So, it’s the start of a new year. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I don’t particularly like them because we don’t stick to them. But I have a lot of “businessman” in me…Remember, I worked in corporate finance for 25 years? Every business person knows that you need to take a periodic inventory. Some places do that yearly, and some even take a monthly inventory. In nearly every business there should be at least a yearly inventory. Seeing exactly what you’ve got and what you need…removing of old stock, and determining the assets of the present situation. All of that is done with a consideration of the coming year.
The need for an inventory tells us that there are things we don’t know, or things we need to think about, and if we want to operate well, and efficiently, we have got to do some thinking. We need to see what we are doing well, and what needs to be fixed. If there is too much damaged inventory, that tells us something. If inventory is missing, that tells us something…right?
In our personal and spiritual lives if we want to operate efficiently, we need to take a personal inventory….and optimally that should be daily. At the very least we need to look at it yearly. 1 Peter 2:2-3 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” I might suggest to you, that how often you take a personal inventory shows how good your spiritual health is. In a business, the knowledge gained in an inventory allows the owner to make decisions that will help the business grow. Businesses should not just ride the wave of the past successes! You must look ahead and attempt to do even better!
In our inventory, we should ask ourselves: What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? Our Fruit of The Spirit helps us figure this out. If we look at the Fruit of the Spirit, we see the traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Ask yourself: · “Do I have more love than the last time I took inventory?” · “Do I have more joy than the last time I took inventory?” · “Do I have more peace than the last time I took inventory?”
Run through those questions for all of the Fruits of The Spirit. Then ask yourself what you need to change to do better. In our personal inventory, we must realize that there is room for spiritual growth, but we cannot get bogged down in our mistakes. The purpose is not to beat ourselves up, but to better ourselves. Everyone has made many mistakes in the past. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Straining toward what is ahead! We need to be moving closer to God. What business owner doesn’t hope as he does his inventory, that his business will be even greater next year? Won’t you head for higher ground this coming year with me?
It’s great to be your pastor! In the Lord’s service till the last fish is caught, <><
Pastor Chris
