When is Good - Good Enough?

We are told over and over to do our best. Leave it all on the floor. Give yourself totally to the task or game. Be the best. Don’t settle for less. Rise above the crowd. Be an over-achiever.

But, really, is this as good as it sounds? There is absolutely no way we can do our absolute best on everything in life – work, home, marriage, parenting, cooking, ministry, appearance, etc… Just think of each thing you do each day, if you took the time to do your absolute best on each item, you would be a worn out mess before your second cup of coffee! Your relationships would be strained. Your nerves would be fraying.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t do well. God tells us “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) He says whatever. Meaning everything. But He doesn’t say do your best at it. Do it perfect.

So when is good… good enough? In all the whatevers I do each day, how do I know when and where to do a good job and when and where to slow down and do my absolute best?

I think if we look at our tasks and ask a question. In 1 Corinthians 9:19 Paul states his purpose in what he does. “…to win as many as possible.” (NIV) To win souls to salvation. His goal is to lead others to the cross. To show them Christ.

His goal is not to impress others. To win a title. To reach his personal best.  To climb the ladder. To gain respect. His goal is for others. For their good. The winning is not for my good, but for the good of others.

Will spotless floors in my kitchen win more people to Christ?

Will magazine-worthy landscaping help me spread the gospel?

Will 92 quarts of home- canned green beans help me share God’s love?

The answer could be yes. We could join a gardening club with the purpose of building relationships and sharing God’s word with others. We could use the canned goods to share with neighbors and create opportunities to share the gospel. The spotless home could gain me the prestige to join a coffee group and share God’s work in my life. They all could help me win more. And if so, I need to do my best at them.

But if I’m just doing all these things for me, or to fill my time, or these things keep me too busy to share with others, aren’t they just in the way?

Titus 2 tells us to be busy at home. Busy is good. But so busy that I cannot be involved in bible study or outreach or ministry is not what He meant. We need to evaluate the things in our lives that we are called to do like being a wife, mom and witness of Christ. Then do those things to the best of our ability. Our absolute best.  The other things can be done to the standard of good. Good is good enough.

Where eternity counts, do your best….don’t settle for less…leave it all on the floor. Win more.

How will you win more? Leave a comment, share your thoughts on this, I'd love to hear your ideas!

blessings,

Sharon

This World Is Not My Home

We took a “girls” day recently. We shopped, laughed and just enjoyed a day away. Then we stopped at Hobby Lobby. Walking down the home décor aisles, my heart was lifted. The beautiful things around me were like fresh spring air after a long winter.

My feelings couldn’t be contained. “Ahhhh! My heart feels like it’s at home!” I took a deep breath to drink it all in. Sigh. If it weren’t for Dave (Ramsey, that is), my cart would have been full with all the wonders my eyes beheld.

In a world of sin and decay, our hearts long for home. Home. The word stirs up warm fuzzy feelings for most of us, whether it’s the place we grew up or the place we’ve created as adults. Home. Ahhhh! Sigh. Its where we are accepted. Loved. Comfortable. Where we belong.

Zephaniah 3:20

“At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

When we see the spiritual decline in a nation that once honored the Lord, it saddens our hearts. It seems this moral mess is beyond repair. And the daily struggle to not get sucked in is exhausting. We long for home. Reminds me of an old song we used to sing….

This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

We don’t belong here. We were made to live with God. Made to enjoy and freely praise Him. Made for that relationship.  But until departure time, we must endure, persevere and keep our sights on Home.

What things make you long for home?

Who Is The Cheerleader? God Or You?

The sound of March Madness has filled our home lately. The squeaking of shoes on the court, the cheers of the crowd, the commentary of the announcers... The excitement in the air can almost be felt through the TV. I am not really interested in basketball, instead I am more entertained by commercials and the NCAA commercial caught my attention with the tag line “Think of us as your cheerleader.”  In fact, it got me to thinking about my spiritual “game”.

