| Mark Edward |

Transparency Moment:

As much as I love mentoring and being involved in the spiritual journeys of other men, I recently un-followed a young friend on Instagram.

My IG stream was deluged with selfies. Constantly.

Lots of them. Every day.

Sometimes, several times a day.

My new beard.

My new sunglasses.

My cool shirt.

My shirtless shot.

My abs.

My new skinny jeans.

Abs AND Skinny Jeans. All in One Selfie.

My trimmed eyebrows.

My bleached 3-day beard.

My tanned ear lobes.

My sand in my ear from the beach.

My close up every one of my amazing facial features.

My.

My, My.

My, My, My.

That Mop Bucket, Though…

Oh.

I forgot, “My Ankles.”

Seriously, was it really that bad?

Yes. It was.

A picture of his ankles, bahaha. I’m not making that up.

Standing in front of the mirror and thinking about how we appear is an integral part of our masculine identity.

It goes with the healthy maturing process of young men in their teens and twenties.

I get that.

I did it too (I once had abs like the dude a couple of pics up, but no smart phone with which to dazzle my girl friend).

But.

There is a balance.

There is a line we can cross where we become too self-absorbed.

In the “last days” the Word says men will be “lovers of self”.

Narcissism.

No where is that more evident than in the social media at large.

Question:

That is the question.

The answer is:

Has the constant barrage of social media robbed you of your love for God’s Word?

Do you spend more time following others than following Him?

Does your actual bible even get opened regularly? Daily? Weekly?

If opened – do you love it – or dread it?

Is it like dry stale cereal?

Are you thinking,

Would someone please click ‘LIKE’ on my IG so that a red notification heart will conveniently interrupt this boring Bible chapter?

(Clicking ‘LIKE’ on your IG beard selfie of course.)

I spend a good deal of time on social media using it as tool to bless and help men.

And to stalk my children.

Yet, I have asked myself these same questions recently.

If the answer to any of these questions is YES – and – you really want your passion back for God’s Word; better than it’s ever been –

Then I ask you to take a simple 30 day challenge with me.

Yeah, yeah, there are 152,000,000 blogs out there.

A new one is created every 1/2 second.

Each with its own “must read” link.

A zillion with their own 7 day, 15 day, 30 day, 90 day “challenge.”

But I gotta tell you. I’ve personally proven this challenge over 27 years.

This one works. This one’s life changing.

Has your passion for God’s Word expired?

You can get it refired.

The Challenge is Very Simple:

That’s all?

Yes.

That is all.

Mark, uh, doesn’t that chapter have 176 (One HUNDRED Seventy Six) verses??

Yep.

“It doth,” said King James.

But, at a normal out-loud reading pace, you’ll cover the chapter in only 18 minutes.

Including time for Selah (King James term for ah-hah moments).

Which you will have.

.If you stick with it.

Speaking of King James. God love him. But don’t use him for this challenge.

I recommend The New Living. Better yet, try alternating translations.

New Living one day, ESV the next, The Message Bible the next.

Or just use the Bible you have.

This is my 6th or 7th time to commit to this challenge since 1987.

It works.

For real.

If you give this chapter 100% of your heart, soul, and attention, for just 18 minutes a day, you will soon be sending me messages about that same heart being transformed.

Even before the end of 30 days.

Here’s what it’s done for me. Every time:

My passion and love for God’s Word came BACK!
I made wiser decisions.
I heard more clearly from God regarding my destiny and my future.
I overcame temptation so much easier. Especially sexual temptation.
My confidence as a masculine godly male skyrocketed.
My regained a proper perspective on life.
Order, peace, calmness, clarity, direction…and so much more, exploded in my heart, during each challenge.

Here’s Your Simple Guide.

1) Use a Real Bible.

I love my smartphone Bible app, but for this challenge, hold the actual Word in your hands.

2) Close the door. Turn off all electronics. Including Your phone.

What?

Yes. Your phone.

3) Read Aloud.

Yes, read the entire passage aloud.

TIP: As you read aloud, replace the various words shown below with, “WORD” (meaning God’s Word).

For example:

The page reads,
“I have recited aloud all your REGULATIONS you have given us. I have rejoiced in your LAWS.”

Instead, say:

“I have recited all of your WORD you have given us. I have rejoiced in your WORD.”

This is a safe translation substitute.

Doing this will rekindle the revelation of just how critically important His Word is in our daily lives.

4) Stay Encouraged.
If you miss a day, jump back in the next day.

You can actually start any time during the month, not just the first.

It’s not too late.

But give it 30 days of genuine commitment.

It’s just 18 minutes.

You don’t have to sign up for anything.

I won’t be blasting your e-mail box daily about The Psalm 119 Challenge.

For maximum benefit and encouragement, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: The group campaign is over, but you can still take The Challenge of course. Send me an email to let me know you’re taking the challenge and I’ll stick with you!)

We’ll be posting verses that are life changing from Psalm 119. I’ll be asking you to post passages that stand out to you as well.

Use the hashtag #psalm119.

The links for fb and twitter are at the bottom of this article.

Guys, I don’t usually do this, but I am asking each of my followers to take this challenge with me.

Make it a serious part of your God Walk for just 30 days.

We all have crazy busy lives.

That’s actually part of the problem.

We don’t know how to shut down.

Shut off.

Or hear from God.

We struggle with the same things over.

And over.

Get your passion back for God’s Black and White Word.

Take this challenge with me!

I love you guys, I believe in you, and I am for you big time!

Question:

That is the question.

Answer:

Let me know when you get your passion back.

I”m working on mine too.

— Mark Edward

Feel free to reply below or email us privately if you don’t want your mother stalking your personal business.

We never share email addresses.

We won’t blow up your IN box. We don’t air your dirty laundry. Ever.

This article was first published on the site, I’d Rather Talk ™

What? Not following us on Social Media?

We don’t clog up your feed. We don’t tweet hourly. We don’t care about Likes. We don’t need more Followers for our ego. We don’t post closeups of Shrimp Cocktail.

Insights tastefully cybered to men. Once in a while.