Tag Archives: Self Examination

Self-Examination

Living in the Spirit
October 8, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:33-46

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.—Matthew 21:43-46

Is “them” us? In times Like these people of faith must look inward and assess whether they are building a better world or standing as a barrier to a world ruled by love. This accounting goes beyond the standard examination of “ but we have always done it this way” which by the way is never true. Few things have not changed even in our lifetime much less the centuries before our existence.  No, this review requires us to hold our actions and beliefs next to the standards of God and determine what is in sync with God and what is not. Truth is like the Pharisees we may follow practices and tenets that at one time made sense but do not any longer, like how folks lived when they thought the earth was flat and how that changed when the discovery came that it was not. Some things will always stand the test of time; other things never did.

The only reason the Pharisees in our scripture today curbed their behavior is because they feared the crowd. Please take note, our beliefs and actions matter, which make it even more important that we take the time to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling* and not latch on knee-jerk responses perhaps provided by others who hold their interest above all others.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, teach us your way and your will and give us the courage to follow both. Amen.

*See Philippians 2:12

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Self-Examination

Living in the Spirit
August 2, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 17:1-7,15

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
   give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
From you let my vindication come;
   let your eyes see the right.
If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
   if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
   my mouth does not transgress.
As for what others do, by the word of your lips
   I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
   my feet have not slipped. –Psalm 17:1-5

Apparently, the author of this Psalm felt the need to justify this prayer. First, the Psalm professes the justice of a plea for vindication and then it itemizes the worthiness of the one making the supplication. I assume the person praying feels unjustly accused of wrongdoing. In high school, I was called to the office and questioned about missing money from the snack bar collections made at a basketball game the night before. Both the superintendent and principal were present and very serious. I was in charge of the snack bar and left the money box as instructed as we closed. I had no explanation for why there was money missing. Two people counted the money and put a note in the box with how much was in it at the beginning and how much was there at the closing. I was given no information about how much was missing. I explained the process we followed stating I had no idea why the cash on hand was less than the amount reported. I was excused and never heard another word about it. I felt the sting of unjust guilt and the importance of following protocols. My guess is the officials discovered what happened and handled it confidentially. Lots of rumors spun lots of possibilities. I remained in charge of the snack bar, and we continued to count the money the same way, but it was transferred directly to the principal after that rather than leaving it in an office.

My first reaction to this Psalm was that if we had to prove we were perfect to God before we asked for God’s justice, we were all lost. None of us are perfect, and God is the God of both justice and mercy. My prayers more often start with a request for forgiveness than a listing of my righteousness. That said, I think it is important that we routinely self-examine our behavior asking God to reshape us in the ways of love. Often our most conspicuously bad traits are the ones we do not see as they are so ingrained in our way of being. Holding ourselves up to the plumb line of Christ, using Christ as our model may be the only way we can free ourselves from habits that limit our success in serving God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I fall short of being the person you want me to be. Help me see myself more clearly and enable me to shed bad habits. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Spiritual Readiness

spiritualdisciplinescollage1-300x240Advent
December 16, 2016

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. –Matthew 1:18-19

By all accounts, Joseph was a good man, apparently, a devout Jew. We can see that in these two verses. His wife-to-be was disgraced but he was not willing to put her to shame. He was obviously well acquainted with Micah 6:8 and tried to live by it:

 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

Women were routinely raped in the Roman siege of Galilee. Perhaps Joseph’s kindness stemmed from that reality. We can only speculate. Whatever the circumstances, Joseph was well prepared for the role he soon would be called to do. All followers of God are called to keep faith, to be ready. We may never be called to do the extraordinary as Joseph was but we are all called to do our part.

During this week of Advent, inventory your readiness to serve. There are many guides to spiritual disciplines. I like Richard Foster’s*, which is straight forward.

  1. The inward disciplines: Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, and Study
  2. The outward disciplines (inward realities resulting in outward lifestyles): Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, and Service
  3. The corporate disciplines: Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration

You may want to explore others or modify one to fit your needs, but routinely considering the spiritual disciplines is a great way to stay ready to answer any call you may receive.

Prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24). Amen.

*http://www.albministry.org/pdf/List%20of%20Disciplines.pdf

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Clean My Heart, O, God

create-in-me-a-clean-heartAdvent
December 4, 2016

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:1-12

‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Matthew 3:11-12

An older woman with whom I once worked suffered discrimination from her supervisor, a man who essentially supported having women do the work, and his getting credit and pay for it. I once said to her about a specific situation, “That is not right.” She replied “There is nothing I can do about it now, but he will face God one day about all he does.” I do believe we are and will be held accountable for both what we do and what we do not do, sins of commission and sins of omission.

