A Spiritual Checkup

Psalm 15

A few weeks ago, my wife reminded me that it was time for my yearly physical. Apparently, I have reached the age where an annual checkup is recommended. So, this got me to thinking about physical checkups. I remember in high school I would get a physical every year. I go to the dentist twice a year to have my teeth and gums checked. My three year old son and two week old daughter are both on strict checkup schedules to monitor their physical health and development. In fact, we get a sheet at each visit that tells where they compare to their peers in the key areas of development, like weight and height. In addition to our scheduled checkups, we schedule doctor visits if we aren’t feeling well. You see, we do all these things, we take all of these steps to ensure we are physically healthy, but what about our spiritual health? How is that being monitored? Are you scheduling an annual spiritual checkup for yourself? When you are feeling spiritually unhealthy, when sin is dominating your life, are you scheduling an appointment with someone who can help? Are you spending time with the Lord? Are you spending time in His Word? Do you have other men in your life to lean on during the times of spiritual illness?

You see men, it is so important that we recognize and address the spiritual illness in our lives. Failing to do this will undoubtedly result in great struggles for us in our lives. Therefore, each of us needs to be intentionally scheduling a spiritual checkup in our life. Psalm 15 (see below) provides us with such a checkup. This short by powerful psalm stresses the importance of the character and heart of the person who worships God and desires to have an intimate relationship with Him. It begins with David asking the question, “Who can have fellowship with the Lord?” David answers this question by providing ten moral qualities (15:2 – 15:5a) of the spiritually healthy person. Together, these ten characteristics paint a picture of a person of integrity and a person who has the right heart to dwell with God. David ends this psalm with a great promise. The promise that a person who walks with such integrity and whose heart is in the right place will experience stability as well as enjoy intimate fellowship with the Lord.

As men of God, we need to ensure we are walking in the will of God consistently in order to enjoy fellowship with Him and stability in this life. A periodic read of Psalm 15 will provide us with the necessary spiritual checkup to ensure we are living our lives in the will of God.

Psalm 15 1 LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?

2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

This Week’s Challenge: Read Psalm 15 daily and ask yourself this question: If you had to apply to have fellowship with God, would your references say you had the required integrity? Words? Works? Dealings? Why or why not?

~ Tim Hall https://twitter.com/1timothy12 (I encourage feedback, questions & comments - email me at 1timothy46@gmail.com)