New Year Challenge

Every year on this day, we spend time looking back over the previous 365(6) days and making resolutions for the coming year.  So as we start the year of our Lord 2017, let’s begin by analyzing what God has done in our lives last year and asking ourselves these questions.

• Who is on the throne of my heart?  God or myself?
• With whom am I spending the majority of my time?  God?  A computer, phone or tablet screen?
• Have I grown in my knowledge and relationship with the Lord?
• What new things have I learned about the God I serve?
• Have I grown stronger in my battle again my sinful nature so that the things that I struggled with last year are not nearly as powerful in my life now? 
• Do I love the Lord and the things of the Lord more now than I did before?

These are difficult questions to answer honestly with ourselves.  However, this is crucial to our spiritual well-being.  As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians (13:5):  

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

​So go back and reread those questions, answering honestly with yourself.  And when you’re done, I have one more test for you!  This is one that I occasionally like to bring out and use on myself as a “recheck” to see how I’m doing in my spiritual walk.  So please, do not use this as condemnation, but like a health check up and physical exam on your relationship with your loving, Abba Father.

Heart Examination by Alex and Brett Harris

​1) How often do you pray to God because you believe that He hears you and answers your prayers?
a. Never         b. Occasionally       c. Often


2) How often do you read your Bible because you believe that it’s God’s living Word?
a. Never         b. Occasionally        c. Often


3) How often do you obey God even when it hurts
​because you believe that His way is best and you trust Him?
a. Never       b. Occasionally        c. Often


4) Based on your answers, do you see enough evidence that you are indeed a born again Christian?
a. Yes                b. No


5) If not, do you want to become a born again Christian?
Do you believe that Christ has the power to save?
a. Yes                 b. No


6) Do you want to be able to change your answers in the future?
a. Yes               b. No


​7) How are you going to change your life? 

How did you do?  Painful, isn’t it?!  But it’s a good pricking that is meant to prompt us and spur us on to go higher and deeper into our Christian life and relationship with God.  So by now you’re probably like, “What now?”  “How can I grow as a Christian?”  “What should I do next?”  The answer is to pray, asking the Lord to reveal Himself to you, and dive into His Word which is His guidebook to life and love letter to you.  And if you’d like some structure, accountability, and fellowship in this endeavor, please join me in studying the book of Ruth!*  Next week, I will be starting a new Bible Study series about what I’m learning and finding in this wonderful book and will be using Word in the Family’s Sword Study as my guide.

​So join me in discovering how Ruth’s story parallels our story, and how her kinsman redeemer is a picture of our great Savior, Jesus Christ.

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*I also have a completed series on John 7-21 available under “Bible Studies”