Week Three Day Five Making it Personal Honesty with God
This is going to be long so I am going to break it up into three posts.
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan, as the above verse states, is a father of lies. He tells us lying will be beneficial to us. We will be more appreciated and live comfortable lives. It helps protect our reputations.
Satan is a liar. Lying will do none of the above. There are more benefits about telling the truth. The wellspring of truthfulness yields a river of redemptive results. Honesty is as refreshing as a mountain spring and is God's intended means to wash and purify our hypocritical lives.
The longer we live a lie, the harder it is to come clean. The time to deal with it is now.
Psalm 51:6
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
This first assignment of day five is searching my heart to see if I am honest with God. This section lists many and I will discuss a few below:
Do I often participate in corporate praise and prayer while my heart is cold, indifferent, or resistant to the Lord?
Sometimes my heart is not in it. I can be stressed about a situation or angry. I can just be too busy trying to get everything done that I forget to set aside time for God.
Are my prayers honest? Do I say words that I think will impress God, or do I honestly communicate my feelings and desires to Him?
I am actually good at this. I never cared for traditional prayer. I would rather just talk to him durig my commute. However, I should be talking to God like this all the time. It seems when I am at home, I am too busy.
Do I honor him with my lips when my mind and heart are far away? What am I really thinking when I pray?
Sometimes on my commute I have had a tiring day at work and am looking forward to getting home. So I am usually quiet during those drives. I do need to set up a small place in my house so I can have quiet time there as well.
When called upon to pray in public, am I more aware of God's presence or the fact that others are listening to what I say?
I don't have much experience with praying for the public. This is where I have a list of written prayers. Sometimes I am the acting chaplain for the American Legion Auxiliary. I do use a prayer book for that. And I am usually more aware of others listening.
Do I serve God out of a heart of genuine love and devotion, or do I have a subtle desire to be noticed and applauded?
I want to serve God because of all He has done for me. Though it would be good to be noticed since this might motivate others to serve Him as well.
Do I volunteer for service and do good works to glorify God or to impress others?
I enjoy volunteering at the American Legion. Sometimes I wish I could do more. However, there are also times where I find it an inconvenience since I am sacrificing my free time.
Am I quick to agree with God when His Sirit convicts me of sin, or do I tend to rationalize, justify, or defend myself?
I tend to make excuses. However, since taking the Seeking Him Study, I am seeing myself for who I am.
Do I see my sin as God sees it, or do I tend to think in terms of "weaknesses," "problems," "slip-ups," or "personality quirks."
I usually think more of making excuses.
Do I love the truth so much that I regularly ask God to search my heart and to reveal anything that is displeasing to Him?
This is something that I seriously need to work on. I have to make this a daily habit both at the beginning of my day and at the end.
In the words of C. H. Spurgeon, I need to remember, "Nothing can enter heaven which is not real; nothing erroneous, mistaken, conceited, hollow, professional, pretentious, insubstantial, can be smuggled through the gates. Only truth can dwell with the God of truth."
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan, as the above verse states, is a father of lies. He tells us lying will be beneficial to us. We will be more appreciated and live comfortable lives. It helps protect our reputations.
Satan is a liar. Lying will do none of the above. There are more benefits about telling the truth. The wellspring of truthfulness yields a river of redemptive results. Honesty is as refreshing as a mountain spring and is God's intended means to wash and purify our hypocritical lives.
The longer we live a lie, the harder it is to come clean. The time to deal with it is now.
Psalm 51:6
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
This first assignment of day five is searching my heart to see if I am honest with God. This section lists many and I will discuss a few below:
Do I often participate in corporate praise and prayer while my heart is cold, indifferent, or resistant to the Lord?
Sometimes my heart is not in it. I can be stressed about a situation or angry. I can just be too busy trying to get everything done that I forget to set aside time for God.
Are my prayers honest? Do I say words that I think will impress God, or do I honestly communicate my feelings and desires to Him?
I am actually good at this. I never cared for traditional prayer. I would rather just talk to him durig my commute. However, I should be talking to God like this all the time. It seems when I am at home, I am too busy.
Do I honor him with my lips when my mind and heart are far away? What am I really thinking when I pray?
Sometimes on my commute I have had a tiring day at work and am looking forward to getting home. So I am usually quiet during those drives. I do need to set up a small place in my house so I can have quiet time there as well.
When called upon to pray in public, am I more aware of God's presence or the fact that others are listening to what I say?
I don't have much experience with praying for the public. This is where I have a list of written prayers. Sometimes I am the acting chaplain for the American Legion Auxiliary. I do use a prayer book for that. And I am usually more aware of others listening.
Do I serve God out of a heart of genuine love and devotion, or do I have a subtle desire to be noticed and applauded?
I want to serve God because of all He has done for me. Though it would be good to be noticed since this might motivate others to serve Him as well.
Do I volunteer for service and do good works to glorify God or to impress others?
I enjoy volunteering at the American Legion. Sometimes I wish I could do more. However, there are also times where I find it an inconvenience since I am sacrificing my free time.
Am I quick to agree with God when His Sirit convicts me of sin, or do I tend to rationalize, justify, or defend myself?
I tend to make excuses. However, since taking the Seeking Him Study, I am seeing myself for who I am.
Do I see my sin as God sees it, or do I tend to think in terms of "weaknesses," "problems," "slip-ups," or "personality quirks."
I usually think more of making excuses.
Do I love the truth so much that I regularly ask God to search my heart and to reveal anything that is displeasing to Him?
This is something that I seriously need to work on. I have to make this a daily habit both at the beginning of my day and at the end.
In the words of C. H. Spurgeon, I need to remember, "Nothing can enter heaven which is not real; nothing erroneous, mistaken, conceited, hollow, professional, pretentious, insubstantial, can be smuggled through the gates. Only truth can dwell with the God of truth."
Comments
Post a Comment