Check It Out

January is usually inventory month in the business world. Just as taking inventory in the business world is an absolute necessity, it is also needful and essential in the spiritual realm!

Let me share with you some questions that you and I need to ask ourselves frequently, and honestly answer them so that we can make a good spiritual inventory of our Christian lives.
1. Am I known as a Christian where I work and live?
2. Is Jesus Christ loved and respected or despised and rejected because of the way that I live in front of others?
3. Do those who know me best believe in me the most?
4. Do people know me as a person whose salvation experience made a change for the better in my life?
5. Is it possible that I claim to be a Christian but I harbor an unforgiving spirit toward others and I nurse a grudge toward someone else?
6. Do I try to find time every day for Bible study and unhurried prayer?
7. Am I able to work with other people? Can other people work with me? Am I hard to get along with?
8. Do I criticize the Pastor, the church and other Christians in front of my children, spouse, and my friends?
9. Do I have a secret longing to be the first to be recognized and praised? Or can I truly say that it does not matter who is second, third or fourth, so long as Jesus Christ is always first and gets all the glory, honor and praise?
10. What can I do now that I could not accomplish two or three years ago? Am I able to lead another person to Christ? Am I able to distinguish Holy Spirit guidence from my own desires? Am I consistently using opportunities to excerise my spiritual gifts for the glory of God?
11. Do I really enjoy an extended time of prayer and Bible study or do I resent the extra time it takes away from other things?

Dear friend, stop and prayerfully take time right now to do a Holy Spirit led, soul-searching spiritual inventory.

Now, as we look forward to 2012, I pray and trust the Lord that it will be a great year for us invidually and for us as a church body! We have many things that we want to accomplish in 2012 and we invite you to get involved and be a part of this work, for the glory of God!

We would like to win more souls to Christ than last year, we would like to baptize more people than last year, we want to increase our prayer and financial support to missions, we want to see all of our people enjoy a closer walk with the Lord and, among other things, we have several projects we need to do to improve our church facilities. Let's all do more for the Lord, grow more in the Lord and make this the greatest year in our lives so far for the Lord's Kingdom work!

Check It Out,
Pastor David Blevins