2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

The ability to examine one’s self has always been the difference between those who become great for God and those who fail in their Christian walk. The ability of self-examination enabled David to become the greatest king of Israel, but Saul was a miserable failure because he could not see or admit his own faults. Neither man had more ability than the other, but one was able to search his own heart and the other was not. Self-examination separated Peter from Judas; Peter became the great apostle, while Judas committed suicide.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

One of the greatest tricks of the enemy is to get us to look outside ourselves, outside of our own hearts for the cause of our problems and our sinful condition. I have met people who have been in financial straights for years, yet continued to blame their hardship on someone who “did them wrong” or “ripped them off” rather than deal with the situation. I have caught myself going to a church service on more than one occasion and becoming overly critical – I didn’t like the choir, or the preaching, or the music. Then, halfway through the service, I was arrested by the Holy Ghost and reminded of why I was there.

A sinner will never experience the fulness of the Holy Ghost until he or she gets the courage to look inside the heart. As long as they continue to hold sin in their heart they will never receive what God has for them. As long as they blame someone else for not caring enough, not wanting them to have it bad enough, not praying enough, not loving enough, they will be all that they could be.

Psalm 139:23-24 ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

2 Timothy 3:1-2 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

1 Corinthians 11:26-31 ²⁶ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. ²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

We are living in uncertain times; time is drawing short. What do you seek today? Different people have different motivations for coming to church. What about you? What motivates you? What is your driving force? Everyone has a driving force in his or her life. For some, it is a career; for others, it is a man or woman; others serve a love of money. For still others, it is a sports team or the next drink. Everyone has a god that they worship; the only question is, “which god is it?” Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” Whom do you serve? It is easy to give complete surrender to the will of God lip service, but where is your heart? Can you really sing, “Silver and Gold, Silver and Gold, I’d rather have Jesus than Silver and Gold” and mean it?

Examine your motives today. Have you lost your first love? Reexamine where your heart and your treasure are. Reexamine your investments, mindful that all will fade away someday. What will you be left with when you stand before God?