Christmas 2007 has come and gone, praise the Lord! It was a very strange Christmas season for me this year. Most of 2007 has been a blessing and a success as we were striving with excellence to pursue the path that God had set before us. The Christmas season was no different. Our priorities were examined and the plans were made, but the "feelings" of Christmas were strangely different. I wonder if I will ever know why.
Several weeks ago, Dr. Henry Blackaby challenged our church family in a Sunday morning sermon, to purpose to "finish well" in 2007, before we even began making plans, lists and/or goals for 2008. Personally, I love a challenge, so I have been as busy as a bee checking off everything on my 2007 list that needed to be completed in order to finish well. I still have a few small tasks to complete before the new year rolls around.
One of the challenges from Dr. Blackaby was "to take a Spiritual Inventory of your life." It so happens that 5 months ago, I felt lead to order 4 copies of a Spiritual Inventory Quiz from a ministry called Ephesians 4 Ministries, along with a leadership style test, a Marriage Communication Test and a Spiritual Gifts Inventory.
In addition to all of the normal activity that surrounds a week of Christmas festivities, my family has been challenged to take these inventory tests. Of course, the girls and I have completed our tests and had many interesting disucssions about what God is doing in our respective lives. Hubby will take the tests when he has the time.
The point to all of this is that it is important to STOP every now and then to evaluate your life. Not just to see areas that need improvement or attention, but also to thank God for the work He is doing in your life and for the progress that you are making in the process of santification (being ever conformed to the image of Christ).
I challenge you to pull out your copy of the Word of God and spend a few moments reflecting on God's amazing grace in your life. Ask yourself the hard questions that will count for eternity, like:
Am I abiding in Jesus Christ?
Am I bearing fruit, the kind that counts?
Do I love others like Jesus does?
Have I been faithful to my church?
Have I been a good steward of all that God has entrusted to me?
Have I repented of my sins lately?
Do I pray enough?
Have I read the Bible today?
Have I hidden God's word in my heart that I might not sin against Him?
Am I a shining light and a reflection of God's glory?
What will I do to make 2008 count for Christ?
Happy New Year! May the joy that comes from serving a risen Savior be yours today as you look to the new year with anticipation and HOPE!
1 comment:
Great post Leanne. It really had been fabulous having Dr Blackaby in December. I'm looking forward to hearing Dr Carter in January too.
I told Dr Blackaby the Sunday night at church after he'd preached his sermon that morning how much I loved the sermon you are referring to and told him that those things he mentioned would be fabulous to take stock of every month as well. He was so gracious and said how glad he was that his schedule was that he COULD be here to preach in December. He is definitely thought provoking and that just thrills my soul.
Funny you should mention the spiritual gifts inventory. Just the other day, I found my booklet where I'd done this through our church several years ago. It is interesting to find out where our 'gifts' are, and challenging to figure out if we are using them. It was interesting looking through that again.
Hope you have a great new year and that 2008 holds nothing but huge blessings for you. I appreciate you and your friendship more than you know.
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