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The Preflight Inspection of the Soul<\/em><\/p>\n \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n Most Christians do not lose their witness in a single dramatic fall. They lose it by inches: a curt word to a cashier, a lane stolen on the freeway at 7:40 in the morning, a neighbor whose name we never bothered to learn, a brother\u2019s need quietly overlooked because the week was busy. The great battles of discipleship are rarely fought in the sanctuary. They are fought in the parking lot, the break room, the checkout line, and the text thread.<\/p>\n That is why a morning checklist can be such a sharp spiritual tool. Pilots do not skip the preflight inspection because they have flown before, and surgeons do not skip the instrument count because they are experienced. The checklist exists because ordinary days are where catastrophic failures hide.<\/strong><\/span> Billy Graham, introducing his ten guidelines for Christian living, reminded readers that the Bible describes the Christian life as one of constant growth. Growth of that kind is either tended each morning or neglected by default.<\/p>\n What follows is not a ladder of works by which we climb up to God. Scripture is plain that we are saved by grace through faith, \u201cnot of works, lest any man should boast\u201d (Ephesians 2:8\u20139). It is the very next verse that gives this checklist its warrant: \u201cFor we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them\u201d (Ephesians 2:10). The boxes below are not a scorecard for earning favor; they are a lamp for walking in good works God has already prepared. Check them with gratitude, not anxiety. Leave a box empty with honesty, not despair. And let every one of them point you back to Christ.<\/p>\n Read one or two sections each morning with your Bible open, and pray the words of Psalm 139:23\u201324 before you begin: \u201cSearch me, O God, and know my heart.\u201d Choose the boxes that fit the day ahead: the commute, the meeting, the errand, the visit. In the evening, return to the page and mark what God enabled you to do. What looks like recording an accomplishment is really recording grace.<\/p>\n If you want a single anchor verse for the whole exercise, take the passage that OpenBible.info\u2019s readers have voted the most helpful on daily Christian living, Romans 12:1\u20132: present your bodies \u201ca living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,\u201d and \u201cbe not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.\u201d Every section below is simply an application of those two verses to a different corner of the week.<\/p>\n \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n Everything else on this list flows from this first category, or it does not flow at all. Jesus did not tell His disciples to seek the kingdom eventually, but first<\/i> (Matthew 6:33), and He called them to take up the cross daily<\/i> (Luke 9:23). Graham\u2019s first guideline is to read the Bible daily, and he warned against skimming a chapter merely to satisfy the conscience. The benefit is not information alone but orientation. A heart that has heard from God before it hears from the world walks into the day already steadied.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026God first, others second, self third.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Billy Graham, \u201cIn His Own Words: Billy Graham on Living the Christian Life,\u201d Billy Graham Library<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I read Scripture this morning slowly enough to hear it, not merely to finish it.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I prayed through today\u2019s calendar (meetings, errands, appointments) by name.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I confessed known sin and received God\u2019s forgiveness (1 John 1:9).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I asked the Holy Spirit for strength before I needed it.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I surrendered one specific worry to God (Philippians 4:6\u20137).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I settled the order of the day: God first, others second, self third.<\/p>\n Most believers spend a third of their waking lives at work, and Scripture refuses to treat those hours as spiritually neutral: \u201cWhatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men\u201d (Colossians 3:23). The employee who arrives on time, tells the truth on the timesheet, and does excellent work when no supervisor is watching preaches a sermon few pulpits can match. The spiritual benefit is freedom. When the Lord is your true Employer, a harsh boss cannot steal your joy, and a promotion cannot inflate your pride.<\/p>\n \u201cThe time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (17th century)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper put the same truth in public terms. In his 1880 address on sphere sovereignty, he insisted that there is no compartment of life, the office and the shop floor included, that falls outside the claim of Christ.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is not a square inch \u2026 over which Christ \u2026 does not cry: \u2018Mine!\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Abraham Kuyper, \u201cSphere Sovereignty\u201d (1880)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will give an honest day\u2019s work, whether or not anyone is watching.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will not pad hours, shade the truth, or take credit that belongs to someone else.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will speak well of my employer and coworkers and refuse gossip in the break room.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will treat the customer, client, or caller in front of me as someone made in God\u2019s image.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will pray silently for one coworker by name.