step in demonstrating a Christ-like character and a step towards having a one unified courageous community.

Love to you all and God Bless!
Carol