Psalm 139:23-24 (NASB)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Luke 5:39 (NASB)
39 “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.'”

It is interesting that many Christians, after they become believers fall into a trap of thinking that their relationship with God doesn’t require any further change. I know that it is easy for me to do that. We all know that sanctification is a process that is never completed until we are fully glorified with Christ in heaven. But we get comfortable with where we are. We like where God has us right now. We don’t feel the need to change, the old is good enough.

That’s why we have to constantly do a spiritual checkup, a self-examination by listening to the Holy Spirit’s search of our heart. For centuries, spiritual self-examination was the heart of Christian devotions and understood to be necessary for spiritual growth.

These checkups involve taking a realistic assessment of our faith, acknowledgement of our sin and the need for repentance, and looking at our self-love and comparing it to our love for others.

All of these things involve an introspective look at our prayer life. Have our prayers just become petitions for health and comfort for ourselves and our family and friends? Or are our prayers a cry to God for more faith? Do we ask God to strip us of sin, even though we know that will require us to deny ourselves of those pleasures that pull us away from true worship? Do we earnestly ask God to cut out those tumors of pride in our lives?

On Tuesday nights, a group meets in prayer to ask the Great Physician to change them. Do you yearn for that too? If so, join us this Tuesday at 7pm.

Always praying for the glory of God,
Chris McKean