Written by Missionary Bruce
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ”
One thing I’ve learned about this Christian walk is that we really must take the opportunity to regularly ‘self-audit’ ourselves and work on the areas where we fall short. It may be easier to look at what everyone is doing around you, but it is necessary for us to take a close look at ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to clean up the areas in our lives that are lacking. Today, I will be focusing on three scriptures that shows you how important it is to self-audit. Looking in the mirror will allow you to see yourself and identify what the issues are that may be holding you back from growing spiritually in Christ.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
It may be easy to attend church services, listen to sermons, and to read the bible but it is important that we be doers of the Word of God. For example, when God tells us to forgive, do we truly forgive? When he tells us to have faith, do we trust in God completely that he will come through for us? We must ask ourselves these questions daily to ensure that we are trying our best to do the Will of God. We are supposed to be examples who allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. The only way to truly live out the complete Will of God is by demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit in our actions. For example, if you are someone that lacks patience, try your best to remain calm in situations that would usually upset you. If we listen to the Word of God and then do the opposite to what we’ve heard and learned, then we are only deceiving ourselves.
“Examine yourself, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
The definition of the word ‘examine’ is to inspect in detail to determine their nature or condition; to investigate thoroughly. In this scripture, Paul mentions the important of self-examination.
We must locate the areas that may be holding us back. If we do not see ourselves then how can we work on anything? If we think nothing is wrong with us, then we will be open to the devices of the enemy. We have to recognize that God is working on all of us and it is important to allow the Holy Spirit to clean up our ways.
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considereth not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
In this scripture, Jesus is talking about people who are so quick to highlight the shortcomings of others but won’t see their own issues. It may be easy to examine others and see where they come up short, but it is important to recognize the areas that we need to work on. This is the only way we can overcome temptations. Once again, it is very important for us as believers that we check ourselves. Let us make sure that our hearts and minds are ready to fully embody this walk that we decided to take when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He shows us the way. We can do all things through him because he is the one that strengthen us. We are not in this alone! He is here to help guide us, but we must be willing to put in the effort. Let us all continue to work on ourselves so that when it is all said and done, our heavenly Father will look at us and say “well done, my good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21.
God Bless you all.