But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.  For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.  For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

I Corinthians 11:28-30

The context of the scripture is taking the elements of bread and wine that represents Jesus' sacrificed body and shed blood.   When you do so, do you do that in remembrance of Him or do you do so because He commanded us to do so and think no further about it?  That's what many in the Corinthian fellowship were doing.  Before they participated in the ceremony, they ate a meal together, and there was no sharing of food with those who didn't have any.  Paul rightly chastised them because of their selfish, unloving attitudes.

So, the question for you is, do you look at your life and your heart (attitudes) to see if you are within God's law of love towards Him, others and self?  Jesus provided simple guidelines to live by, and He wants us to understand our responsibility to Him, others and self in rightly applying these principles.  If we do, the great news is that we will not be judged.  Why?  Because we have judged ourselves and made needed changes so that Godly character could grow in us.

Make it a priority to examine yourself daily in a Godly way and not in a way that provokes an overactive conscience where you are harder on yourself than God intends.  Then, you will be with the sheep when Jesus returns and He will say, "Well done."  That's today's encouraging word. 

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