During sermon prep last week, I wound up scrounging through some old Bible study and discipleship material. It was a fun trip down memory lane, thinking about the ways the Lord has used many faithful Christians to disciple me and recalling His wonderful grace through so many seasons of life.
When I had been a Christian for about three or four years, a dear brother named Tony began to invest in me. He took me and a couple other brothers through a Cru (then Campus Crusade) study called Practical Christian Living. A prayed for Tony and Angela as I flipped through that study. Then my eyes landed on a set of questions that somehow hadn’t struck me as powerfully as they did last week. I’m sure we covered the questions, but more than ten years have passed and in God’s kindness a lot has happened. The questions have remained unchanged, but the Lord has taught me to see just a little more clearly. Here are the questions; perhaps they will provide some encouragement and stimulation for you, too.
1. Am I growing in my knowledge of and love for God?
2. Am I growing in my love for people and becoming involved in their lives?
3. Does my ministry flow out of a deepening walk with God?
4. Am I aggressively following and learning all I can from my own spiritual leader(s)?
5. Am I increasing in my vision for ministry?
6. Am I thinking more from God’s perspective as revealed in His Word?
7. Am I sharing my faith regularly?
8. Am I growing in intercessory prayer for people?
9. Am I seeking to involve other Christians in growth opportunities?
10. Am I seeking to influence my community with Christian values?
“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress” (1 Tim. 4:15).
