A New Year's Spiritual Evaluation
The New Year affords a great opportunity to do a spiritual evaluation. Setting physical goals, financial goals, relational goals are all good and healthy. But your spiritual health should not be ignored. To help you evaluate your spiritual condition and set spiritual goals here are ten signs for you to consider.
Just as there are warning signs for our physical health – high blood pressure, high white blood cell count, high cholesterol. There are warning signs for our spiritual health. These ten signs will help you evaluate your spiritual life. This may not be an exhaustive list but it is helpful in starting your new year off right.
You Take God's Grace for Granted
The message of the Gospel is incredible. Jesus loves us so much He died on the cross for our sins so we can be reconciled with God. His grace forgives us and welcomes us into a relationship with Him. This should never cease to lead us to gratitude and when we no longer are moved by it there is a problem.
You Are Bored by Church Services
Going to church becomes another obligation we must fulfill - like doing laundry, paying bills and preparing meals. We begin to think like a consumer not a parishioner. We focus on externals: being "fed", the quality of the kid's ministry and whether we "feel" the Spirit. We don't prepare to worship, we expect the church service to do it all for us.
You Don't Care About the Lost
We have been given a Great Commission to share the Gospel. We are Christ's ambassadors proclaiming his message of reconciliation. We should be praying daily for those we know who don't know Christ and doing whatever we can to help them to get saved. But we are more focused on our own needs than the greatest single need of any person.
You Are More Attracted to Worldly Things Than Spiritual Ones
We spend time and money pursuing things that have no eternal value. We are drawn to what the world offers rather than what Christ calls us to. Our interests are increasingly about things that can lead to sin or take us away from where we should be. Temptations are not resisted but rationalized.
You Are Not Serving in the Church
Every Christ follower has been given spiritual gifts. We are to use them in service to others. Yet, we spend our time on what we want to do rather than what needs we can meet. Jesus is our example of servanthood and we should be serving others instead we selfishly focus on our own interests.
You Are Not Making Jesus First in Your Life
Jesus should be our first priority. Our lives need to be centered on doing His will. Of the many options for how we spend our time and money Jesus needs to truly be first. He should be more than just our professed priority and our actions will reveal it. One look at our checkbook and datebook will show if He is really first or not.
You Have No Regular Devotional Life
Each day a Christ follower needs to spend time with Jesus in prayer and Bible reading. A regular devotional time is crucial spiritually just like regular eating and exercise are vital for physical health. A growing relationship with Jesus is impossible if no time is spent with Him on a regular basis.
You Are Not Giving to God's Work
Generosity is the hallmark of Christianity. The Bible is abundantly clear that everything we have is God's and not tithing and giving offerings is robbery of God. When you spend all your money on your wants and needs and there is nothing left for God there is a problem. Justifications for not giving may abound but God's expectations are undeniable.
You Frequently Miss Church Services
Attending church services provides a weekly opportunity to worship with other Christ followers, hear God's Word proclaimed and fellowship together. It is what it means to be part of a local church. Frequently missing services makes it highly unlikely you can grow spiritually and connect relationally.
You Are Not Honest With Yourself
When Aaron made the golden calf and Moses asked him how it happened Aaron was not honest with himself or Moses. He did not own the fact that he had made an idol. Looking at these warning signs means nothing if we are not honest about where we are at spiritually. No one can do this self-evaluation but you.
