I was thinking the other day about how good I had it when I was in school. You remember–Start a new semester in the fall and then finish it just before Christmas. Then we had a Christmas break. Following that break another semester began and then ended in May. Then–school was out! For most of June/July/August (in the old days many of us did not start back to school until September). I kind of miss that.
Still, we do have some sense of start and stop to our lives. We begin a new day every 24 hours. We begin a new week every seven days. I have found it very helpful to begin a new week by reviewing the previous week and then taking an overview of the upcoming week.
These are important questions which I need to be asking as I review the previous week.
1. Did I genuinely treasure Jesus? Is he just “…an important part of my life” or is my heart filled with passion for him because I value him above all else.
2. Was I a person of integrity? Was I more concerned with making people happy or making God happy? Did I spend more time thinking about what gaining the approval of others or about gaining God’s approval. Was I the same person in private that I was in public?
3. Did I treat people in a way that pleased Jesus?How did I behave when I was upset or frustrated with someone?
These questions are critical to seriously maturing in Christ. It is far too easy to just breath air and let the time go by without examing our lives.
I also need to look at the coming week.
1. As I look at the next seven days, when do I plan to spend time in prayer and in the Word of God?
2. Do I have adequate time carved out for my family, for rest, and for exercise?
3. What do I need to be praying about in light of the kind of week that I forsee at this point?
These questions are important if I am going to stay connected to the “big picture”