Makes me think about the streets of Jerusalem as they were filled with excitement on one very special day 1,980 years ago. People lined the streets, palm branches waving.  Exuberance filled the air. “Hosannah!” “Hosannah!” They had waited for a deliverer, and as Jesus rode into the city they cheered Him on. The One on the donkey didn’t join in the enthusiasm. Instead, He wept, saddened by their lack of belief. They wanted Him to deliver them, but on their own terms and in their own way. They wanted Him to meet their expectations. They weren’t cheering because of Who He was, but for who they wanted Him to be. They wanted physical deliverance; He came to bring spiritual deliverance.

Often, I want God to be my cheerleader, to bring about my plans and in my timing,  I want the warm fuzzy feelings. “Bless ME…Bless ME…Bless ME!” I say. I want physical blessings here and now. I want God to fit in the box I designed to suit my purposes. I get it turned around. Backwards.

He gave up His life for mine and brought me spiritual blessings. Redemption. Salvation. Sanctifiaction. He has blessed me. He is my deliverer. And His plans and timing are far superior to my own.  I should be His cheerleader, so to speak. I should be praising Him…shouting about His greatness… cheering Him on in His will…getting others excited over His love. 

Psalm 63:3-5 (NIV)

³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Psalm 35:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you

Prayer and Praise While I Wait

We recently finished up our study of James and chapter 5 left me with a lot to think about.

It’s so easy to envy the wicked. They seem to have abundance, answer to no one and have all the fun…. At least that is what Satan wants me to believe. But God reminds me of the truth. The truth of eternity.  And it is because of this truth that I can push aside the envy and be patient, waiting on God.

With spring approaching, I have been eagerly perusing the racks of seeds on display in the home improvement stores. My mind envisions plants of zucchini, tomatoes, snap peas, and basil growing in the sunshine this summer. I can’t wait to plant my garden, but the cold weather insists that I be patient and wait.

Once I do get to plant it, there will be more waiting to be done. But as I wait, I will can busy myself with weeding, watching for bugs, fertilizing, watering and caring for the plants as they grow, anticipating the delicious veggies that will be produced. I don’t exactly enjoy all these tasks, but the end product is definitely worth it all!

My heart is a lot like a spiritual garden. I can’t expect fruit without the work or in the wrong season. As I anticipate Christ’s return I can busy myself planting seeds of the gospel and serving others in His love. I don’t always enjoy each and every task or see the progress, but the benefits far outweigh this; establishing in my heart a steadfastness that will not crumble and definitely worth it all!

I cannot forget that in all this planting, serving and waiting, prayer and praise play a big part.  In fact, prayer and praise should be where I begin. And if God is my number one bestie and main focus, prayer and praise will come more naturally.

These two actions produce trust, security, joy, healing, confession and power. All things I will need as I wait. And I will be too busy to have time to envy.

Isaiah 40:31 (NAS) “but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”

Humble, Humble, Humble

The desires that battle with in me have a huge pull on my heart and devotion. I want my way, I want to go and do and have. As a little girl in kindergarten, I envied my friend’s pretty curls and wanted them.  I even prayed over and over that God would give me curly hair. He never did. Why not? I asked purely for my own satisfaction. All for me, me, me with no desire to please God.

Friendship with the world. God calls this adultery. Unfaithfulness to the One and Only. I can’t love God and be or even wish to be friends with the world. Straddling the fence is making a choice. And it’s a bad choice that sets me as an enemy to God. Not a place I want to be, no, sir! 

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Verse 6)  It is pride that makes me want to belong in the world. To fit in and look normal. To do what everyone else is doing. To be noticed and liked. To be my own boss. Pride in my heart says “I know what’s best for me, I don’t really need God.”

I must put on humility to overcome the desire to rule my own life. It takes humility to be able to see that I don’t have to fit in.  With humility I can lovingly serve those in the world and won’t need to be loved by the world. Like everyone, I want to be first or best or served. Humility is the quality that settles my heart and waits for God will lift me up.

