A Personal Challenge for Each of Us

Who are you?

A husband? Wife? Father? Mother? Grandparent? Son? Daughter? Teenager? Friend? Employee? Self-Employed Business Owner? Student? Or something else?

Whoever you are, however you answered that question, this is a personal challenge for each of us.

Let Me Bother You With My Meditation Questions

As I have sat and meditated, two questions (which come from a Bible verse) keep coming to my mind. I try to let them go and then they come around again. The problem is, no matter how much I try not to think about this, there is always more related to these questions that I can think. Maybe you will be just like me.

Before I give you the meditation verse, let me ask you to focus on two specific meditation questions. Here they are:

1. In relationship to your heart, life, and personal responsibility, Who is the first person that comes to mind when you read this verse?
2. In relationship to your heart, life, and personal responsibility, What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this verse?

Are you focused on those two questions? Who and What?

Okay, here is the meditation verse, straight from the Bible writer’s pen:

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

Maybe read it one more time and ask your two questions.

Now, what are your answers?

1. In relationship to your heart, life, and personal responsibility, Who is the first person that comes to mind when you read this verse?
2. In relationship to your heart, life, and personal responsibility, What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this verse?

Who and What?

Who came to mind? When you read the verse about to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin, who came to mind? (Not thinking about what that person may be doing as sin, but thinking specifically about an individual where you have a personal responsibility to or toward.)

Husband? Wife? Father? Mother? Grandparent? Son? Daughter? Teenager? Friend? Employee? Self-Employed Business Owner? Student? Or someone else?

Now, What should you be or not be doing in relationship to that person? What has God called you to do that you are not doing? Or, What has God called you not to do that you are doing? Where are you sinning against that other person or God?

Now What?

In the power of the Holy Spirit, do what you need to do. To or for whomever it is that you considered and whatever it is that you considered, do it.

In order for God to be honored in your life in this particular area in relationship with this particular person or persons, what do you need to do? ____________________________________________________ Now, begin the process to do that.

Maybe you need to pick up your phone and call someone. Possibly, you need to send a text. Others of you may need to get in your car to go see someone, walk into another room, or what? What do you need to do?

Ask for forgiveness? Fulfill a promise? Repent? Forgive? Use words of encouragement? Obey the Bible in a particular way? What is it?

How can you answer the two questions in a way that honors God?

For later… once you answer these two questions and do whatever it is that would honor God, go back and read your meditation verse again and repeat the process.

 

See, I told you that you can keep coming back to this over and over and over. And, you and I both should. In fact, may we do just that.