As we look back, we’ve discussed:

Who are you? Made in the very image of God, you have been given life and told that you are salt and light, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, the temple of God.

What are you? A child and servant of God and everything that entails. Your time. Your efforts on His behalf. The entirety of every minute of every day of the life God gives you.

When are you? You are living in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation among whom we should shine as lights in the world.

Where are you? Spiritually in your everyday walk with God?

Why are you? Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.

Finally, we close with this question:

How Are You?

We get asked that question almost every day, don’t we? And what do we usually say? “Fine.”

Fine. Even if it isn’t true!

How Are You Spiritually?

That’s the first question we asked every month in our monthly devotional for teenagers and young Christians… it goes something like this:

On a scale of 1-10 during the last week, how were you spiritually?

And that’s your question, and my question…how are you spiritually on a scale of 1-10?

Here’s what you and I both know. We all have choices to make in our lives. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Obey or disobey. God or Satan.

With this in mind… have you ever considered Heaven? By this I mean do you ever sit down and just think about, concentrate and meditate on Heaven. What it is. What it will be like. What can I do or adjust in my life to be better pleasing to God to assure that Heaven will be my eternal home?

Have you ever considered Hell? Same questions.

Have you ever considered eternity?

How Are You?

If you died today, where would you spend eternity?

You know the answer and so does God. Right now. This minute. This second. You know.

More questions.

Are you a Christian in good standing with God?

Are you an erring Christian?

Are you not a Christian and thus lost in your sins?

Don’t kid yourself. You know the answers to all these questions right now even as you read this.

God asks how you are every day as we read and meditate on His word. I ask you to think as you open your Bible and let God talk to you right here and right now as you examine yourself as to how you are spiritually!

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

— Matthew 13:3-8

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

— Matthew 13:18-23

But I submit to you that here is where most of us are spiritually:

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and sayeth unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

— Matthew 13:24-30

Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the son of man; The field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one: The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

— Matthew 13:37-42

Whether you are in good stead with God or not, it’s all about your heart. That’s what Jesus said…

Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

— Matthew 15:17-19

If you truly examine yourself as to how you are spiritually, you know and you understand if you are in good stead with God or not. It’s a heart problem.

I’ve been told that no matter who he or she is, everyone of us has an Achilles heel, a weak spot in our lives, if you will.

What I’ve found is simply this, and be brutally honest with yourself here, the things we’re the most defensive about in our lives usually reveal our biggest sins and weaknesses in God’s sight.

An example from Jesus:

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, which? Jesus said, THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESSS, HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER: and THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and that shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

— Matthew 19:16-22

What lack I yet?

His Achilles heel which was riches was revealed by Jesus in answer to the question as to what he lacked.

What is your Achilles heel?

You see, if we’re not true in examining ourselves as to how we are spiritually, daily, hourly, weekly, constantly, Satan will blind your mind…

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

— 2 Corinthians 4:4

How much better for Satan to blind the minds of those who think they are walking correctly in God’s sight only to find out later they were not pleasing in his sight because they never asked or maybe even thought about how they were spiritually.

I have seen so many dear brothers and sisters through the years who have been not only great examples to me in my walk with God, but to others also, have Satan put something in their way at the end of their lives that caused them to put their souls in serious jeopardy.

Lust. Greed. Hatred. Anger. The list is endless.

It’s so sad. They’ve lived their entire lives in obedience to God, only to have Satan throw them a curve, as if to say as they get close to the end of life’s journey…”so how you gonna handle this?”

And without that examination of how they were spiritually, they are lost without repentance, which many times, sad to say, never came.

It’s not easy to maintain, but God told us:

…that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

— Acts 14:22

Maybe you’re just waiting for the right time to make things right. Whether an erring Christian or one who needs to obey God and walk with him in your life, why do you wait? For the convenient season?

And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

— Acts 24:24-25

Look what King Agrippa said to Paul when he heard the truth about Jesus Christ and what he needed to do to save his soul:

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

— Acts 26:28

Almost.

What can you and I expect if we don’t obey God?

The future is not filled with wonderful things to think about.

People ask me what happens after death?

Great question.

Jesus answers.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

— Luke 16:19-28

Here was a man who was dead.

He was buried.

But…he could see, taste, feel, talk, remember. But he couldn’t change his position ever. The die was cast by the actions of his life.

Eternity. For ever he would be in the same position. In fact he’s in the same condition now as he was then. Never to change.

“Remember in your life.” That’s what he was told.

I’m convinced that part of the awfulness of being separated from God for eternity is seen here in the fact that we will be able to remember all the times of our life when we had the opportunity to change. To serve God or ourselves. Always thinking about the things we should have done in obedience to God while alive, but that we let go, or continued in sin and willful disobedience.

Eternity is a long time to think about mistakes that could have been rectified if only we’d examined ourselves.

When it’s all said and done, why did God send Jesus?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

— John 3:16-17

As a Christian, as I ask myself How Are You spiritually, here’s what I know:

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

— Romans 1:16

Examine Yourself.

How Are You?