Pop Quiz!

Didn't you just love those surprise tests your teachers gave you in school? To see how much you really knew without studying? Yeah, me neither. I always hated those things. As soon as I heard the teacher say, "Today, I have a little surprise for you," I knew my GPA was going to drop significantly before the bell rang.

And how do you answer the questions you don't know the answer to. Do you guess? Or just leave them blank? Do you answer all unanswerable true/false question as "true" figuring you'll as least get half of them right? Maybe. On multiple choice do you always answer "c"? Or all of the above, and then try to figure out a way to justify your answer. Yeah.

The whole problem with pop quizzes is that they were only a problem for those of us who didn't  studied. That was me. I look at my life now and my walk with Jesus. I haven't changed much.

Each day we are faced with opportunities to shine, situations set in place and arranged for by God, to test us, examine us. So often we just fly right by those "pop quizzes. We don't recognize them for what they are. Opportunities to serve, opportunities to witness to others about our faith. The problem comes when we are simply too busy with our lives, our friends and our phones to notices them when they occur. And they DO occur. For example . . .

When I was at church today the pastor was speaking from the Book of Hebrews. Instead of telling us to open our Bibles to chapter 6:9-12 he misspoke and gave us the verses right before it to read instead.

"7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned." - Hebrews 6:7-8

This was the second time these verses have spoken to me in the past week - my friend and I having discussed them just last week. "Coincidence," you might say. Friends, I have been a Christian for nine years now and have seen enough "coincidences" in that time to KNOW they are more than that. They are God-incidences. This week God was testing me and . . . IT WAS AN OPEN BOOK TEST!!!

You see, my family is involved in a minor land dispute with our farm in Michigan. Our neighbor built a driveway on our land. My sister, her husband and I ran through all sorts of scenarios about what to do. That was the test.

Of course I wrote in the wrong answer at first. Grateful I was using a No. 2 Ticonderoga with a fresh eraser on its head! I wrote down a few answers initially. None of them seemed right after they sat there for a while. Then I read that verse again in church today and God's Holy Spirit showed me something I was missing in my answers.

I have been chosen by God. "No one comes to the Father unless the Father draws Him" (John 14:6). I have answered that call and become His slave, seeking to do His bidding. As a result, I am expected to bear fruit (Matthew 17:7). If I bear from the truth of God is in me. John 15 is amazing in this area. The words of Jesus, our Lord.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." - John 15:1-8

Ouch! God pruned me a bit this weekend. Made me bow my head and humbly seek His forgiveness for not passing this test with my FIRST answer. But God was good to me and forgiving, desiring that I pass the test. I hope He is pleased with my final answer.

We all face tests every day - pop quizzes with eternal consequences. God does not grade on a curve. Instead He offers a simple pass / fail exam. Trust me. You do NOT want to fail His exams. Did you miss a pop quiz today? That's okay. There will be a make up exam tomorrow. You will be given the same test over and over again until you pass. That can become very depressing unless we live, and learn from our teacher. Study, learn and live God's teachings. Embrace the tests. Pray . . . teach me, O Lord.

Teach Me, O Lord - Trinity Chamber Singers

Examine

A woman goes in for her annual mammogram. For her it's the same boring procedure she's always gone through. The same cold machine. Probably the same nurse too. The same radiologist has probably examined x-ray after x-ray after x-ray. The results are always the same. At least they were. Until she got a call saying they would like to re-take her x-ray . . . just to be sure. Gulp!

What must go through a woman's mind when she gets a call like that? Does she start thinking about her life and all of the people who really matter to her? Does she think about her children? Our mind can take us all kinds of places when we receive news of a life-changing nature.

The woman's mammogram had indeed revealed a tiny lump. Surgery was quickly scheduled. Time is important! The doctor removed the lump and it was examined. Benign! Whew!! Thank God!!! Then her life returns to normal. She goes on doing what she has always done. Except that NOW she keeps a more watchful eye on things, examining herself more frequently than she did before. And perhaps she appreciates life more now than she once did.

Life.

Examining ourselves is an important part of a Christian's life too but we don't seem to spend a lot of time doing that. We tend to just go on assuming things are okay, like a woman who never examines herself or gets a mammogram. We go to church and we believe there is a God, and we toss up a prayer once in a while when we need to. Otherwise we consider ourselves to be spiritually healthy. But are we?

God's word tells us that we are to examine ourselves.

"5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down." - 2 Corinthians 13:5-10

When Paul wrote that letter to the Corinthians he was writing to a people group who were still living their sinful lifestyle as if nothing was wrong.

"21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." -Romans 1: 21-25

Unfortunately, we humans do not come with warning devices that sound an alarm when we're about to do something stupid. We just go ahead and do them and the regret it later. Or worse, we just keep doing stupid things.

Before I became a believer I did stupid things. I can see that now. At the time I didn't think anything about the idolatry, the self-worship. But now, through the lens of God's Holy Spirit, my sinful nature seems rather obvious, looking back.

Reading God's Word, The Bible, is life changing for new believers and unbelievers alike. God uses His Word to convict us and we begin to examine ourselves, hopefully taking steps to correct the wrongs.

God's Word is the perfect mirror. Read it. Then take a look iat yourself. See anything that doesn't line up with scripture? Get rid of it. It's called repentance. We are told to "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7) How are we doing with that? Take a step back and examine yourself. I try to do that every day by reading His Word and comparing what I do in this world with what Jesus did. I will never match His standard, but I promise I will never give up trying to do so.

Consider Jesus' sacrifice on the cross . . . for you, then try to do otherwise.

I encourage you to watch this video. It's long but very convicting. Then examine yourself, as the Bible says, and take a step closer to leading a humble life, dedicated to Christ, not the example this world sets for us. We are called to be holy, set apart (1 Peter1:16). Make today be the first day YOU walk in the light. Come out of the darkness . . . and live.

Examine Yourselves by Paul Washer