It’s spring! Get ready for deep cleaning!

April’s “28-Day Challenge” is focused on taking serious action with the junk that we have allowed to stay in the closets of our mind and heart.

This particular challenge was inspired by my late Aunt Laverne who years ago challenged me to read the entire book of Philippians in my Bible every day for 30 days straight.  She boldly assured me, “it will change your life!”

Aunt Laverne knew that the Bible is a type of washing machine; it agitates us until all the dirt is loosened from our minds and hearts and then rinses us with the pure water of Truth and fills us with clean joy.

I am ashamed to say that I never took my Aunt Laverne up on her challenge because I now know first-hand how living and powerful God’s Word is.

While musing on this and how to form the April challenge, a paragraph jumped out at me in a book I’m reading by Grant Jeffrey titled, Jesus, The Great Debate. In Chapter 15, The Impact of Jesus’ Life on World History, Jeffrey states, “Tragically, during the last forty years, the Bible has been relegated to the dusty bookshelves of our homes and the libraries of our nations.”¹He later concludes, “We have sown a wind of secularism, modernism, and shifting moral values. As a direct result, we are now reaping a whirlwind of immorality, sexually transmitted disease, corruption, and violent crime. The only hope that exists for our individual, national, spiritual, and institutional recovery is to return to the spiritual values that originally formed the foundation of North American national life—the teaching of Jesus Christ, as found in the Word of God.”

We need only turn on the news to know the truth of that statement. If you’ve read this column for any length of time, you know I believe that each of us individually, in order to impact the whole, must clean out our own stuff before we point fingers at what’s wrong with our world.

And, if you read my articles, you also know that I believe that when we get the log out of our own eye, we can see clearer to help others; thus the reason for these 28-day challenges.

Make no mistake, these “28-day Challenges” are simply a method, nothing more. They are for motivation, accountability and encouragement. However, the message is still the same: GOD FIRST.

Want to join me in pursuing holiness?

Here’s the pledge: “I will read the entire book of Philippians every day for 28 days straight.” You can see the particulars (a.k.a. “The Rules”) on my website: www.ccsemick.com.

God is very serious and deliberate about the cleanliness of our soul:

“But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10 NLT)

Here are a few of the areas God will cleanse us in through  His ALL-PURPOSE CLEANSER of Philippians: Thankfulness, Joy, Encouragement, Prayer, Purpose, Attitude, Humility, Conduct, Unity, Work Ethics, Life Goals, Thought Life, Focus.

Who will help us with this monumental house-cleaning job?

God: the Architect of our soul’s house.

God the Son, Jesus Christ: the Planner of all cleaning projects, the Perfect Interior Designer, the Way (to clean), the Truth (of what really needs cleaning) and the Life (that makes all things fresh and clean)!

God the Holy Spirit: the Cleansing Agent, the Organizer, the Advisor, the Launderer, the Power!

God’s Word tells us that that if we earnestly search for Him, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). If you are ready for a real, deep cleaning in your spiritual life, join me in April for this exciting, vigorous 28-day challenge!

P.S. If you missed the “Sweet Lips” challenge, you can now buy the book! Go to the “SHOP” page on my website: www.ccsemick.com

¹ Jeffrey, Grant, Jesus—The Great Debate. Ontario: Frontier Research Publications, 1999