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will offer the tedious parts of my work, too, as worship (1 Corinthians 10:31).<\/p>\n When a lawyer asked Jesus, \u201cAnd who is my neighbour?\u201d the answer was a story about a stranger lying beside a road (Luke 10:29\u201337). Neighbor-love in Scripture is not limited to the people we would have chosen. It includes the man next door whose bumper sticker irritates us, the server who brought the wrong order, and the stranger beside us at the pharmacy counter. Verse By Verse Ministry<\/em> compares believers to ambassadors posted on foreign soil: we remain among unbelievers precisely so that we can represent Christ\u2019s kingdom to them. The benefit is open doors. People who have been treated with unexpected kindness tend to ask where it came from.<\/p>\n \u201cWe witness in two ways: by life and by word.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Billy Graham, \u201c10 Guidelines for Christian Living,\u201d Billy Graham Library (from Peace with God)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo not waste time bothering whether you \u201clove\u201d your neighbour; act as if you did.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book III, chapter 9<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will learn, or use, the name of a neighbor, cashier, or server today.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will be the first to greet, and I will be swift to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will look for one practical way to help a neighbor: carrying, lending, mowing, watching.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will let my speech be \u201calway with grace, seasoned with salt\u201d (Colossians 4:6).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will be ready to give a reason for my hope, \u201cwith meekness and fear\u201d (1 Peter 3:15).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will pray for one person who does not yet know Christ.<\/p>\n Few places test sanctification like an interstate on-ramp at rush hour or a long line at the motor vehicle office. Paul\u2019s instruction to \u201cesteem other better than themselves\u201d (Philippians 2:3) is not suspended behind the steering wheel. Self-control, the last-named fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23), is what turns an inconvenience into a testimony. Dennis Rainey lists among his essentials of the Christian life the call to obey God rather than our cravings (1 Corinthians 9:24\u201327). Impatience, after all, is only a craving for our own way, a little sooner. The benefit is peace: \u201cHe that is slow to anger is better than the mighty\u201d (Proverbs 16:32).<\/p>\n \u201cOur passions must be subordinated to the cross.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Dennis Rainey, \u201c7 Essentials for the Christian Life,\u201d Cru (reprinted from FamilyLife)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will drive as though the car ahead of me carries someone for whom Christ died.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will let someone merge, and I will not answer rudeness with rudeness.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will keep the speed limit and arrive with a calm spirit rather than a stolen minute.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will sincerely thank the clerk, the mechanic, and the delivery driver.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will wait in line without murmuring (Philippians 2:14).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will return the cart, pick up the litter, and leave each place better than I found it.<\/p>\n Paul tells the churches to do good unto all men, \u201cespecially unto them who are of the household of faith\u201d (Galatians 6:10). John presses the point: whoever has this world\u2019s goods, sees a brother in need, and shuts up his compassion, \u201chow dwelleth the love of God in him?\u201d (1 John 3:17). Burden-bearing takes many shapes: a grocery card for a family between jobs, a ride to a medical appointment, a meal after a funeral, an hour of simply listening. Graham called believers to let love be the ruling principle of life, and Rainey\u2019s essentials include serving God rather than ourselves (Isaiah 6:8). The benefit flows both ways. The body is strengthened, and the cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7) finds that generosity enlarges the heart far more than it shrinks the wallet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first service that one owes to others \u2026 consists in listening to them.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (1939)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will check on one believer who is grieving, sick, unemployed, or alone.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will give, as I am able, to a known need, cheerfully and not under compulsion.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will listen fully before I offer advice.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will pray with<\/i> someone, not merely for<\/i> them.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will offer practical help: a meal, a ride, a repair, an afternoon of childcare.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will keep confidences and protect the dignity of those I help (Matthew 6:3\u20134).<\/p>\n Jesus prayed not that the Father would take His disciples out of the world, but that He would keep them from the evil one (John 17:15). The Christian is to be neither a hermit nor a chameleon. Ligonier Ministries points to Daniel, who served Babylon with skill yet refused to compromise, and concludes that believers should neither reject nor uncritically accept their culture. Fredericksburg Christian School\u2019s guide to worldview urges believers to weigh films, music, novels, and news against Scripture, keeping what agrees with biblical truth and rejecting what does not.