Spiritual Spell Check

About two weeks ago I was reading through the blog a noticed the tremendous amount of spelling errors that were throughout all of the posts. I was and still am embarrassed by the amount of errors that were on the page; however I learned a deep lesson through this process.  We have this modern invention these days called spell check, which looks over our writings and helps us to correct the mistakes. It serves as somewhat of an editor; it judges our writings to keep us from making foolish mistakes. It saves us from getting a bad grade on our English papers or looking like a retard on blogs. The unfortunate part about this technology is that it is not readily available everywhere you type on a computer, just Microsoft Word in my case.

 All I had to do to keep my work spelling error free was use this software, let down the feelings of spelling invincibility and help myself out. Immediately following this episode with the blog, God really began to convict me at a personal level (which is why I have not posted in a while). Ever heard the phrase “you better check yourself before you wreck yourself?” That is exactly what God was telling me. Just like not using spell check, I had failed to evaluate my life, to look for sin, to judge myself to see my weakness, to see areas in which I was struggling and not honoring God. I was wrecking my relationship with God by be careless and doing whatever in the world seemed right. Thank God for his conviction and guidance.

In the Bible study that I lead we discussed Judging and that familiar passage came to my mind during that time Matthew 7:3-5 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother Let me remove the speck from your own eye; and look, the plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Let me preface this by saying that I was in no way judging anyone, I took this passage in a whole other context. You see, God has given us a spiritual spell check here. He is saying look into your own life for sin, listen to the conviction of my spirit, follow my guidance. REMOVE the PLANK from YOUR OWN EYE. You see as believers we are to constantly look at our lives to find areas that we can improve upon. We are to see where we a weak and exposed, areas where sin is beginning to creep into our lives. We are to be proactive instead of passive in this process. Why? Because it will keep us from having a long, hard, and great fall. 1 Corinthians 11: 31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”  Judging ourselves helps keep us on the path that God has for our life, it keeps us from straying too far away on the path of sin. It keeps us spiritually grounded in the faith.

The only part about judging yourself is it’s just like spell check, you have to use/do it for it to work. It just does not miraculously happen one day as your walking down the hall; it is a practice that you must apply. It is a discipline that requires a knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, being in sync with the spirit. Being willing to be truthful with yourself in order that you can face the harsh issues, it takes open ears to be willing to listen to God’s voice and conviction and a willingness to change. It is human nature to see ourselves as being perfect and keep on living the same way, but it is Holy submission to be willing to change in order that God can receive the ultimate glory from our lives. Take it from me dear brothers and sisters, Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”