Character Counts

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4, (NIV)

Don Johnson, author and producer of Afterglow, wrote," Financier J. P. Morgan once commented that a man's best collateral is his character."

Alfred Armand Montapert said, "Reputation is what folks think you are. Personality is what you seem to be. Character is what you really are."

House Speaker, Jim Wright, upon his resignation, quoted Horace Greely who stated, "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures--character."

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble. Character is what you'd do if you knew no one would ever find out."

I like Samuel Smiles words, "Sow a thought and you reap an act, sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character, sow a character and you reap a destiny."

Our Prayer:
"Dear God, please help me to always remember that character counts and help me to so live that my life will always bring glory and praise to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." - Dick Innes

Bill

Leap of Faith

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27, NIV)

Brennan Manning, in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, tells about a child caught on the second floor of his house when it was on fire. The family members were all running out of the house when the smallest boy panicked and ran back upstairs. Terrified, he screamed from a smoke-filled window. Below his father could see him and cried out, "Jump, Son, jump! I'll catch you." "But I can't see you," the boy cried. "I know," the father called, "but I can see you." Many a time when we are in difficult situations and panic on the inside, if not on the outside, we long for God to help us. Not being able to see him or sense his presence, we don't know what to do. However, let us always remember that God is there regardless of our sight or our feelings, and he can see and hear us. When we call on him for help and choose to put our trust in him, he hears our prayer no matter how feeble it is, and will help us. Underneath are his everlasting arms and he "is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." And that may be all we need to know.

- Dick Innes

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
(Psalm 46:1-3 NIV)

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

- Martin Luther

Knowledge That is Productive

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (2 Peter 1:8)

Productivity is a term all workplace believers can relate to. It is the by-product of what we desire from our work. Without productivity, we do not make sales, we do not deliver goods, and we do not achieve our goals. There are things in our work lives that can creep in making us unproductive. The same is true in our walk with God.

The apostle Peter tells us that we can become knowledgeable of Jesus but fail to be effective and productive in our relationship with Him. We are a society that has great knowledge, but our comparable scale of productivity from that knowledge is extremely weighted to the knowledge side. The apostle Peter tells us there is a solution to this dilemma.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (2 Peter 1:5-8).

Is your Christian experience filled with knowledge, but little power? Is there staleness in your walk with God? Is there unrest in your soul? It may be due to a need to develop character that only the Holy Spirit can develop out of an obedient heart. Ask the Lord today to add these qualities to your faith so that you can be productive as a soldier of Jesus Christ.

Mark

I Can Do It?

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The verses above are from Philippians. I encourage you to read the entire book.

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3

I, too often, on my own try and change things in my life. I, too often, on my on try to quit things I can't remember all the times I have tried to do things on my own and have failed. For years I smoked. I enjoyed it. After I gave my life to the Lord, I wanted to quit but couldn't. Every time I smoked I thought of the things that I was doing to my body. It scared me but I couldn't quit. My accountability partner and I prayed and prayed for years. Then one day I humbled my heart to the Lord and honestly came to Him and said, Lord I want to quit but can't quit on my own. Let smoking become undesirable to me. And ya know what? He did. I remember after I prayed that and I would smoke. I would feel sick. I would have to lay down. He made it so undesirable that I quit almost instantly and I never went back. That was a first for me on the "I'm going to quit smoking" path.

I am still learning that I cannot do things on my own but only through Christ who strengthens me. I encourage anyone who is trying to overcome something or get through something on their own to please stop what you are doing right now and humble your heart to the Lord and He will answer you. He will be found by you. When He does that mountain will be a lot easier to climb and by His grace and will, could be moved completely.

My prayer is that we will look to Him each and everyday from the smallest to the biggest things going on in our lives. The Word tells us that in "everything" be in prayer...to me that is saying, in everything talk to Him about it.

Max and Tammy