Time for a Spiritual Tune-Up
Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai.
Haggai 1:5 (NIV)
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.”
The temple was the focal point of Judah’s relationship with God, but it was still demolished. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the people had been putting their energies into beautifying their own homes. But the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had, because they ignored their spiritual lives.
So Haggai urged the people to reflect on some of the things happening to them and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.
It is a good thing to pause and think about the direction of our lives from time to time. The beginning of a new year provides a wonderful opportunity to do exactly that. It is a healthy practice for every one of us.
No matter who you are, no matter how long you have served the Lord, I believe this type of introspection, examination and reflection is a good thing.
It’s so easy to wonder along through life, from one busy week to another, without ever stopping to think about where we’ve been, where we’re going and what we are doing.
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look to the Lord and refocus our lives. Opportunities like this help us center our lives and regain a healthy perspective. It is a good time to recalibrate our spiritual lives.
Most of us reassess certain aspects of our lives at the beginning of the year. We talk about things like breaking habits, losing weight, or making other changes in our lives.
One woman walked into the bathroom on New Year’s Day and she found her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales. She noticed he was sucking in his stomach.
The woman thought to herself, "He thinks that he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach." She stood there watching him for a moment, then she rather sarcastically said, "Sucking in is not going to help." To which her husband replied, "Sure it does. It’s the only way I can see the scale."
This morning I am challenging you to an important assessment at the beginning of the New Year. I want to invite you to do an intentional spiritual tune up.
I’m going to give you some questions to ponder prayerfully in the presence of God.
My hope is that this spiritual diagnostic could help make 2009 a year of intentional spiritual growth. It could actually be a catalyst for positive change in your life.
But first, let’s talk about why people don’t grow spiritually.
The reason people don’t grow spiritually is…
1) They have no plan for growth.
Spiritual growth is not automatic. If it was there would be a lot more spiritually mature people in the church. If spiritual growth was automatic, the strongest Christians would be those who were believers the longest. But that is clearly not always the case.
Spiritual growth must be intentional. You need to plan for it.
You say you want to grow? That’s great! Now, tell me how that will happen.
2) They are unwilling to pay the price for growth.
There is a price to pay for spiritual growth. You will have to determine if you are willing to pay the price, to make the sacrifice, or to become more disciplined in order to reach the desired objective.
3) They have not evaluated the need for growth.
That’s what I am asking you to do today. With the Old Testament Prophet Haggai, I am asking you to “give careful thought to your ways.” I want to invite you to explore these Questions to Consider at the Threshold of 2009.
1. How would I rate my relationship with God? ______
Whenever I meet with a couple that is struggling in their relationship, I often ask them to rate their marriage on a scale from 1-10. One is poor and 10 would be the absolute best. Most couples immediately know where they rate (although the guys are usually higher than the ladies). I guess that is because the wives are a little more realistic and guys are often in the dark. We’re oblivious. The only thing I can figure is that it must be the testosterone. I have heard it causes brain damage. Who knows?
What’ interesting to me is how people can easily describe what a marriage that is a 10 looks like. So my next question is, if your marriage is a 6 on a scale from 1-10, what is it going to take to make it a 10? That’s a simple exercise with profound implications.
Is your relationship with God worthy of such consideration? I certainly hope so. Fill in the blank. How do you rate your relationship with God?
2. What could I do this year to strengthen my relationship with God?
What is it going to take to move your relationship with God from where it is to where it needs to be? Where you desire it to be? Don’t overdo it and take on more than you can handle. You’ll get discouraged and quit. You may want to start with just one thing that you want to work on this year. Master one thing and then move on to something else. Don’t try to change a dozen things all at once, because you will get overwhelmed and quit. And by all means, don’t do nothing.
3. What’s the single most important thing I could do to improve the quality of my family life this year?
Our family relationships have huge implications on our spiritual lives. Not only that, but God has a will for you regarding your marriage, your children, and other relationships.
Are you the husband or father you need to be? Are you willing to ask yourself the hard questions here at the beginning of another new year?
4. What is the single biggest time-waster in my life, and what will I do about it this year?
Is there anything that you need to set aside this year? Not that what you are doing is necessarily bad. Sometimes we need to set aside something good in order to commit to something that is even better. The Bible tells us to make the most of our time.
Are there any time wasters that you need to get rid of in 2009?
