Lent is an opportune time to check in with God and Ourselves. Don has shared some new and some familiar resources that are available on the front pew, and here. It is never too late to do something.
Self-Examination by John Wesley, 1738.
Wesley thought that this helped measure one’s spiritual state.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthianans 6:17-18
The Five Requirements
- Our judgements are new – our judgement of ourselves, happiness and holiness are new
- Our designs are new
- Our desires are new
- Our conversation is new
- Our actions are new
Are you a new creation? Reflect over these areas and where you were 5 years ago, 1 year ago, 1 month ago.
Wesley’s Self-Examination Quiz
Try this Quiz before or during Lent for clues where to focus, and after Easter to see where God’s Spirit moved in you!
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
23.
Fruits of the Spirit Self-Assessment
The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
Which fruits has God grown in your heart and life and which need some TLC to grow?
Love – Have I grown more loving toward others?
Joy – Do I have more joy? in life? in work? in leisure? in others? in God?
Peace – Am I more at peace with myself? my situation? others? the world? God? Can I find peace in the midst of fear and anxiety?
Patience – Have I grown in patience toward the slow, the confused, the aging, the needy?
Kindness – How kind am I on a daily basis? Have I learned to put kindness first?
Goodness – How pure are my motives? My priorities? My actions?
Gentleness – Can I count on my treatment of others to be gentle? Am I gentle toward my own shortcomings and sins ? Do I deal with faults, mishaps, disappointments and incompetence in myself and others gently?
Self-control – AmI aware when I am over-reacting? Can I check myself when I am getting frustrated, thwarted, steamed up? Can I stick with a project that is boring, difficult, or taking too long?
What fruit is my strong suit? My weakness?
Spiritual Growth Assessment
Compare where you see yourself today VS. 5 years ago in your commitment to Prayer, Study, Faith Sharing, and Service.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
TODAY
I read the Word of God:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
I pray:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
I share my faith:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
I try to be of service to others:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
FIVE YEARS AGO
I read the word of God:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Neverr
I prayed:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
I shared my faith:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
I was of service to someone:
☐ Several times a day.
☐ Daily.
☐ Several times a week.
☐ Weekly
☐ Rarely
☐ Never
Who Am I? In Christ, I AM…
Which statements are real for you? Which do you have trouble believing are true?
I am the salt of the earth. (Matt. 5:13)
I am the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14)
I am a child of God. (John 1:12)
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life. (John 15:1,5)
I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. (John 15:16)
I am a slave of righteousness. (Rom. 6:18)
I am enslaved to God (Rom. 6:22)
I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father.
(Rom. 8:14,15;Gal.3:26;4:6)
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him.
(Rom. 8:17)
I am a temple–a dwelling place– of God. His Spirit and His life dwells in me. (1 Cor. 3:16;6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am a member of Christ’s Body. (1 Cor. 12:27;Eph. 5:30)
I am a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17)
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18,19)
I am a child of God and one in Christ. (Gal 3:26,28)
I am an heir of God since I am a child of God. (Gal. 4:6,7)
I am a saint. (Eph.1:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2)
I am God’s workmanship–His handiwork–born anew in Christ to do His work. (Eph. 2:10)
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family. (Eph. 2:19)
I am a prisoner of Christ. (Eph. 3:1;4:1)
I am righteous and holy. (Eph. 4:24)
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6)
I am hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. (Col. 3:4)
I am a child of light and not of darkness. (1 Thes. 5:5)
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. (Heb. 3:1)
I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life. (Heb. 3:14)
I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Pet. 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. (1 Pet. 2:9,10)
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live.
(1 Pet. 2:11)
I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Pet. 5:8)
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns.
(1 John 3:1,2)
I am born of God, and the evil one–the devil–cannot touch me.
(1 John 5:18)
I am not the great “I am” (Exod. 3:14; John 8:24,28,58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am. (1 Cor. 15:10)
In Christ, I Have…
Which statements are real for you? Which do you have trouble believing are true?
Since I am in Christ, by the grace of God . . .
I have been justified–completely forgiven and made righteous.
(Rom. 5:1)
I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life.
(Rom. 6:1-6)
I am free forever from condemnation. (Rom. 8:1)
I have been placed into Christ by God’s doing. (1 Cor. 1:30)
I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God. (1 Cor. 2:12)
I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16)
I have been bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God. (1 Cor. 6:19,20)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to come. (2 Cor. 1:21;Eph. 1:13,14)
Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ.
(2 Cor. 5:14,15)
I have been made righteous. (2 Cor. 5:21)
I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life. (Gal. 2:20)
I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Eph. 1:3)
I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and am without blame before Him. (Eph. 1:4)
I was predestined–determined by God–to be adopted as God’s child. (Eph. 1:5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace. (Eph. 1:7)
I have been made alive together with Christ. (Eph. 2:5)
I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven. (Eph. 2:16)
I have direct access to God through the Spirit. (Eph. 2:18)
I may approach God with boldness, freedom and confidence.
(Eph. 3:12)
I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. (Col. 1:13)
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been cancelled. (Col. 1:14)
Christ Himself is in me. (Col. 1:27)
I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built in Him. (Col. 2:7)
I have been spiritually circumcised. My old unregenerate nature has been removed. (Col. 2:11)
I have been made complete in Christ. (Col. 2:10)
I have been buried, raised and made alive with Christ. (Col. 2:12, 13)
I died with Christ and I have been raised up with Christ. My life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life. (Col. 3:1-4)
I have been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7)
I have been saved and set apart according to God’s doing. (2 Tim. 1:9;Titus 3:5)
Because I am sanctified and am one with the Sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me brother. (Heb. 2:11)
I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in time of need. (Heb. 4:16)
I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I am a partaker of God’s divine nature. (2 Pet. 1:4)
Once we have assessed our spiritual state, we can ask for Mercy and Celebrate God’s Goodness and Love in the Litany of Humility.
LITANY OF HUMILITY
Petition Response
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become
as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.