Submit…Resist…Come…Wash…Purify…Grieve…Mourn…Wail...Change…Humble. Whew! Sounds like a lot to do, but when I truly submit my heart to God and resist the devil, the rest will follow in that path. I will want to come near and then I will see my need to wash, purify, and grieve over my sin.

blessings,
Sharon

 

Wisdom, Genuine or Counterfeit, That is the Question.

Welcome back! We are in James 3:13-18 this week, and we are half way done with our study. There is so much packed into this short book, and its been so fun to study it with you!

There are two kinds of wisdom, one from God (the genuine article) and the other a counterfeit version from the Father of Lies.  James makes it clear that the earthly variety looks like wisdom and can be mistaken for true wisdom of the heavenly variety.

When we break this passage down into 2 lists and it’s hard to see how one could get the 2 confused. Bitter envy on one side and mercy on the other.  Selfish ambition vs humility.  Disorder vs peace- loving. Doesn’t sound too easy to mistake one for the other to me.  But they can and do get confused, even by the most well-intentioned of us.

Sometimes we live as if sin labeled with “good judgment” or “standing on a principle” somehow gets excused. Attempts to manipulate and cajole others to get our way - done in the name of what is “right” - seem to be acceptable and the label of selfishness never crosses our minds.  Attitudes we have towards others often lack the love we are called to have and we “ok” this as we point out how “wrong” the other is in certain ways. We lack grace and impress our standards on others and view them with contempt when they don’t measure up, forgetting that God calls us to first be concerned with our own sin before we help others with theirs.  We withhold forgiveness or refuse to settle a dispute because the other is so “wrong” and we leave behind our call to be peaceable.  It makes perfect sense in human reasoning and without giving it a second thought, we fail to see our sin for what it is and assume we are “right” before God.

So how can we know which wisdom we have? This is a very important issue which we see by the way James describes it. Earthly, unspiritual, demon-like.  A close examination is needed and I think honesty is key here.  We hold certain view points and attitudes for so long, they feel so comfy and oh so right. Bringing them to God and being willing to be wrong about being right is where we need to begin.

“Do not boast about it or deny the truth.” (v 14) Its so much easier to deny the truth about our sin. To rationalize it and somehow tell ourselves that God would put His stamp of approval on this one because we have good cause for it. But that leaves us treading on thin ice, it’s just not going to hold us up. (Psalm 35:2-3; Isaiah 5:20-21; Jeremiah 8:6b)

But I don’t want to stay focused on the negative, let’s ask God to examine our hearts and then humbly accept what He shows us, seek forgiveness and repentance then move on to the positives. What we can become.

Have you ever noticed that after you have decided to eat healthy, you spot the donuts sitting on the counter. If you repeatedly reprimand yourself for wanting one, “No, you’re not eating one of those, you ate too much junk today already, it’s not good for you…” pretty soon you find yourself munching on one? But, if you remind yourself how healthy you will feel if you don’t eat it, and how good that pomegranate is, and how much you love the strawberries and oranges sitting there as well, it is easier to skip the donut? Beating yourself up doesn’t encourage positive actions. Focusing on what we can be turns us towards growth. Not perfect, but growing, and that’s the goal.

When we look at the list of Wisdom from above, we see character traits that Jesus has. Pure…Peace-loving…considerate…submissive…full of mercy…impartial…sincere…humble.  We are called to be transformed to be like Him. (Romans 8.29) He is our example. When we follow him, starting at the heart level, we will end up with the wisdom from above. We can be peace-loving…pure…condiderate…merciful…humble…just like Him. That will lead us to real wisdom.

What are your thoughts on wisdom? Do you see counterfeit wisdom pop up in your life? How do you teach yourself to follow godly wisdom instead?  Leave a comment below.  :)
 
Blessings,
Sharon

Taming The Terrible Tongue

Ready for more on James? This week we studied the first half of James chapter 3. It is easy to read these 12 verses, nod our heads and agree that we all need to tame our tongues; it’s difficult to do but we all could use some work in this area. Right? Sometimes we read a familiar passage like this and then proceed on our merry way.