Our scripture today may address final judgment, but it also deals with daily cleansing. We all, over time, pick up the clutter of the world and need the Holy Spirit to winnow our lives enabling us to be as whole as possible so we can contribute our fair share of love and service to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. I grew up in the days of combines, but I understand the principle being illustrated in our scripture today. Wheat, for that matter all grains, is denser and heavier than the chaff that protected is as it developed. At grain harvesting, the chaff is separated from the grain as it no longer serves a purpose. Humans create filters of protection that sometimes are needed and good but after the threat is gone are no longer necessary. We also may create such filters from misperceptions of reality. These filters can inhibit our wholeness when we hold to them unnecessarily.

As we continue to examine ourselves during Advent, let us open ourselves to the winnowing of the Holy Spirit. What inhibitors do we need to release? What do we need to curtail in our behavior?

Prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting*. Amen.

*Psalm 139:23-24

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Judging Others

examine-yourselfLiving in the Spirit
July 28, 2016

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. –Colossians 3:5-10

It is interesting that scriptures, like the one above, are used by Christians as the basis for judging other people. When we do, we are not reading it well. If ever there were a self-help scripture, this is one. Addressed to each of its readers, it does not give license to judge others. It gives encouragement to examine oneself and work to shed those behaviors that are not only separating us from God but also inhibiting our ability to carry forth the work Christ called us to do. I fear Christians tend to stop reading at the end of the first list for which most can claim some self-righteousness. We rarely get to the second list for which most can find some complicity.

On first observation, these lists include words that are open to broad interpretation. My greed may not be like your greed, but it is still greed. It is hard to change old habits. Impossible in my case without the loving, tenacity of a forgiving God who remolds and remakes* me every day as I examine myself and come up short. Hopefully, pray fully, not as short as I was the day before.

Our need to judge others robs them of the experience of their discovery in relationship with Jesus Christ to be remolded and remade. We only need to introduce them to the love of God and support them as they join our journey toward wholeness. Our words may be important as a part of that introduction, but our deeds of love are crucial in accepting them just as they are and for the persons they are becoming.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for remolding and remaking us. We ask that you enable our love to be like yours so others can come to know at least a tiny taste of your love through us. Amen.

*From the refrain of Are Ye Able by Earl Marlett. See at http://www.hymnary.org/text/are_ye_able_said_the_master

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

God’s Loving Arms

abbatouchLiving in the Spirit
July 21, 2015

Scripture Reading:

2 Samuel 11:1-15 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’
                                           –2 Samuel 11:14-15

When did not getting caught become more important than life itself? The great David, the king of all kings, acts like a two year old with his hand in the cookie jar. We basically all know when we have done wrong and we usually do not want to admit it. David was never tried or convicted of either murder or corruption in government. He was essentially above the law. His conscience was his only prosecutor, but it took some furtive attempts at cover-up before he faced the reality of what he had done.

I do not want to make light of David’s transgressions, but we have all been guilty of acting like David did in this story at some time or another, hopefully with far lesser consequences. When I was in the second grade my mother taught at my school and we rode to and from school with her that year rather than riding the school bus. One day we stopped at the only grocer in our small town to pick up a few things on our way home. While mom shopped I wondered over to the ice cream section picked out a fudge bar and took it to the car to eat. When my mother arrived at the car and saw the sticky chocolate evidence of my theft on my hands and face with the ice cream stick still in my hand, she marched me back into the store and made me apologize to Mr. Chadwick, the owner. She paid for the fudge bar and we left. I do not remember any lecture, I do remember working out the costs of the fudge bar. To my knowledge and memory I have never, ever even considered the possibility of stealing anything since. I also remember her words when she caught me, “What were you thinking?” The truth, of course, was I did not think. I knew better than to take the fudge bar. I also knew mom would never have bought it for me, if I had asked and I wanted what I wanted. Weighed on a lesser scale, it is not too different than David’s behavior.

Part of our daily walk with God, is to examine ourselves to determine if we are in synch with God in all that we say and do. When we find we may have moved away from God in some of our actions or attitudes, we need to ask God to forgive us and welcome us back into the loving arms of God’s chains.*

Prayer: Lord, I do need thee every hour, need you to help me be fully me and not someone who can be easily led astray by the temptations of life. Thank you for your loving arms and for your chains that I have chosen to claim. Amen.

*Borrowed and adapted from Kris Kristofferson’s song Loving Arms. See at http://www.lyricsbox.com/kris-kristofferson-lyrics-loving-arms-457ddtr.html
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.