According to Merriam-Webster, character is the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves: someone's personality.
True character comes out in hard times. When the pressure is on, the truest of our being is displayed. You may think that someone is not capable of what is displayed during those times, however hard it is to believe, that is true character. People can be completely broken, others can hurt, lash out, slander, destroy, and are just plain mean. What we have to remember is that just because someone lashes out and displays their character, what they may be saying, or how they are behaving towards you, is not a true reflection who you are, but a revelation of their character. It is important to also know that our own true character comes out during these times, and we must examine ourselves to make sure that we are who we say we are, and that we are being true to that. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm139: 23-24).
If you say you are a Christian, and are living contradictory to what God’s Word says, you are lying to yourself, and everyone around you. “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). This is not to say that we don’t all fall or sin, because we all do. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) It is important to ask God for forgiveness. He will forgive. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10). We need to give weight to everything in His Word. This passage also warns that if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. If there is only one thing God cannot do, it is lie!
You may have recently made some life changing decisions that have affected other people. Regardless of how that person responds, or chooses to react, you have to be confident that you are following what the Lord is leading you to do, and not be pressured into compromising, or going against your morals and integrity. There is a good chance that you are in the place you are now because you neglected to heed God’s Word in the first place. Don’t beat yourself up because of this. There is grace for all. God does not condemn, neither does He want us to continue in sin. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12: 1-2).
Paul goes on to mention not to think more of yourself that you ought. As I stated above, we have all sinned, and fall short of God’s glory. We must press on in Him, look in the mirror at ourselves (the only one we answer to Him for), and continue with endurance on this journey. “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. None of us is better than another, or more deserving than another. God created all, loves all, and forgives all that come to know Him as their personal Savior. His grace is more than I deserve, and what I need to bestow on others. Keep your eyes on Christ, and the ultimate prize.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Philippians 3: 13-15).
August 9, 2015
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8: 1-2).
We seek God in our lives, to live in us, to flow through us, and to use us as He sees fit with the gifts He has given. If there is sin in our lives, it is not likely that He can flow freely. We are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and God’s Spirit dwells in our midst (1 Cor. 3:16). If you know there is something in the temple, or that you are doing something that will hurt the temple, simply pray and ask God to forgive you. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1: 8-10 emphasis mine). Pray and confess any unconfessed sins, ask forgiveness and be forgiven.
There is nothing that we have done that His blood hasn’t already covered. To feel that what we have done is too much for Him to forgive means that Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross was not enough. “He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103: 9-12). You should remember them no more either, only to proclaim what God has done in and for you.
God, I come before You and ask that You forgive me of my sins. Wash me as white as snow. Father God, I invite You to come consume me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and draw me closer to You. Flow through me, and use me for Your Glory. I welcome You. Fill me, overcome me with Your presence Lord. In Jesus Name, Amen.
"He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:48-49).
It is essential to have good roots. To do this, it is very important to establish a relationship on a solid foundation, one that is strong so that when the winds blow, and when the storms come, you are able to stand. If you are not built on a solid foundation, then you will not be able to stand, and most certainly shift, or even fall. The ground will crumble out from underneath you, the winds come and blow you over. The rains come and flood the core of your being. A relationship built on feelings and emotions can never last. Feelings and emotions change like the seasons. Christ alone is a solid foundation and never changes. If you are in a relationship and you realize that the foundation is not strong, it doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship. It’s going to take work, but can be fixed, no differently than if your house foundation was bad. You have to jack the house up, sure the foundation, and replace the structure on top. The couple may need to go get some counseling, talk things out, work on making themselves stronger for the other person. Sure, the house could be plowed in, but it is still a good structure, just needs some support. It is always best to try and fix something. That relationship that is not built on solid foundation may need to end if both parties are not willing to fix the foundation. In this case the relationship certainly has to end. It will never work if only half of the houses’ foundation is secured. If one party thinks that everything is fine, eventually the house is going to shift so much that it caves, or crashes in. Be strong, don’t compromise, and build on a solid foundation. Men and women alike should care more about godliness than superficial qualities. Look for men and women of character that you can spend the rest of your life with. “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:3). If you excuse essential faults, they will not be a life match… without MUCH work. If you are in a relationship and the other person does not think that God’s way is best, heed that red flag and run, for it cannot last. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
"Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalm 1:1-6).
