How often do you stop and reflect on how you are doing? How often do you ask yourself where you are at with the Lord?
Where have you been? Where are you going? Have you taken time to ask for each step of way or did you take a word of the Lord and run with it how you thought best?
At YWAM Lynchburg we have been studying the furniture in the tabernacle and the one peace that stuck out to me was the bronze laver. This was a place of cleansing but also a place of reflection. As Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet in this water, they could see themselves, and the bronze farther reflected. It was a place to dedicate yourself to the Lord, and dedicate what you are doing and where you are going; it was a time to think of how or if you have been doing that.
It reminds me of the question God asked Adam and Eve in the garden: “Where are you?” Don’t hide like they did; you can tell Him where you are struggling so He can redirect you.
Maybe you even need to ask yourself, ‘who am I?’ If you say a Christian, have you been acting like it? Do people see the difference in you?
John 13:35 — By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Mathew 7:15-20 — “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
John 8:31 — Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Do you Love well? Do you bear good fruit? Do you remain faithful to His teachings? Are you walking in freedom because of His truth?
When confronted by the Pharisees Jesus knew who He was:
John 8:12-18 — When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
They even asked Him who He was. Listen to how He responds:
John 8:25 — “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.
He knows who He is because He knows His Father who sent Him and where He had come from. His fruit came from listening to the Father and obeying Him.
The Pharisees thought they knew what was right. They thought they could recognize the Messiah, but they did not. Instead, they failed to hear God. They had been deceived, and accused God of being a liar. They were not bearing good fruit, and when confronted they did not listen. (John 8:33-47)
Have you been deceived? Are you listening to the warnings of the Father or continuing down a path of destruction?
Lastly, who do you seek to glorify: God, or yourself?
Read the rest of the chapter on your own and meditate on what Jesus says. Go through these questions again with God and ask Him to reveal your heart to you, like in Psalm 139. Take some time cleansing and reflecting at the bronze laver today. I pray you deepen your relationship with the Lord even more as you move forward.
