?
How are you doing in your walk with the Lord?
What are your strengths?
What are you weaknesses?
Where do you need to concentrate?
Repeatedly in Scripture we are told to examine ourselves –
with the hope we will recognize
and safeguard our strengths
but also recognize our weaknesses
so we can take immediate steps
to confront and eliminate them.
So –
why not get alone
and prayerfully process the following questions?
Ask God to help you be honest with yourself.
Please don’t stop
until you devise and commit
to a personal specific action plan.
The result will be a more Christlike you!
What matters more in life than that?
You might also share this
with the people you are discipling
to help them evaluate themselves
and make mid-course corrections
in their spiritual journey towards Christlikeness.
The following five qualities are markers for our journey as “lifelong laborers” – the kind of harvest-workers Jesus spoke of in Matthew 9:35-38.
Next to these qualities are descriptive statements. Please rate yourself on each of the following items on a scale of 1 to 10. (1 is the lowest, 10 is the highest)
- Walking with Jesus. Lifelong laborers know, love, and are becoming like Jesus. They know how to be nourished through the Word, prayer, and the promises of God.
__ I regularly spend time with the Lord in the Bible/the Word and in prayer.
__ I have a consistent time with God that continues to draw me closer to Him.
__ I am always seeking out new ways and approaches to keep my time with God fresh and life-giving.
__ As I follow Jesus, I am becoming more aligned in my beliefs, convictions, and behaviors.
__ I am growing in intimacy with the Lord.
- Knowing and Living the Scriptures. Lifelong laborers open, know, and apply the Word of God as truth and sufficient for all of life.
__ I have strong habits of reading and reflecting on what I am learning from the Scriptures.
__ I intentionally seek out opportunities to learn, hear, and study the Scriptures.
__ I find the Bible to be a constant source of comfort, challenge, and companion to my life.
__ I regularly make application to what I am learning, reading, and meditating upon from the Scriptures.
__ I often share with others the great truths the Lord is impressing on me.
- Participating in Community. Lifelong laborers love people deeply, help people flourish, and have relational intelligence. They cultivate communities that are missionally engaged and serving in the body of Christ.
__ My network of friends who meaningfully enrich my life in Christ is growing.
__ I am committed to a small circle of friends (small group) with the larger body of Christ as a place to serve and grow.
__ I regularly take initiative to practically serve and care for other believers.
__ I am growing in my ability to live out such “one-another” verses in the New Testament as “love one another” (John 13:34) and “serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
__ I seek to resolve differences in opinion or purpose according to biblical principles.
- Engaging with those who don’t know Christ. Lifelong laborers are competently and fruitfully advancing the gospel. They are able to verbalize and live the gospel. They are winsomely engaged with and embrace people right where they are.
__ I regularly pray for those who don’t know Jesus in my networks.
__ I take initiative to connect with lost people, making friendships that build bridges for the gospel.
__ I have a concise testimony that I can share.
__ I am motivated and prepared to talk about the gospel in the diverse settings of my neighborhood, workplace, hobbies, or social contacts.
__ I regularly engage in “faith conversations,” asking questions and sharing my story of how God is changing my life and how my faith makes a difference.
- Reproducing Spiritual Generations. Lifelong laborers’ intention, mindset, and lifestyle helps people come alongside others right where they are—life-on-life to know Christ and to make Him known.
__ I pray for opportunities to help others know and grow in Jesus Christ.
__ I am currently discipling another person, helping him or her to become a more fully devoted Christ-follower.
__ I speak regularly with those I disciple about the vision of being a disciplemaker.
__ I seek to influence other believers (in small groups or at church) to make disciples in life-to-life ways.
__ I can look to my past ministry and see those I’ve discipled being active in discipling others.
__ Total: Tally the 5 Lifelong Laborer qualities. (Please know that all Christ-followers are on a spiritual journey toward greater godliness, and the following are encouragements to consider on the journey.)
Review your responses to the assessment questions for each trait. What do you discover about yourself? Based on what you’ve discovered, consider making a plan for your ongoing discipleship.
The following will help you do just that:
In these five qualities, what strengths did you discover?
- Walking with Jesus:
- Knowing and living the Scriptures:
- Participating in community:
- Engaging with those who don’t know Christ:
- Reproducing spiritual generations:
In these five qualities, what areas of growth did you discover?
- Walking with Jesus:
- Knowing and living the Scriptures:
- Participating in community:
- Engaging with those who don’t know Christ:
- Reproducing spiritual generations:
What is one strength that you might strengthen all the more?
What is one area of growth in which you could trust God for progress?
What is one practical action step you can take within the next 24 hours?