the “Official” 2017 Spiritual Cleanse will begin on November 28, 2017, on our Facebook Ministry Page. To learn more about just what a Spiritual Cleanse is, read here! I will post ten prompts to guide you through 10 days that will help you detoxify from the negativity and hopelessness that crashes against you.
I will post the daily prompts on Facebook, so look for them there! At the end of the 10 days, I will post them all here so you can do the cleanse any time you wish during 2018.
Day 1
Romans 12:18 says: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Find ways today to bridge the gap between you and another person where you feel that there is a disconnect of some sort.
Ask questions, listen thoughtfully, don’t formulate a response as you listen.
Apologize if need be without defending your actions.
Day 2
1 Cor 6: 12 – “All things are lawful for me but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.”
Technology is a beautiful thing, and social media can be encouraging, inspirational, and motivating in its proper place. However, ask yourself these questions.
Are you present and attentive to those you are currently with or are you avoiding face-to-face, heart-to-heart connection by using a tiny screen as a shield between you and your loved ones?
Do people have to call your name several times before you finally look up from the screen?
Do you accuse your child/spouse of being inattentive when in fact you taught them by your example that inattentiveness is to be expected from those you love?
If you answered either of these questions with a ‘yes,’ power down your cell phone, iPads, and computers during family mealtimes.
During this spiritual cleanse, try to use your phone only when your children are asleep or busy with other activities. Make eye-contact when someone is speaking to you.
Spend time with the Lord and repent of hiding behind technology and seek reconciliation with those you have hurt through your inattentiveness
Cautionary note:
This is YOUR spiritual cleanse and not your family’s!! Once you have done your best to seek reconciliation with those you have hurt, THEN an opportunity might arise where you can speak into their device usage.
Day 3
Romans 16:19 says, “Be excellent at what is good, be innocent of evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet!”
Turn off your favourite shock jock on the radio and don’t visit your favourite political blog that makes you ‘feel good and angry’ for a day or so.
Do something good today and do it with excellence! Look for something wonderful to share with another person today; it can be a simple as pointing out a sunset.
Suspect the best in people and be the last to suspect the worst. Cleanse your spirit of toxic negativity by feasting on the goodness of God.
Day 4
Mark 6:31 (NASB) – He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
As the Christmas season approaches and family, work, and church obligations increase, our spirits can become burdened and heavy.
Today, sit down with your daily planner, calendar, or smartphone and pencil in at least a couple of hours a week for just “Jesus and me” time. Go for a walk, listen to worship music or draw a bath. Take up Jesus’ invitation to “come away to a secluded place and find rest.” Feast on His presence and be renewed. By today, your spiritual cleanse should be having some effect on your everyday life. Perhaps you are feeling relief from being burdened by the toxicity or perhaps you are feeling anxious because your go-to comforts are not there. Take those feelings to the Lord in prayer.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with reading a well-crafted novel or watching a favourite program on TV or Netflix! However, there are some books, television shows, and other forms of entertainment that if we were honest with ourselves, we would feel uncomfortable viewing if we knew Jesus was sitting on our couch, watching what we are watching.
Take a moment today in that silent place, and ask the Holy Spirit if there are some things you are participating in or viewing that grieves His heart. Ask Him to convict you if you consistently look to television, movies, and other forms of entertainment as a way to dull pain or avoid unresolved issues.
Turn off the TV, shut that book, and look into His face. Your breath might be taken away by the love in His eyes and His passionate determination to woo your heart!
All Bible verses, unless otherwise attributed, are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
html for spiritual cleanse
Day 1
Romans 12:18 says: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Find ways today to bridge the gap between you and another person where you feel that there is a disconnect of some sort. Ask questions, listen thoughtfully, don’t formulate a response as you listen. Apologize if need be without defending your actions.
Day 2
1 Cor 6: 12 – “All things are lawful for me but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.”
Technology is a beautiful thing, and social media can be encouraging, inspirational, and motivating in its proper place. However, ask yourself these questions.
Are you present and attentive to those you are currently with or are you avoiding face-to-face, heart-to-heart connection by using a tiny screen as a shield between you and your loved ones?
Do people have to call your name several times before you finally look up from the screen?
Do you accuse your child/spouse of being inattentive when in fact you taught them by your example that inattentiveness is to be expected from those you love?
If you answered either of these questions with a ‘yes,’ power down your cell phone, iPads, and computers during family mealtimes.
During this spiritual cleanse, try to use your phone only when your children are asleep or busy with other activities. Make eye-contact when someone is speaking to you.
Spend time with the Lord and repent of hiding behind technology and seek reconciliation with those you have hurt through your inattentiveness
Cautionary note: This is YOUR spiritual cleanse and not your family’s!! Once you have done your best to seek reconciliation with those you have hurt, THEN an opportunity might arise where you can speak into their device usage.
