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"ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT EXAM?" "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart."(Psalm 26:2)When I was in High School, more often than not, I was guilty of looking out the window watching what was going on outside getting the lay of the land about things that might happen, instead of listening to what my teachers were saying, and that's probably why I never did very well on a pop quiz or those tests. I graduated alright, but I didn't graduate anywhere near the head of the class. That bothered me for a while, but since none of us can hit the rewind or the replay button on our life story, there's no sense wallowing around and stewing over things we can't change.Well, when the Lord saved me, I developed a thirst for studying the Word of God and Bible study material etc., etc. And with that thirst, I not only wanted to learn the Bible, I also wanted to live it. Folks, we should not only believe what the Bible says, we should, with the help of the Holy Spirit, behave it. But I found out real fast that loving it and living it would mean there would be some tough exams along the way. I could no longer sit there like I did years ago in school looking out the Window of the World to see what answers it had to offer. I needed to pay attention by looking into God's Word for the correct answers to those exams.David prayed in that verse I posted, "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." Now, I have to tip my hat to David here, because that's a mighty tough prayer to pray! By that I mean, who in the world would enjoy asking for that, and then taking that exam given by none other than God Himself? I don't know how it was at the school you attended, but I can't recall any of my classmates ever raising their hand and saying, "Teacher! Teacher! May we please have an exam today? We just love taking exams."Many times, I've prayed for patience, and in my life, that's a prayer that the Lord has been quick to answer! Then before I knew what was happening, I'd be driving along, and in a hurry to get somewhere, I would hit every red light in town and sit there mumbling to myself in the car waiting for the light to turn green. When I finally arrived to where I was headed, it seemed like the Lord, in His lovingkindness, was quick to remind me that it looked like I must have forgotten everything I read in the Bible about patience! Even after all these years, I must confess that I still have to try and curb my impatience, especially with those who are incompetent when it comes to common sense.You know, sometimes we will have an exam during those good times when things are going great guns and we're walking along high-wide and handsome with a spring in our step. At other times, the exams will come knocking when it's dark and dreary and everything is going haywire and looking cockeyed. Yet, remember, that with each and every victory we've won in the past, was because the Lord gave us an exam about something He taught us, and we passed that one and got a 'Well Done" because of how we responded. You see, God is well-able to remember and keep track of stuff like that because He's God, and we're not!Friends, the Lord already knows what is in your heart and in my heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Therefore, any exam we're given is because He wants US to KNOW what is in our heart. If you're a student of God's Word and your desire is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and to be more like Him, then let me kindly ask you, "Are you ready for the next exam?"