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<Previous Message Next Message> Wednesday, August 20, 2014
"A Spiritual Audit" Listen to us read this message on your audio player. (Note: We have been making podcasts for several days but I had forgotten to reinsert the link!!!) "But let a man examine himself" (1 Corinthians 11:28a). "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). Yesterday we had an energy audit from a representative for PPL, our local electric utility. He walked through our home, suggesting ways we could save on our electric bill and even made some small improvements to increase our energy efficiency. His advice was quite helpful but the audit also included some free energy saving items like LED bulbs. Free is usually good! To me a helpful feature of an audit is a check-off list such as status of insulation, windows and doors, hot water heater, HVAC system and so forth. This can be helpful in analyzing and I tend to be a very analytical person. For instance he told me that for each degree the temp is lowered in the summer (A/C) it will increase the A/C portion of my electric bill by 1%. I suppose I personally determine it's worth having the temperature set to where we are comfortable based on this! Today's short first Scripture verse is in the context of sharing Communion at the Lord's Table. Before one eats and drinks of the emblems representing the broken Body and shed blood of Christ he is to examine himself. Of utmost importance in this personal exam is the answer to these foundational questions, "Do I have saving faith in Christ?" (Romans 10:8,9). "Do I have any unconfessed sin in my heart?" (1 John 1:9). The second text speaks of a vitally important test, "Am I 'in the faith'"? In his article "The Place Of Self-examination" by S. Lewis Johnson he comments concerning this verse, "There are literally millions of professing Christians who need to pay attention to this statement of the apostle. They have entered into a shallow commitment to Christianity, they’ve joined the church, they’ve been baptized or they’ve done other things that might make them think that they are genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve been encouraged to think that, by men who’ve not been careful to point out that there is more to becoming a Christian than subscribing to a statement. They don’t hate sin. They don’t love holiness. They do not pray. They do not study the word of God. They do not walk humbly with God. These individuals, so many of them stand in the same danger in which the Corinthians stood. And the apostle’s words, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves,” are valid words that each of us should ponder." Self-examination or a spiritual audit is important so that we correct ourselves on a regular basis to make certain we continue to bring glory to God in the manner in which we live our lives. Colossians 1:10-12 provides a list of audit items for our consideration. I will phrase them as personal questions:
Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, I ask myself, "Am I living in a manner worthy of Your name? Do I seek to please You rather than myself? Does the fruit of my labor reflect the Spirit of Christ living within my heart? Do I have a zeal for the things of Christ and a desire to know Him better, to reflect His character every day in my life? Am I steady or do I sputter in my Christian influence?" Father, in all these things I want to be more like Christ, consistent in the ways that bring glory to Your name and growth in my spiritual nature. I want my spiritual walk to be the most important pursuit of my life as I journey here below so that I may influence as many as possible to live for Jesus. It is in His name that I pray. Amen. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Search Me, O God" Video Steve Green "Lord, I Want To Be Like Jesus" Video Fernando Ortega To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials) 1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only. 2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print. 3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.) 4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.) 5) Print! Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." © Copyright 2014 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |