It is important, as Christians, to sit down and take an inventory of our actions. As you are aware, a business of necessity inventories its in-store products periodically. The owner or owners will take this data and map out future plans as to whether they hold the fort, move forward or get out.
In an inventory, one discovers what pays off and what needs to be changed.
My experience with inventories is very limited. After high school graduation and before college I worked for my then future father-in-law in his power saw business. He did a yearly inventory, and every bolt, nut, and washer had to be meticulously counted.
I didn’t enjoy the experience because he carried a large inventory of saws and saw parts. But in the end, he knew how to report to the Internal Revenue Service at tax time.
Facts, it is true, are certainly important to business, but they are also important in an individual Christian’s life. In his letter to believers in Colosse, Paul the apostle wrote, “… that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God …”(Col. 1:10).
You are, therefore, encouraged to occasionally find a quiet place and spend time alone with God for an inventory of your actions as a believer.
Be honest with yourself. You will be looking to find in your walk through life actions which fall in line with the scriptures.
For those actions which are an embarrassment to the Lord, be honest and repent of them and refrain from them in your future walk.
We all need encouragement when it comes to keeping our vows to our Lord. Thus, Peter gives to Christians all the incentive needed to walk daily down the road of His will.
In the opening verses of his first short letter in the New Testament, this apostle lays out the future for those who have trusted in Jesus as personal Savior.
No, he doesn’t give advice that things here on this planet will be better, nor that you are going to remain healthy nor become rich. He points to a brighter day, to a day when Christians will live in the joyful presence of the Lord forever.
First, Christians are reminded that they are born again. Here are Peter’s words: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pt. 1:3).
“Begotten” is the key word and refers to producing a child. “Again” lets us know he isn’t writing about the physical birth.
But not only are we “born again.” The birth is produced as a result of the “resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
You see, the cross is where the penalty for our sin was paid in full and the resurrection sealed the deal. A dead, non-resurrected savior would be no better than a dead calf or some other sacrificed animal.
Peter doesn’t stop there. He reminds the Christian that he or she isn’t saved only in this lifetime, but up ahead, after this life is done, there is an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not face away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pt. 1:4-5).
Jesus Himself said in the gospels, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jo. 14:3).
What more encouragement does a believer need to prompt a life of faithfully walking daily with the Lord?
I’ve paused and taken an inventory of the actions in my life. Some things disgust me; how much more do they disgust the heart of my loving Heavenly Father?
I’ve repented of those things and now look forward to my Heavenly home, whenever that will be. I desire for my life to be walked on the sure, sound footing and foundation of His will for the remaining days of my life.
At this Thanksgiving season and the beginning of Christmas enjoyment, why don’t you find your quiet place and connect afresh with the Lord who loved you so much that He was willing to stretch out His arms on a cruel, rugged cross to die to sin for you? A fresh walk with the Savior will never be regretted!