<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloping a Christian worldview doesn\u2019t mean withdrawing from culture.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Fredericksburg Christian School, \u201cComprehensive Guide to Understanding and Developing a Christian Worldview\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Former cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace offers a test worth carrying all day. Being physically present in a worldly setting is not the danger, he argues; it may even be an opportunity. The danger begins when that setting becomes a source of instruction for how we think and live. When a show, a feed, or a friendship starts doing that, it is time to step back. The benefit of such vigilance is discernment: the renewed mind is able to \u201cprove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God\u201d (Romans 12:2).<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026less concerned with my point of location than \u2026 with my source of information.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 J. Warner Wallace, Cold Case Christianity<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChristians live in the world, but it is not their ultimate home.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Ligonier Ministries, \u201cChristianity and Culture,\u201d Ligonier Guides<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will measure today\u2019s entertainment by Philippians 4:8 before I press play.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will notice when a program, feed, or conversation begins shaping my values, and step away.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will engage unbelieving friends with warmth, without adopting their worldview.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will spend more minutes in God\u2019s Word today than in my news feed.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will keep myself \u201cunspotted from the world\u201d in speech, humor, and habit (James 1:27).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will remember that \u201cour conversation is in heaven\u201d (Philippians 3:20).<\/p>\n The Greek philia<\/i>, the love of friendship, is a gift of God, and Mission Hills Church anchors it in Proverbs 17:17: \u201cA friend loveth at all times.\u201d Shannon Kay McCoy of the Biblical Counseling Coalition describes gospel-centered friendships as centered on Christ, redemptive in offering forgiveness and restoration, and sacrificial in their demands on our time and emotions. Like a garden, she says, they must be tended, and honesty within them should come with humility and kindness. Leslie Ludy of Set Apart Ministries<\/em> adds a guardrail many friendships lack: the godly friend points the other person to Jesus rather than becoming that person\u2019s first refuge. The benefit is iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). Friends formed this way leave each other more like Christ.<\/p>\n \u201cA gospel-centered friend drives others to God and not to herself.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Shannon Kay McCoy, \u201cCultivating Gospel-Centered Friendships,\u201d Biblical Counseling Coalition<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026the absent must be safe with us.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Amy Carmichael, as cited by Leslie Ludy, \u201cHow to Be a Christ-Centered Friend,\u201d Set Apart Ministries<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will point a friend toward Christ rather than making myself indispensable.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will refuse gossip. The absent will be safe with me.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will speak a hard truth in love when it is needed, and receive one humbly (Proverbs 27:6).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will widen my circle so that no one feels shut out.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will choose close companions who sharpen my walk (Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 15:33).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will keep friendships with the opposite sex transparent, guarded, and honoring to any spouse involved (1 Timothy 5:1\u20132).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will forgive quickly and keep no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).<\/p>\n Mission Hills Church observes that romantic love is often avoided in church settings, even though the Bible celebrates it within God\u2019s design for marriage (Song of Solomon 8:6\u20137). Because romance is a good gift, it needs firm guardrails. Desiring God frames dating as discernment toward marriage rather than practice for it, since intimacy is safest within marriage. Frank Powell of ChurchLeaders<\/em> urges believers to date with a trajectory toward marriage and not to date non-Christians. Transformation Christian Fellowship adds five practical principles: seek God before seeking a person, value character over attraction, communicate with grace, share spiritual alignment (\u201cCan two walk together, except they be agreed?\u201d Amos 3:3), and stay accountable to a church community. Three times the Song of Solomon charges, \u201cstir not up, nor awake my love, till he please\u201d (2:7). The benefit is a love that is protected before marriage and therefore strong within it.<\/p>\n \u201cPursue clarity, and postpone intimacy.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Desiring God, \u201cThe Great Prize in Christian Dating\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDating with a trajectory towards marriage means dating with a purpose.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Frank Powell, \u201c10 Christian Dating Principles That Could Transform Lives,\u201d ChurchLeaders<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026a healthy romantic relationship must be rooted in God first.