Mere Reflections

1. Am I praying constantly and consistently? Not only for myself but for my church and my leaders.
2. Am I tithing generously? Are my money and other resources being given freely to my church and my leaders, or am I just skating by enjoying the fruits of the other parts of the body?
3. Am I helping? Am I just along for the ride, or am I actively working to find places to get involved in the Body? Get to work!
4. Am I rejecting selfishness? Church isn’t only about you. It’s about the Bride and it’s about full, ecclesiastical sanctification that may begin in an individual heart but ends when Jesus collects his whole, pure bride as One.
5. Am I meditating on the Word? Is my day saturated with meditation on the Word, or am I drawing conclusions based on man’s ideas?
6. Am I talking openly with my leaders? If my concerns are indeed serious, am I approaching my leaders directly or am I talking about them and my church  behind their backs? Am I a gossip and a stirrer of dissension?
7. Am I seeking the Spirit’s peace? Am I ever content to trust God and what He is doing, or am I constantly fretting and never letting go of over-meditating on my concerns?
8. Am I submitted to authority? Am I sensitive to and respectful of the leadership of my family leaders (parents) and church leaders (pastors, elders, deacons, etc) or are they objects of my disrespect and contempt? Am I willing to follow them even when it’s not easy for me?
9. Am I concerned with the big picture? Am I actively seeking what God’s plan is in the future of my church and ministries, or am I just thinking about the now and the present? What am I doing to establish precedents for the future?
10. Am I deeply burdened to give God the glory? Are my perspectives of God and the gospel big enough and the view of myself small enough*? Do I truly understand what Christ has done for me? Are my greatest desires to bring God the glory and to be like Jesus? What things do I need to lay at the foot of the cross so that I may further deny myself for the sake of Christ?

* – not that truly, fully understanding while on this earth the fullness of God’s glory and the depth of our sinfulness is easy to accomplish, but that driving forward to further understand these things is key to sacrificial living for the gospel.

A prayer: “God, may we be reminded of the plan that you have for your Church and for her growth and sanctification. May we be truly burdened for our local churches and their leaders and make commitments to be actively obedient to Scripture by loving them, taking part in them, praying for them, and being obedient to them. Thank you for our ability to worship in light of the blood of Jesus. May it continually cleanse us and remind us of how little we are and how big Your glory is.”

Let’s be burdened for our local churches and have a renewed since of devotion to them and a renewed sense of respect and love for our leaders. It’s not all about me.

-Riley