"praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. … "
The State of the Union is the address presented by the President of the United States to a Joint session of Congress and, typically delivered annually. As I listened to our President give this address last night it occurred to me that all Christians could learn a lesson from this tradition by taking the time to truly evaluate the State of our Union with Christ. Unfortunately just as many Presidents do, we often tend to overestimate how well we are doing, and we don't paint an accurate portrait of what is really going on. Here are a few questions to help us accurately gauge how we are doing.
1) Is there evidence of Conversion in my life?- The Bible says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. There are many who name Christ as savior, but never have evidence that He has actually saved them. If you are truly in Christ it will be evident in the fruit that your life produces. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. When you examine your life, are these apparent?
2) Do you have an actively consistent time with God? - In the book of Mark it says that very early in the morning, Jesus went to a solitary place where he prayed. There should be nothing that is more important or precious to the believer than spending time with God. As a matter of fact if we are too busy to spend time with God, then we are busier than God created us to be! Do you spend time with God?
3) Do you have a Biblical spiritually defined purpose?- When God saves us, He also gives us spiritual gifts. The gifts are given to enable us to accomplish God's desired purpose for our lives. However most people have no clue what the spiritual gifts are, much less what their specific gift is. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you using them for His glory?
4) Do you actively look for opportunities to share your faith?- I honestly believe this is vital in our evaluation of our Union with Christ. The apostles devoted their lives to sharing about Christ. The very last words of Jesus in Acts were "You will be my witnesses". Statistics tell us that most "Christians" will never share their faith with even one person. We will scream for our Football team, declare our political allegiance, and rail against injustices, yet we can't share about the one who saved us from death and Hell? Do you share your faith?
This is not an exhaustive list, but its is a great start. So while you are mulling over the Presidents State of the Union Address, why not Address what state your "Union" is in.
Forever Fishing,
Chris Wells
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