But God’s word is intended to be like a light shining into our lives. Like a mirror held up to our hearts to show us what is really in there (and sometimes that is not a pretty sight, no it’s not…Ugh!) and what we can become (which is a sight of true beauty).

This focus of this passage is the tongue, our speech, what we say. We can’t brush past the first 2 verses just because we do not hold the title of teacher. James points out that those who teach (and we use our tongues to teach) will be judged more strictly as teaching brings more responsibility and more accountability. Don’t we all fit into this category at times? When we share Christ with someone? When we plant a spiritual seed in someone’s life?

James compares the tongue to bits in horses’ mouths, rudders on ships and forest fires started with one tiny spark. Such small things produce large effects. Our tongues make up a small portion of our body but can set the course of our lives on fire.  “It corrupts the whole person” and holds the power of life and death. (Proverbs 18.21) “All kinds of animals… can be tamed… but no man can tame the tongue.” What?! This sounds like a hopeless situation! If we can’t tame our tongues, we are doomed!

We use our tongues to praise God when we are in church, when the sun is shining, when things are hunky-dory.  We also use the same tongues to complain when the dishwasher breaks, gossip about someone who is not meeting our expectations, and cut others down when they get under our skin. “This should not be!”

It’s not enough to just try to clean up our speech, try not to put others down and not to swear. That won’t fix the problem. It’s what’s in the heart that comes out of the mouth (Matthew 12:34) and our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), so what are we to do? What’s in the heart starts the spark.
But don’t despair, my dear. God is here to rescue us from this deadly poison. With Him, all things are possible. The can’t-do becomes something we can do. We can tame the tongue, with the help of His power. We can be made new in the attitude of our minds (heart), how we think, what we value, where our choices are made. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

What we are connected to is what comes out of us. (John 15) Do we truly have the Living Water? (John 7:38) Or have we dug our own cisterns? (Isaiah 2:12-13) If we are connected to the Vine, we will bear good fruit that pleases God and this will be reflected in our speech. If we are connected to the world and self we will not bear fruit and the end result is not good. It may be time for fruit examination. Is there fruit in your life? Not fruit from years ago, fresh fruit. And is it good fruit?

Is It Faith Alone or By Works?

This our 4^th week studying James in our Ladies Bible Study on Monday evenings and I’m so glad to have you join us for the weekly recap! It has been so much fun digging in and studying scripture and using our own pretty little heads to think it through. Yes, sir, we are becoming scholars for sure! Well, maybe we have a way to go to achieve that title, but we’re getting closer, don’t you agree?  There is a lot to discuss in this passage, so let’s get started before our coffee cools.

V 14 If we claim to have faith in God but there is no evidence in our lives, what good is that faith? Can faith that just sits and doesn’t produce anything save you? Scripture makes it clear that we are saved by faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28) But this whole passage seems to suggest otherwise. 

Verse 17 “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Verse 20  “…faith without deeds is useless.”  Verse 26 “…so faith without deeds is dead.”

V 19 Mere belief in God is not enough. Even the demons believe in God. They know He is real, the only true God, and they know His power. They know this strongly enough to shudder. But there is a difference between believing in God and believing God. Many people believe in God and that seems like enough to them. But to believe that He exists is one thing. To believe what He says so completely that it affects how you live is quite another.

V 15-16 Its meeting the everyday needs of those around us that God is interested in.   Not necessarily because they are so loveable. Or because we have warm fuzzy feelings for them and we want to reach out and help. We show them love because the love of the Father is in us. How does this go along with faith? Galatians 5:6 gives us a hint, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

V 20-24 The best way to explain this is to look at Abraham.  Genesis 22 tells the story of God providing a sacrificial lamb in place of Isaac. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son to show His love for God. AND ABRAHAM OBEYED! Did you catch that? As a mom, I struggle with this passage. What if Abraham had said “No.”? What if he took time to think about it, to rationalize that it certainly wasn’t God’s voice he heard. That God really didn’t want him to do that. But that is where Abraham and I are different. He had a stronger faith than I do; at least at this point in my walk. He trusted God enough to gather wood and fire. To take his son and walk up the mountain. To build the altar. To tell his son “God will provide the lamb.” That, my friends, is faith. Real-live faith. The genuine article, not a reproduction. And it wow’s me each time I read it. When I grow up, I want to have that kind of faith, yes, I do!

