james four, ten

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Romans 12:3b

"...Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you."

Romans 12:6a

"God has given each of us the ablilty to do certain things well..."

In my Bible study last week we were given Rom. 12:3 as a thinking point for the week. We were challenged to take the week in study and thought in "learning to come to grips with the real you".

We need to run a diagnostic, a self-assessment. Be careful how you think of yourself (Rom. 12:3 -in another version- "...to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think..."). Assess where you really are, not where you think you are or hope you are ("...but to think soverly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." So then, how do we run an accurate self-assessment? 1.) By looking in His Word and renewing our mind. 2.) By asking His people and getting honest feed back. And then, lastly, 3.) by doing a personal evaluation because a healthy view of ourselves allos us to serve God to the fullest.

This week I have read through Ephesians and then reverted back to Romans 12. Questions that I considered while reading and studying were: When and with whom do you have the greatest freedom to be yourself? In what situations do you find yourself projecting strong or weak reactions to keep people at a distance? By the end of the week (today) I am supposed to write down the top three people who have had the greatest positive influence on my life. Also I am to list my top three strengths and weaknesses.

So, I have personally been studying His Word (1) , and have had my personal evaluation (3). Now, I am asking for your help with number two. I need some honest feed back. Please give me a list of what you honestly think are my top three strengths and then my top three weaknesses.

James 4:10 "When you bow down befoe the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor."