Thursday, November 5, 2009

The inward man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

Be grateful for the outer you. Make peace with it. Rejoice in its strengths. Accept its limitations. Let it work hard. Be happy when it gets promoted. But remember, it’s wasting away. The inner you, on the other hand, is capable of a glory you can’t even imagine. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1Jn 3:2-3).
So, isn't it logical that we should make our biggest investment in the thing that will last? We have scales and mirrors and tape measures to track the development of our outer selves. But how can we track the well-being of the part of us that will last? This may look a little different for each of us, but here are a few mirrors and scales and tape measures that will help us get started:

(1) Self-examination and confession
(2) Friends who love us enough to speak the truth to us
(3) Time to be alone and listen to God
(4) Time spent in the Scriptures, renewing our mind
(5) Examination of our calendar and your checkbook
(6) Questions such as: How easily discouraged do we get these days? How easily irritated are we compared to six months ago?
(7) Attention to our thought life. What are our minds drawn toward? Does envy, blaming, judging or lusting rob us of life and joy?

Let's get serious and work on our "inner you"!

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