5. How will I be involved in the mission and ministry of my church this year?
I believe it is important that everyone be plugged in and involved in ministry in some way. This is about service. It is about putting the needs of others ahead of your own. It is about following the example of Christ.
How will you invest your life in others through the ministry of the church in 2009?
Don’t wait for an opportunity. Create one!
6. For whose salvation will I pray most fervently this year?
When you pray for the salvation of a lost loved one or friend, you can rest assured you are praying according to the will of God.
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
I hope you are praying specifically for the salvation of lost loved one and friends.
7. What’s the most important decision I need to make this year?
Some decisions will arise in the middle of the year unexpectedly. But many of you already know that you are facing a major decision in 2009. Start praying about it right now. Seek direction from the Lord. Did you know He wants to help you make the right decision? It’s true.
Psalms 32:8 (NIV)
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Why do we neglect such a powerful promise when we make such important decisions?
8. What area of my life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way I could simplify in that area this year?
Psalms 46:10a (NIV)
10 "Be still, and know that I am God.”
More is not always better. Simplicity can be a good thing. The rich young ruler was constantly accumulating more. More grain. More goods. More and bigger barns. More stuff. He thought making a living was the same as making a life. He was wrong.
Just think how much stuff we have and how much “life” it takes to shop for it, clean it, repair it, manage it, maintain it, insure it, store it, and ultimately dispose of it.
Are there areas in your life where you need to downsize or simplify? If so, how will you do it and when?
9. What is my most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step I can take toward achieving it?
One thing that keeps people from achieving their financial objectives is the fact that they have no plan. (Financial Peach University)
You can’t wonder out of debt. This goes back to having a plan and being willing to work the plan until you see the desired results.
10. What could I do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy I will leave to my children and grandchildren?
Do you ever stop to think about that? During the “Live Like You Were Dying” series we did back in November, we continually asked the question, “What if I only had 30 days left to live?” How would I change? If there was a 30-day countdown to my exit from this earth, what would be different about my life? What kind of spiritual legacy would you want to leave behind for your children and grandchildren?
BTW…Did you make any commitments during that series that are already on the shelf?
Write down what is going to change. Hold yourself accountable and ask others to hold you accountable as well. That’s how things change.
What single thing do I plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity? It is about living with an eternal perspective, not just for yourself, but for others. How will your life and witness impact future generations?
11. What one thing do I most regret about last year, and what will I do about it this year?
People often repeat the same old mistakes? If you have regrets, evaluate how they happened and decide what you will do to change things so that you don’t go down that same road again. What needs to change?
Who do you need to spend more time with? Who do you need to stay away from? What needs to be different this year in order to avoid those same old regrets?
Will the road you are traveling today, take you to where you want to be in the future?
You don’t have to live with regrets.
12. How will I use this list to help facilitate positive changes in my life in this coming year?
The value of many of these questions is not that they are so profound, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus.
For example, just by articulating which person you most want to influence for Christ this year, you will be more likely to pray for them and encourage them than if you hadn’t considered the question.
I hope you will post these questions someplace where you will be forced to face them throughout the coming new year – in a day planner, PDA, on your calendar, on a bulletin board, the fridge, the bathroom mirror, etc.
These questions deserve more than a simple overview on a Sunday morning. I want to challenge you to wrestle with these questions especially this week. But even more than that, I hope you will discuss them with your spouse or a close friend. Keep them before you. That’s how I hold myself accountable. Our tendency is to jot them down, leave this service, and go on business as usual for another year. I hope you won’t do that.
If that happens, next year, at this same time, we will still be grappling with the same issues and we will have experienced another year of wondering in circles spiritually.
That’s how one person has 10 years of experience and another has one year of experience 10 times. One lives life forward, learning, growing, becoming the person God intends for them to be. They have a plan and they work at it.
The other has no plan. He/she just coasts through life, basically repeating the same year of their lives again and again. It is a vicious cycle. This is a challenge to make the most of every opportunity.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (TEV)
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like ignorant people, but like wise people.
Everyone who wants to be ignorant in 2009, please raise your hand. Nobody wants to be ignorant, but I suspect all of us want to be wise. Do you know what wisdom looks like?
Ephesians 5:16a (TEV)
16 Make good use of every opportunity you have.
2009 is a golden opportunity that stretches out before us.
Think on this entire list at one sitting to get started. Then focus on one question each day for a month. I hope you will live with this list to some degree. Be willing to ask the tough questions. What is it going to take for you to be the person God is calling you to be in this coming New Year?
