Day 1 of 365

It is July 1st and that means that my one year Radical Experiment begins today! I am so excited and I praise God for this opportunity He has given me to bring glory to Him! 

Challenge 1: Pray for the World

Today through July 4th, I am praying for India. Using Jason Mandryk's book, Operation World, my prayers today focus on the political, economic and social challenges to this country. My prayers are that India's leaders may: 

• continue to uphold the constitution by maintaining religious freedom
• uproot corruption in all levels of government
• tackle the serious ills of society
• address the growing threat of Maoist/Naxalite insurgency 
• manage the economic situation with wisdom and
• wisely address increasing threats to stability 

(Operation World, p. 409)

Challenge 2: Read through the entire Word

I am finishing up Proverbs and starting Ecclesiastes in my "Bible in 90 Days" plan. God has used Proverbs to teach me more about wisdom(she is more precious than jewels and nothing you desire can compare with her -Proverbs 3:15). I especially loved reading Proverbs 8- The Blessings of Wisdom.  God has also reminded me how important it is to control our tongues. Many passages speak about the mouth, the tongue and our words. I cannot write them all out here, but here are some of the references I found- Proverbs 5:24, 6:17, 8:6-11, 10:8, 11-13, 18, 19-21, 31-32; 11:13, 12:16-19, 22-23, 25; 13:3, 14:3, 17-18, 29-30; 15:1-4, 7, 18, 26; 16:13, 24, 32; 17:27-28; 18: 4, 19; 19:1, 11; 20:3, 19-20; 21:23, 22:24-25, 23:16, 24:26, 25:11-13, 15; 26: 4, 17, 20, 28; 28:23. 29:9, 11, 20, 22) It amazed me how many times Solomon addresses this issue and how relevant it is in every aspect of my life. Finally, God also showed me how a wife can either be a gift from God (Proverbs 5:18-19, 12:4a, 18:22 and of course, chapter 31-The Woman Who Fears the Lord) or a curse if she is quarrelsome and fretful (Proverbs 12:4b, 19:13b, 21:9 and 19, 25:24, 27:15-16).

Challenge 3: Sacrifice my money to a specific purpose

I have chosen to give to Samaritans Purse (samaritanspurse.org) I have been on their website multiple times, but just saw that there is catastrophic flooding in India- the country I am praying for today. If you would like to read more about this, here is the link. 

Challenge 4: To give my time in another context and Challenge 5: To commit our lives to multiplying community 

I cannot comment on these two challenges yet since it is only day 1, but I hope to share what happens in the future. 

Psalm 150

Let Everything Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens! 

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness! 

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp! 

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!