Tag Archives: Examine yourself

Examine yourselves – do not fail the test

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“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5

 

There’s sin in every church and in every Christian life. The question is whether we are repentant or not. Do we own up to our shortcomings and failings or do we try to brush them under the rug, keeping up pleasant appearances while things are rotting inside? Christ doesn’t call us to be perfect and faultless. In fact, he died for us precisely when we were still sinners. He doesn’t call us to be perfect but he does call us to be real….imperfect men and women of integrity, always aiming higher, always drawing intentionally closer to God.

 

One of the ways real Christians do this is to honestly examine themselves. Not satisfied with the title of “Christian” and beyond churchy talk and behavior, real Christians are called to look closely within and conduct spiritual checkups. Not content with playing the charade, they want to be “all in”, actively surrendering to God’s agenda for their whole life.

 

If being a real Christian were a job, would I be considered part-time or full-time?

 

Spiritual checkups aren’t for the part-time Christian. Each time I do one, I realize how far I fall short. It’s humbling. But it’s the only way to draw closer to God, to lay it all out in submission to him. What does a spiritual checkup look like? There’s no one size fits all, but here are some questions, if you’re up for the test:

 

Am I increasingly aware of the presence of Christ in my daily life? Am I quick to acknowledge him and turn to him when I feel attacked, hurt, or troubled? Do I invite him into my conversations? Is he in charge of my to-do list? Do I quickly turn to him in praise for so many blessings? Is he part of my life or is-he-my-life?!

 

Beyond practicing the presence of God in the details of my life, including my priorities and ambitions….am I living in his power? Am I purposefully creating boundaries that invite his protection of my heart and my family? Do I rely more on him or on my own abilities to succeed, to overcome sin, and to extend grace to others? Am I living for all life can offer me or am I constantly dying to self so God can offer all he is in me? When I need to confront others, does the love and joy of Jesus guide me or is it just good deeds? Am I taking active and intentional steps to draw close to God? If I’m not moving toward him, I’m falling away from him.  There’s no middle ground. Am I actively applying the Word of God to the details of my life or am I content to know about the Word? Am I always trying to look strong or do I invite God to display his strength in my weakness?

 

If God’s presence and power is evident as the mainstays of your life, then prayer is too. Are my prayers an after thought to my established plans? Are they a mere plea to be rescued from distress? Are they focused on primarily on me and those close to me or on who God is and his heart for the rest of the world? Are my prayers more about comfort for me or compassion for others?

 

The world knows real Christians from imposters. The test is their love, or rather the love of God that flows through them. Let’s determine to examine ourselves and not fail the test. Let’s aim higher today by purposefully drawing closer to God and letting him live through our transformed lives.

 

The battle for who’s right

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There was discord and disagreement.  A battle over whose voice would prevail. Finger pointing and plenty of blame to go around. Who’s right and who’s wrong. Words that should have been left unsaid were spoken in frustration and anger. It seemed everyone was keeping score. Does it sound like a political debate? Or a recent business meeting, or maybe a family gathering?  It seems that wherever two or three gather together there is room for disagreement. Everyone wants to be heard. Truthfully, we’d all like to have it our way.

 

It’s a scene that has been played out to various degrees over the centuries and is plenty common today in our communities, our businesses, our homes, and sometimes even in our churches. It was the situation when Paul was writing the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11). There were disagreements over whether men and women should cover their heads or not, disagreements over the length of hair, even disagreements when they came together to commemorate the Lord’s Supper. Paul reprimanded them for their divisive behaviors, offering really good counsel – for them – and for us today:

 

Everyone ought to examine themselves… (V 28)

 

What does examining ourselves do to a disagreement? Examining ourselves checks our motives. Do we want to understand the other person as much as we want to be understood? Are we seeking a wise and just resolution to the problem or do we just want to be right? Is it our intent to build understanding or to attack? Are we interested in peace or just giving someone a piece of our mind? (Be careful, we all only have so many pieces!)

 

Examining ourselves also checks our behaviors. I spent decades of my life working in crisis deescalation situations. One of the key lessons learned was to examine our own body language: our posture, our muscle tension (relaxed, not clenched), our tone of voice, facial expression, and words. The louder the other person became, the softer we would speak. Examining our behavior defuses a fueled situation. It speaks calm and compassion, first to ourselves and then to others. It’s one thing to be firm and stand our ground and quite another to belittle another person.

 

While examining ourselves is a practical and helpful discipline toward resolving disagreement, there’s an even more effective approach. Jesus said that wherever two or three gather together in his name, he would be there also. Jesus, with his authority, grace, wisdom, love, and power is ready to present himself whenever we invite him into our discussions, whether they be about politics, business, or who takes out the garbage. We learn to follow the example of Jesus when we invite him into the fray of our disagreements. When he is the head, we have fewer battles about whose idea prevails because the matter is submitted to him first, and we seek to follow his example in building understanding and unity.

 

When do we examine ourselves? Paul instructed that we should do this before taking communion. Actually, each and every meal invites us to quiet ourselves before God, to humbly confess our wayward ways, and ask him to bless us with his presence. We could gain a greater sense of peace and harmony if we’d learn to examine ourselves whenever we meet with others, especially when disagreements abound.

 

The battle over who is going to be right, especially over trivial matters, is better shifted to who is going to behave rightly. Let’s find many opportunities to invite Jesus into the business of our daily lives, and especially into our relationships. And may peace be yours to enjoy and share.

 

The ‘X’ in our lives

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As we near the end of our alphabet of verses to live by, the only bible verse I know that starts with the letter ‘X’ is found in Esther 2:17 (Contemporary English Version): “Xerxes liked Esther more than he did any of the other young women.” It’s not really one of those top memory verses but perhaps it behooves us to look at some of Esther’s godly traits that led her to be so honored.

 

She exalted God. The Psalmist wrote, “exalt the Lord our God.” (Psalm 99:5)  Esther exalted God by trusting and obeying Him even when speaking God’s truth may have threatened her own life. How about you? Is exalting God part of who you are? Beyond singing songs in church, is He lifted up and esteemed above all in your life? Do others know that you acclaim Him to be the One True God?    I’m afraid my actions sometimes reveal I esteem God less than other things in my life. I need this reminder to exalt God in my daily life.

 

Esther trusted God because she knew His promises were true. As Peter writes, “eXceeding great and precious promises are given unto us.” (2 Peter 1:4) Maybe where you are sitting at this moment, it’s hard to see God’s promises as true. Perhaps you’ve asked and asked for His goodness to be revealed in your life and in others but see no answers. Maybe you’ve desperately lived a life of praise and thanksgiving and yet still feel empty and unfulfilled. The sorrows of life may be washing over you “like sea billows roll,” drowning you in their midst. But God is faithful. It is who He is; He cannot be untrue to His name. We see dimly now, but we will one day see clearly that his exceeding and great, true promises were, are, and will always be given to those who trust in Him, just as they were proclaimed and revealed in Esther’s life.

 

“Let us eXamine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40)  It seems that Esther examined herself in the eyes of the Lord and with respect to her position before her King, Xerxes. She also examined the situation in which she was thrust. She trusted God who gave her an understanding of the times. In so doing, she commanded the respect of the king who offered her half of his kingdom in one request. Instead of boasting in such a great worldly gift, her humility and faithfulness brought about the salvation of all her people. We are well advised to examine ourselves before our great God, and consider our agendas in light of His desire to save those around us.

 

Exalt God in our daily life.

Examine ourselves in His sight.

Believe His exceeding and great promises are given to us.

 

Live the adventure of the cross as the ‘x‘ in your life!