Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Morning Questions


I was out of town this past weekend and haven’t yet listened to Sunday’s sermon on tape, so I’d like to share something else that came across my path this week…

Paul Heil, in his "Gospel Greats Weekly Newsletter," recently noted that John Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist movement, “developed an interesting list of thought-provoking questions, designed as a daily self-evaluation for Christians. Wesley published it in various forms throughout his lifetime”… Below are some of the questions he included. Perhaps they would be useful for challenging us at the start of each day, or as a once-a-week spiritual inventory…

• Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
• Am I enjoying prayer? [I like Wesley’s word, “enjoying.” Doesn’t it make sense that fellowship with God should have an element of enjoyment?]
• Is Christ real to me?
• Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
• How do I spend my spare time?
• Do I pray about the money I spend?
• Do I laugh at the mistakes of others, reveling in their errors or misfortunes?
• Do I insist on having my own way?
• Do I handle discouragement well or do I have to be coddled?
• Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?

And let’s add a couple more that might help us establish perspective at the start of a day:

• Have I given God this day as His to do as He pleases in it?
• Have I given Him myself as His servant?
• Is my desire and prayer that He be honored in the eyes of others through all I am and do today?
• Am I willing to be inconvenienced, stretched, demeaned, or tested for His purposes and glory?
• Am I entering this day with a pilgrim mindset, positive and persevering, looking forward to the promise of eternal life with Christ?

One caution – some of us are prone to go easy on ourselves; others of us beat ourselves up needlessly. Ask your questions prayerfully, and let the Holy Spirit answer them. After all, it’s His perspective that matters. Ask for His forgiveness when necessary; receive His commendation when you’ve done well. And then go into the day filled with God-confidence and God-sufficiency, for if God is for you, who can be against you?

1 comment:

A. Suzanne Miller said...

Wonderful! I needed this today Sandy!