By the time you read this, our summer campaign will have been completed for several weeks. We will have met and studied with many of our readers-and we hope you were one of them! Our door and our hearts are always open to you. We don’t want to be strangers to our neighbors; come by any time, or if you have a specific need, give us a call and we’ll be glad to help wherever we can.
In the meanwhile, how about a spiritual check-up? It’s good to look inside and see how you’re doing.
- My Spiritual Heart: Do you “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”? (Matthew 22:37) Jesus said that this was the first and greatest commandment, and that all of the rest of the commandments of scripture are based on it and the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Do you have a passion for God-and the things of God? Is He real to you? Love produces obedience, by the way. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Based on your lifestyle, is it evident that you love God?
- My Spiritual Mouth: Do you pray early and often? We communicate with the ones we love; God is not different! Paul said that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He told the church in Philippi “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Is prayer a natural part of your life?
- My Spiritual Ears: God speaks to us today through his inspired word-the 66 books of the Bible. Are you quiet long enough to listen to those words? Do you have a hearing disorder that keeps you from listening to him? Do you have selective hearing which picks and chooses scripture to suit you – rather than God? We believe “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- My Spiritual Hands: How do you spend your time? It’s good to relax, it’s necessary to work, it’s important to be with you family-these are all biblical teachings – but the Bible teaches that nothing is more important than the kingdom of God, and all of our other priorities circle around this chief goal. We serve-as Christ served! As the old song says, “We’ll work ’til Jesus comes!”
We hope that you’re spiritually healthy. There’s certainly more to spiritual health than we could put on this check list! We haven’t talked about the importance of real and meaningful faith, the necessity of confession, the totality of repentance, or the beauty of our new birth in baptism-and these are all absolutely necessary!
Don’t like your answers to these questions? Do you have questions of your own? Come see us-and we’ll be glad to help point you towards the Great Physician we know and love.
