“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” Herbert Spencer

The Gospel puts that even more bluntly.
“Knowledge puffs up but love builds up”
It goes on to tell us how to love: ‘in action and in truth’, for love gives. Love is action!
The 30-day Challenge will build you up through ‘action… in truth’, rather than puff up the head with mere information. It will be your opportunity to prove Truth, shared in this course.
The 4 steps to this Challenge are the same as in Unit 2, Lesson 2, on principles of personal transformation.
You are encouraged to re read the lesson, while thinking through what you need to change the most in your life. Remember that the goal is a change of nature; who you are, more that what you become. As God told me:
“Not what, but who. Not how, but when.”
Not what you become but who you become. Not what will get you there but who will. Not how, but when; the due time.
So, Love is the standard – as we ought to be – for we were created in the ‘image of God and after (His) likeness.’
And “God is Love”, the ultimate Giver.
In Unit 2, we gave the Gospel’s definition of Love.ppp
The task is to choose from any of the 7 Streams in Unit 3, an area of your life that you are ‘fed up’ with, and you truly desire a change. You will work at it over the next 30 days.
It will not be easy. But let this thought motivate you: you will get more out of life, the better you become as a person. Life rewards our value per time, not our time per se or our wishes, no matter how dear those wishes are to us.
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”
Always remember that.
You will engage in one or more of 5 spiritual disciplines over the 30-days of the Challenge.
These disciplines are:
1. Prayer. Learn to talk to God, as you would your father, because He is your Father, “your life”, if you have chosen to serve Him.
It is a good practice to have formal prayers at set times but this is about acknowledging God at all times. So, start with talking to Him before you take that decision or say that harsh word or do whatever. It is called practicing His presence. Would you steal, or kill or commit any other ‘sin’, if you ‘knew’ at that moment that God was right there with you, and not someplace far off in the heavens; or waiting for ‘prayer time’ to settle the matter with you?
This step is vital and must be top priority.
2. Meditation. Thinking time. This is the practice of solitude and silence. Like prayer, it is vital and highly recommended for daily practice. It is a fast from people and too much talk, even the much talk of ‘prayer’.
This is twofold.
One, you think deeply about your desire/ desires in line with Truth. What does it mean to you? Where are you now in the Love journey? What are your next steps.
Two, you ‘talk’ Truth to yourself. No matter your circumstances, learn to talk God’s truth to yourself daily. Circumstances are temporal and so, subject to change, remember? But God’s truth ‘abides forever.’
Meditation is best done in solitude. We are not as indispensable as we think. No one is, really. Learn to stay apart from the crowd intentionally. I recommend early in the morning but it could be at any time convenient for you.
Start with even 5 minutes a day. Grow organically from there. An hour a day would be a great standard to keep. A full day’s fast from people, once a month, would be fantastic. You will be the richer for the solitude, as you develop the necessary perspective of life. You will discover that people will get on with life, with or without you. That is precisely what happens at death. Life moves on without you!
3. Fasting. Contrary to what most people think, fasting neither moves God nor changes His laws. Rather, fasting empowers your spirit, to over ride the indulgent flesh. You will discover that hunger will not ‘kill’ you despite the protestations from the stomach! You will begin to ‘see’ beyond the material.
This practice is best done continually, what is called the ‘fasted life’. It can also take many forms of abstinence and not just from food and drink. It can be fasting from swear words, or TV or social media, or from people, even from self; whatever you choose, for a period of time.
The duration can always be increased or decreased as you please. The point is to abstain from any regular activity, so as to subdue the flesh intentionally, for spiritual pursuits.
Discipline is actually a form of fast, a fast of deliberately saying No to the ‘desires of the flesh and mind’, in order to say Yes to the ‘desires of the heart’.
4. Good works. This is a fast from your self consumption. Many people do ‘good works’ on the run. A tip here and there, a smile etc. But this again is about intentionality. On this fast, do not seek what the world can do for you, seek rather, what you can do for the world.
Look out for a person or persons you can be of some help to. It may or may not be financial help. Perhaps an encouraging word, a smile, assistance in a task, whatever. You will find ‘them’ all around you! Remember, we tend to see what we are looking for!
5. Worship. In this fast, you are not asking or doing anything for self or others but simply being thankful to God for who He is. This is perhaps best done through nature: savour the trees, and the birds happily chirping away; the joy of loving and being loved by family and friends; the preciousness of health; the pleasure of taking in a good breath etc.
When we understand who God really is, the Ultimate Giver who has freely given us, ‘richly, all things to enjoy’, we cannot but give Him praise continually, by the “fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name (Hashem:The Name’ to Jews)” Gospel
“O that men would praise the LORD, for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men.” Torah
These disciplines are not a 30-day wonder. They must become a part of your life going forward. The MaxLife, like excellence, is a journey that we never complete.
To be like God will take a lifetime and more, for the ‘fall’ of man was great indeed!! So, keep at it until you transit into another realm in the continuum.
The 30-day challenge will only be the beginning of an exciting journey of detachment from the cares and stress of this world, into the warm and loving embrace in the arms of your Maker, in trusting surrender to His love. The outcome will be ‘peace and joy’ in the heart.
You will also discover that you will become more valuable to your world, and richer too, with enduring riches and not just the fleeting riches of this world. Indeed, you will have both!!
Just one of those mysteries of life, that those who think more of God and eternity and less of this world, get more from this world and do the most for it, as C.S. Lewis rightly observed.
Now, please download the Challenge sheet and craft yours. You can do it on paper or electronically. No matter.
I wish you Godspeed.