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Transformation Christian Fellowship, \u201cBuilding a God-Centered Romantic Relationship\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will date only a believer whose love for Christ is evident, not merely professed (2 Corinthians 6:14).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will date with a purpose, discerning marriage, not passing the time.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will set physical boundaries in advance and keep them when emotions run high (1 Thessalonians 4:3\u20135).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will value character over chemistry: patience, faithfulness, self-control (Galatians 5:22\u201323).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will invite trusted believers (parents, pastors, mature friends) to speak into the relationship.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will avoid settings of isolation that invite temptation, and flee youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will ask honestly whether each of us is growing closer to Christ because of the other.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> If married, I will guard my eyes, my screen, and my heart for my spouse alone (Proverbs 5:18; Matthew 5:28).<\/p>\n Graham\u2019s final guideline was to live above your circumstances, and Rainey closes his essentials with the call to worship God rather than comfort, pointing to the prophet Habakkuk. Paul learned \u201cin whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content\u201d (Philippians 4:11). Joy that does not depend on circumstance may be the most persuasive apologetic a Christian ever offers, because the watching world has no explanation for it.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines \u2026 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Habakkuk 3:17\u201318 (KJV)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2610<\/span> I will give thanks in everything, naming at least three specific mercies (1 Thessalonians 5:18).<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will choose worship over complaint when plans collapse.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will not let a bad report or a bad day redefine the goodness of God.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will end the day by reviewing these boxes, thanking God for each one checked and confessing each one missed.<\/p>\n \u2610<\/span> I will lie down in peace, trusting that His mercies are new every morning (Psalm 4:8; Lamentations 3:22\u201323).<\/p>\n \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n No believer will check every box every day. The point is not a perfect page but a turned heart. Each empty box drives us back to the One who kept the law perfectly on our behalf, and each checked box is evidence that His Spirit is at work in us. Graham reminded his readers that temptation is not sin; yielding is. The same grace that forgives the yielding also strengthens us to resist it tomorrow.<\/p>\n So tomorrow, before the coffee cools, open the Book and pick up the pen. Then step out the door as an ambassador of another King, into the break room, onto the freeway, past the neighbor\u2019s fence, and toward the friend who needs a call. Ordinary days are where faithfulness is proved, and with God\u2019s help, yours can be one of them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nLost by Inches<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
How to Use This Checklist<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Seek First the Kingdom: The Morning Watch<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Matthew 6:33 \u00b7 Luke 9:23 \u00b7 Psalm 5:3<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
2. Whatsoever Ye Do: Employment and Daily Work<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Colossians 3:23\u201324 \u00b7 1 Corinthians 10:31 \u00b7 Ephesians 6:6\u20138<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
3. Love Thy Neighbour: Strangers, Neighbors, and Everyday Conversation<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Luke 10:27\u201337 \u00b7 Colossians 4:5\u20136 \u00b7 1 Peter 3:15<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
4. Esteem Others Better Than Yourself: The Highway, the Line, and the Errand<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Philippians 2:3\u20134, 14 \u00b7 Galatians 5:22\u201323 \u00b7 Proverbs 16:32<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
5. Bear Ye One Another\u2019s Burdens: Meeting the Needs of Fellow Believers<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Galatians 6:2, 10 \u00b7 1 John 3:17\u201318 \u00b7 2 Corinthians 9:7<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
6. Be Not Conformed: In the World but Not of It<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
John 17:15\u201318 \u00b7 Romans 12:2 \u00b7 James 1:27 \u00b7 Philippians 4:8<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
7. A Friend Loveth at All Times: Christ-Centered Friendship<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Proverbs 17:17; 27:6, 17 \u00b7 Ephesians 4:15 \u00b7 John 15:13<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Guidelines for Casual Friendship<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
8. Flee, Follow, and Wait: Romantic Relationships That Honor God<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
2 Corinthians 6:14 \u00b7 1 Thessalonians 4:3\u20135 \u00b7 1 Corinthians 6:18\u201320 \u00b7 Song of Solomon 2:7<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Guidelines for Romantic Involvement<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
9. Rejoice Evermore: Living Above Your Circumstances<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
1 Thessalonians 5:16\u201318 \u00b7 Habakkuk 3:17\u201318 \u00b7 Philippians 4:11\u201313<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
The Checklist and the Cross<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n