Your Daily Devotional for November 28, 2007

 

November 28,  2007

 

 

Examining, Maturing, and Changing

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

 

Psalm 139:23–24

 

 

What would it take for you to be like a John Wesley, Amy Carmichael, Paul Bunyan, or George Whitefield? What is it that separates the heroic saint from the average Christian? These godly saints had one thing in common—they committed themselves to grow in the Lord. They ignored the pull of mediocrity and dedicated themselves to mature spiritually.

 

You and I have the same potential to be used of God. The questions to ask that differentiate the average from the stagnant are, "Are you growing or maturing spiritually? Are you doing something today to better mature yourself in the Lord?" Carefully consider each question below, examine your spiritual growth, and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you in areas that need to be changed:

 

Am I faithful to spend time in God's Word and in prayer?

Do I smile and have a kind word for people, regardless of how I feel physically?

Do I tell the truth?

Do I ask the Lord for wisdom, knowledge, patience, and longsuffering to handle the problems and circumstances of each day?

Do I have anything (book, tool, money, etc.) in my possession that does not rightly belong to me?

Do I get easily offended and have my feelings hurt when something in the church does not suit me?

Is the reputation or character of another person safe in my hands?

Can I be trusted in an emergency?

Is jealousy in my own heart causing problems with other people?

Have I hurt someone in my church or in my family by needless talk about them or their faults?

Do I have secret sins that I make excuses for?

Do I read the Bible with a goal to find Scripture that justifies my sins?

Do I worry over things that I absolutely have no control over?

 

First John 1:8–10 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Don't let today be just another day. Before facing your daily routines, determine to make today different! Examine your Christian life, mature in your spiritual walk, and ask the Holy Spirit for strength to help you change to be more like our Lord.

 

Daily Bible Reading

Ezekiel 33-34 • 1 Peter 5

 

 

 

 

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