10 Personal Growth Questions via Perry Noble Answered

In spending time with the Lord today, I decided I would go through Perry Noble's 10 Personal Growth Questions I found via my pastor's Twitter post.

1. Am I reading my Bible for information or transformation? (James 1:22-25) There have been times when I have caught myself reading the Bible just for the information.  I confess, this happens mostly when I prepare for a sermon or a workshop I am doing.  But my small group and the discussions we have force me to be in a place to allow transformation.  They hold me accountable, even if at times indirectly.
2. Am I allowing people or circumstances to steal the joy that Jesus promised to me?  (John 10:10) More recently, this has been true.  I have let people and circumstances get the better of my emotions and my joy that I should have through Jesus.  I have allowed frustration to turn into distrust and cloud my judgment and conduct.  I need to see the best in people and pray that the Spirit enables me to extend grace and forgiveness readily.
3. Is there anything in my life that God is consistently dealing with that I am trying to ignore?  (Ezekiel 14:1-5) There are many answers to this question as I believe being refined is a life time achievement so that there will be constantly things God will bring up in my life to deal with.  One current one is a prideful attitude.  Although it can be said pride relates to all sin, the issue I'm wrestling with is just pure pride.  How do I look?  Do people know I am a somebody?  What can I do to "matter" in the eyes of this world?  I try to ignore it by writing it off as something noble or "for the Lord", but, recently, have been convicted as just plain ol' pride.  
4. Who are the people in my life that God has placed around me for the purpose of me sharing Christ with them and/or inviting them to church?  (II Corinthians 5:16-21) Recently, God has been placing the poor in the downtown core in my life as I interact with them more day to day, week to week.  I have been able to learn a couple of names and I hope to continue the relationship that leads to Christ.  
5. Is there anyone I need to apologize to?  (Ephesians 4:25-27) Not that I know of right now.  This may change before this post ends. <update: yes, there is!  Just found out via email>
6. Is there anyone I need to forgive? (Ephesians 4:32) Not at the moment.  However, my thing has always been can I truly forgive someone who doesn't think they need forgiving?  Jesus paid for the sins of all, but forgiveness is only there if the sinner realizes they need it and the experiences the forgiveness as their heart is transformed by Christ.  Those who reject it, don't experience the forgiveness because they are not forgiven.  I believe this is the same for human relationships.  I still have to wrestle this thought through - can I truly forgive someone who does not recognize that they have wronged me or disagrees that they have wronged me?  There is no one currently in the scenario I described - but I need to wrestle through this thought more to be ready when the scenario becomes a personal reality.
7. Is there a sin I need to confess to others and ask for help? (James 5:16) There has been sins I have already confessed and have asked help from others, but do I have unconfessed sin? 
8. Am I fully utilizing the gifts and abilities that God has blessed me with…or am I simply choosing to waste my life?  (I Peter 4:10) With the current opportunities and responsibilities at church and with work, I believe I am using the gifts and abilities that God has blessed me with. 
9. Do I know more lines from the movies that I love than verse from the Bible that I read? (Psalm 119:11) Considering that I am horrible with my memory of lines or verses, this will be a poor comparison.  However, I can say with confidence I know my Bible more than a movie, even if that movie is based on a book (i.e. Lord of the Rings). 
10. Is there anything going on in my life privately that, if it became public, would cause me and/or the body of Christ to be embarrassed? (I John 1:9, James 5:16) Nothing I can think of.  This doesn't mean I don't have sin (i.e. in regards to what I shared above).  

Didn't realize that these questions can be quite personal.  Now to follow up on action points resulting from these questions.

Confession

Lately, I had the privilege of speaking at different venues and to individuals about the need for confession. I believe that people have been shying away from the practice of confession. We don't even use the word confession any more.

It may have been a backlash towards the old tradition of going to confession and confessing to another person (i.e. a priest), but this is a tragedy as confession is the foundation of Christian growth. Without it, we are harbor sin and it prevents us from having true and real fellowship with God and others.

Isaiah 59:1-2 talks about God's ability to save and hear from his people - however, sin separates us from him and how God hides his face from us so that he does not hear our prayers. I believe this is a great picture of how sin breaks our fellowship with God. Our sins of the past, present and the future are forgiven (Hebrews 10:1-10), but we need to confess so that we can allow our prayers to be powerful and effective (James 5:16) and for us to connect with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (1 John 1:6 to vs. 8 and vs. 7 to vs. 9).

Our generation doesn't talk enough about confession and perhaps that is why there is no revival in our culture and our generation. Perhaps that is why we have a lot of Christians who are not satisfied with their walk with God. Confession means we agree with God our sin. And through it, we can truly be repentitive and move on in our growth.