Abraham’s faith was expressed by his actions. His faith was made evident by his actions. Faith with feet. Faith that doesn’t move you is dead. Faith with feet that compels you to live it out is alive and real.

V 25-26 Rahab had that kind of faith too. “…was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did?” Though she knew less about God than Abraham did, she acted on that knowledge. It affected her actions. Rahab’s story is a picture of the gospel. She knew she was doomed to destruction. She knew who the true God was. It was those beliefs that compelled her to risk her life to secure deliverance for herself and her family. If she had only suspected that their God was real and powerful, it wouldn’t have been strong enough to develop into that action.

V 22-24 “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

Being a doer and not just a hearer proves your faith. I thing the following two passages help explain this, I will leave you with these to think on all day. I can’t think of a better way to use those brain cells, can you?

Colossians 1:10-12 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[a] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Rom 2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

Romans 4:2-5 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

 

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!

 

blessings,

Sharon

Do You REALLY Keep the Royal Law?

I’m so glad you’re back! This week we discussed James chapter 2:1-13. In just 13 verses, James packs a lot of meat for us to chew. In case you’re just joining us, you can catch up on the first 2 posts on James here and here. If you would like to read along in James, Biblegateway is an awesome resource for that.

V 1-4 Don’t show favoritism. We all know this, don’t we? The situation he brings up is a classic. And none of us would be that blatant about showing favoritism to the well-dressed visitor versus the shabby-looking visitor.  Would we? Nope, we are way more clever than that. We tend to avoid the overly needy, not wanting to start something we might not want to continue. What if they become too dependent on me? What if they need my help more than I want to help? And so it is much easier to reach out to those less needy, those who are less likely to follow us home and invade our lives like a lost puppy. Yup, that’s favoritism. In its sneakiest form. And God says its evil. Ouch.

V 5-7 Moving right along, James talks about the poor and the rich. This is not to say that all poor are good and all rich are bad, that would contradict other scripture. He is speaking to their specific situation at that time, but carries a spiritual parallel as well.

God chose the poor to be rich in faith. Poor in the eyes of the world, that is, which is not necessarily poor financially, though it could be.  Jesus points out in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  If you contrast that whole passage against our society, you get one very poor person in society’s eyes –humble, meek, merciful, peacemaker. Yes indeed, He chose those who are poor to inherit the kingdom.

Check out Revelations 3:17-20 “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Are you poor or rich in heart? Do you have needs only God can fill or have all your needs been met? That is the question.

V 8-11 “If you really keep the royal law…” Really? Really, as in truly, for real, not show.  Sincerely love others as you love yourself. Treat them as you would want to be treated. We all want the bigger cookie, so loving others as I love myself would mean giving everyone else the bigger cookie. Giving the bigger cookie only to the more loveable and likeable is not just selfish, its sin and leaves us convicted.

That’s his point. We can’t keep the whole law. Especially when we apply it the way Jesus interprets it, at the heart level. We are incapable of being good enough on our own. We are all in the same boat. This is why favoritism is so wrong. No person is better than the next. We are all wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked without Christ.

V 12 So….speak and act like someone who will be judged by the law that gives freedom. Law that gives freedom… an oxymoron.  But not in God’s world. His law sets us free. We can live in freedom vs. bondage to sin.

V 13 Be merciful = receive mercy. Withhold mercy to others = receive judgement without mercy. That’s pretty straight forward. A true servant of Christ shows mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

It’s important to remember again who this is written to. Out of love and concern for the scattered church, James is willing to be hard on them. Consider him their coach. “Don’t give up! I know it hurts, I know you feel like you need a rest right now, but keep going. It will be worth it. We will have victory! Stay in the game, don’t slack on the court.”

It never ceases to amaze me how the word of God, written almost 2000 years ago can apply to the everyday in my life in 2013. Coach James is there to encourage me, to push me to walk in that freedom. “Don’t get sucked into giving preference to some people and avoiding others….Remember who you are…Love your neighbor…Speak and act from a heart that is grateful for mercy received and pass that mercy on to others. Don’t give up, don’t get comfy in this life, look forward to the next.”

Leave your thoughts in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you!

Blessings,
Sharon

Is Your Religion Worthless?

Howdy! So glad to see you joined me for the recap of week 2 of our Bible Study on James! It’s so good to have you here! Brrr! It’s cold outside, its currently -13 as I write this (wind chill is -49), does that even qualify as cold, or is it more like frozen? Anyway,  grab something warm to drink and let’s get started.

Most of us are familiar with this passage in James 1:19-27.

Be quick to listen…Be slow to speak…Be slow to become angry…Get rid of all moral filth…Get rid of all the evil so prevalent among you…Humbly accept the word planted in you (this can save you)…Do not just listen to the word…Do what it says…Look intently into the perfect law…Don’t forget what it says…Keep a tight rein on your tongue…Look after orphans and widows…

Such good and needed instruction packed neatly into one little passage. It’s like a power packed vitamin for the believer’s soul.  

Wait a minute! Remember who James is talking to? The scattered Christians. They left homes and families, were running for their lives…. Maybe I’m just a softie, but doesn’t it seem that a little compassion and care would be more appropriate? They need a hug not a lecture! This feels a bit harsh, like he is beating them while they are down.

But I think if I step back from my feelings and look at the big picture, I will see that he is writing from a heart that is deeply concerned for these people. I can even feel an urgency. They are facing various trials (not the I-have-a-flat-tire kind of trials but more like the running-for-your-life kind of trials), yet he knows the importance for them to keep on keeping on in the faith. Difficult times can make us want to rest, coast, take a break, catch our breath. But James urges them to keep on. “This can save you.” Their eternal destination, and that of others is what is most important and James lovingly points them to that.

On the surface, it may appear they needed a shoulder to cry on, but at the heart of things, what they really needed was strength. And James delivers. It’s a message of “Don’t give up when it’s difficult. Don’t quit. Don’t join the crowd to fit in. Don’t seek comfort. Don’t forget the goal. Don’t deceive yourselves. Don’t fall into a worthless religion. Remember what it’s all about.” Strength is found in Christ. They knew this. But our thinking gets clouded when we face trials and we need to be reminded of the facts. To follow the facts, not feelings.

There is so much in this passage we can take away for our lives. It’s almost too much to put into one post. In fact, this is the second draft of this post. The first one was way too long and I’m pretty sure I heard some of you yawn part way through, so I opened up a new, fresh page to begin a shorter version.  

Again, it’s already pretty long and I haven’t even gotten to application yet (stay with me, we’re almost done). So, I will make it short and sweet. I will just list some questions to ask yourself.  Answer honestly before God. You’ll have to be a big girl and read the passage for yourself and ask God to show you what He wants you to apply in your life. Be sure your religion isn't worthless.

By the way, if you click on“comments” below, you can let me know your take-away application- hint, hint, hint…

Questions to Self:

How much do I listen vs. talk?
How quickly do I get angry?
What is my focus/goal when I am angry?
Is it a focus that would please God?
Will that focus help me grow more like Christ?
What moral filth or evil do I need to get rid of?
Have I humbled my heart?
Have I accepted what the Holy Spirit teaches as the true way or just an option?
Do I put what I learn into action?
Am I careful that what I listen to and study is the perfect law (God’s word)?
Do I study intently and internalize it?
Do I keep a tight rein on my tongue? (this will help answer the next question)
 Is my religion worthless or faultless and pure and accepted by God?
Do I minister to orphans and widows, people in distress?

Blessings,

Sharon