Day 3
Romans 16:19 says, “Be excellent at what is good, be innocent of evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet!” Turn off your favourite shock jock on the radio and don’t visit your favourite political blog that makes you ‘feel good and angry’ for a day or so. Do something good today and do it with excellence! Look for something wonderful to share with another person today; it can be a simple as pointing out a sunset. Suspect the best in people and be the last to suspect the worst. Cleanse your spirit of toxic negativity by feasting on the goodness of God.
Day 4
Mark 6:31 (NASB) – He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
As the Christmas season approaches and family, work, and church obligations increase, our spirits can become burdened and heavy.
Today, sit down with your daily planner, calendar, or smartphone and pencil in at least a couple of hours a week for just “Jesus and me” time. Go for a walk, listen to worship music or draw a bath. Take up Jesus’ invitation to “come away to a secluded place and find rest.” Feast on His presence and be renewed. By today, your spiritual cleanse should be having some effect on your everyday life. Perhaps you are feeling relief from being burdened by the toxicity or perhaps you are feeling anxious because your go-to comforts are not there. Take those feelings to the Lord in prayer.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with reading a well-crafted novel or watching a favourite program on TV or Netflix! However, there are some books, television shows, and other forms of entertainment that if we were honest with ourselves, we would feel uncomfortable viewing if we knew Jesus was sitting on our couch, watching what we are watching.
Take a moment today in that silent place, and ask the Holy Spirit if there are some things you are participating in or viewing that grieves His heart. Ask Him to convict you if you consistently look to television, movies, and other forms of entertainment as a way to dull pain or avoid unresolved issues.
Turn off the TV, shut that book, and look into His face. Your breath might be taken away by the love in His eyes and His passionate determination to woo your heart!
Consider the following quote by C S Lewis, then ask yourself this question. “Are there friendships I have neglected, simply because they began to get too close to those hidden places in my heart that the Lord wants to touch through their ‘steadfast’ love?” If so take a brave step and seek them out, let them back into your life. If you don’t have such friendships, ask yourself a hard question. “Do I put up walls that others subconsciously feel and therefore take a step back from that wall?”
“We need at times, some of us at most times, that Charity from others which, being Love Himself in them, loves the unlovable. But this, though a sort of love we need, is not the sort we want. We want to be loved for our cleverness, beauty, generosity, fairness, usefulness. The first hint that anyone is offering us the highest love of all is a terrible shock. This is so well recognized that spiteful people will pretend to be loving us with Charity precisely because they know that it will wound us. To say to one who expects a renewal of Affection, Friendship, or Eros, “I forgive you as a Christian” is merely a way of continuing the quarrel. Those who say it are of course lying. But the thing would not be falsely said in order to wound unless, if it were true, it would be wounding.” – C S Lewis
What you focus on in Social Media is what Social Media will feed you. What you don’t comment on, like, dislike, share, or retweet is duly noted as well. The less you interact with certain subjects, Facebook pages, or tweets the less you will see them.
Start commenting on the positive things that come across your newsfeeds. If a friend or a ministry posts an uplifting quote, meme, or article you like, share it! At the very least, ‘like’ it. Within days, you’ll notice a distinct change on your various Social Media newsfeeds!
Go one step further, and start posting the good you see in the world around you. There is ALWAYS good to be found! Perhaps God will use your positivity to help another person begin a spiritual cleanse of their own.
Where is Your Focus?
Philippians 4:8 – “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Meditate on this verse over the next several days and daily take one of the attributes listed above, asking yourself these two questions.
1. How does God display this attribute in His interactions with me and the world around me? If you draw a blank at first, it might be helpful to ask the question in the morning and to keep your eyes open throughout the day; God is always on the move, but sometimes we have to learn how to redirect our focus. He loves to reveal Himself to those who are eager to see His ways. 2. How do I represent this attribute in my interactions with God and the world around me? Ask the Lord for help if you find you are lacking any of these character traits. (Lovely can be a personality trait – guys, you are not off the hook!)
If your interior world is full of negative self-talk, you will view your world through the filtered lens of that negativity.
Mark 12:29-31 – Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
How well do you love yourself? How patient are you with your character defects? Are you gracious toward yourself?
Does your attitude toward yourself line up with 1 Corinthians 13:4-6? “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Take time today to forgive yourself for not living up to impossible standards you set for yourself. You will find it easier to see the world around you through God’s eyes when you remove the spiritual blinders of self-hatred.
You have a voice, and you have choices as to how you will use that voice.
You can influence the world around you by promoting your speculations and opinions as truth. You can allow your world to control you, resulting in you being a mere parrot repeating what your cultural bias prompts you to speak, Or you can spend time with God to gain His perspective and dismantle your fleshly perspective. Only then can you truly choose to use your voice to bring peace, life, light, encouragement, reason, truth, and hope to the world that desperately needs it.
The choice is yours. You can do all things THROUGH Christ who strengthens you!
Congratulations on making it to Day 10! May your Spiritual Cleanse become an essential component of your lifestyle in 2018!
Until Next Week
©2017 Katherine Walden
Sign up to receive a weekly emailed devotional by Katherine by using the following form.