SCRIPTURE:2 Corinthians 13

What I would like to bring to your attention is that the concept of examining oneself is found in the scriptures.

Jeremiah exhorted Israel to self-examination. Lamentations 3:40-41 “Let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven.”
Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to examine themselves when it came to the Lord’s supper. 1Corinthians 11:28-29 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
Paul also told the Galatians to examine their work in the Lord. Galatians 6:4-5 “Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. Each person must be responsible for himself.”

We must live in the grace of the Lord, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Attending a worship service is important. It is putting into practice what you learn at the worship service and living the Christian life that is most important. We must live in the Grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. This is where Paul begins the message of Jesus. Through Jesus, the disciples met God. To say that God is in Christ is to say that God knows, through experience, what it is like to be betrayed, insulted, crucified, and buried. We do not go into this life alone. God has experienced all that we can experience. That is why Paul tells us that we can go to Him, and He will understand. When we evaluate ourselves, he understands!

Often, we think “Wow I made a bad decision. How am I going to get out of this mess?” God knew about your bad decision. He put the right people in place to help you out of your situation. God’s love does not allow us to be limited. Frustration cannot limit a person’s life. Persecution cannot make us an outcast. Depression cannot break out spirit. Simply put, the man who knows that he is loved by God can never be defeated by life. Romans 8:38-39 Yes, I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We can’t be defeated. In the Bible there are two words that appear over and over that remind us of that.  They are “but God”.
Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God’s mercy is great, and he loved us very much. Though we were spiritually dead because of the things that we did against God, he gave us a new life in Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace.”

We can really make some poor choices in our lives in a variety of ways. Squandering money as well as relationships, lying, wasting time on unimportant things are some of the things. Sometimes we ignore God’s plan for our lives and plow forward on our own thinking that we know better. Those two words “but God” are seen in other places in the Bible. They show that He is with us at all times.
Genesis 50:20 “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
We need to be honest with ourselves when we self-examine because God knows all. He will be with us as we strive to improve ourselves.  We can count of Him to lead us in the right direction. We need to trust in the Lord.