Character Matters

A solid foundation for life is established by our character. Ponder that a moment. If you really think about it—many of life’s issues are weighed and measured by our character—it determines the paths we take and the choices we make. Consequently, it also determines the choices and opinions of other people in regard to us and our life.

Character defined as:  A combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing. Distinguishing quality and characteristic; moral force, ethical quality and integrity of a person.

Excellent character sustains the blessings in our life. I have this concept I call the “sieve theory.” It unfolds as this—God in His goodness continually pours blessings on us—His children. If our character is weak then our ability to possess, preserve and sustain these blessing is inept. A character of poor quality resembles a sieve. Unfortunately, questionable character rots the bottom out of our life and sadly, blessings fall straight through.

How many times has God blessed us with a relationship, a job, money or an opportunity where unstable character ruined all our probabilities?

The sieve theory has operated in my life more times than I choose to count or remember!

A great way to excel in good character is to notice the word nature in the definition of the word character. The definition says “A combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person.” Our nature is who we are fundamentally—at our core. Have you ever heard someone say “That’s just the way I am” this statement is in reference to the nature of a person.

One of the things I love about knowing God is the exchange He has made available to us at the cross. Exchanging our nature with Jesus’ nature is one of the first and most ongoing actions we as disciples of Christ partake in.

No matter who we are, where we come from or what we have been through—our nature does not have to stay the same. We have the amazing privilege to shed off our old nature and take on the nature of Christ. This is the essence of true Christianity—you have got to love this—how fortunate we are!

Having a house full of young adults is very interesting—we are at the stage where some are interested in finding a spouse. When it comes to my children finding a spouse, I never thought it would be such a huge process! But being on this end—where I’m a concerned parent whose been married for 31 years—knowing the intricate workings of marriage—and the sieve theory—it’s a big deal! Why? Because what we want from our kids before they marry is excellent and solid character. And the character we are looking for in a mate is nothing less than blameless and unwavering.

Fortunately, God has set my heart at ease. He’s done this by showing me that the most important character trait that we are expecting in our children and in a mate for them—is not necessarily a virtue—but what we are looking for is—how much they know and love God.

For a heart truly relinquished and sold out to God, His will and His purposes, will possess all the godly and moral character traits one could ever ask for. A person with this conviction will continually exchange their nature for God’s nature.

Thank God—all the world’s problems are solved—all we have to do is be Christ Like!

Please be encouraged to know and love God with all your heart and soul, in doing so you can’t help but to throw off your old sinful nature and take on the character of Christ.

Ephesians 4:21-23

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

1 Peter 1:3-8

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cold or Hot

Imagine eating your ice cream not quite cold and your dinner not totally hot. Would you pass on such a meal? Scripture says we need to choose—cold or hot?

Revelation 3:15-16

I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!

What’s fascinating is—why didn’t God just say I wish you were hot? Why does He want us to be either cold or hot? The obvious is—with God there is no middle ground, we are either in or out—cold or hot. He doesn’t want anything to do with lukewarm. Why? The answer lays in the following verse; Revelation 3:17,

 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

A lukewarm person does not recognize their need for God. Whereas a Christian who is living in a dedicated, submitted relationship with Him, where Jesus is Lord of their life (hot)—knows they need God—He is their life-line.

A cold person who is far from God can identify the separation between themselves and God and even though they don’t want God—they know they need Him. There is no grey area.

Lukewarm people, according to the scripture don’t realize they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

What this means is that the lukewarm go about doing good, Christian stuff—drawing their resources from an empty well of self-sufficiency.

God is so amazing, patient, kind and loving; even though He will spit lukewarmness out of His mouth, He is a God of long-suffering and love—so naturally, true to His character—He provides a solution to lukewarmness. (Gotta love Him!) The lukewarm need only to make Him Lord, following the instructions in Revelation 3:18-19,

So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn [repent] your indifference.

The gold, the garments and the ointment needed to make us rich, cover our shame and correct our blindness are free. On the cross Jesus bought our freedom. One thing to remember is they may be free—but very costly. Likewise, we give our life as an offering of white hot love to God—nothing less will do.

Please be encouraged to go all out (be hot) in your relationship with God.

Skillful Living 101—16 Choosing the Right Path

Making decisions and choosing the right paths in life, are daily concerns. If we are not sure how to get God’s direction then we can easily get overwhelmed. The skillful living advice found in Proverbs 16 is a valuable fortune to attain; it holds truth that can help guide us in the right direction, assisting us in avoiding pitfalls that occur when taking the wrong path.

Basically choosing the right paths and or direction in life is a surrender issue.

Verse 9 sums it all up for us,

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

Listen to Proverbs 19:21

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

There are two ways to go about finding God’s direction—both lead to the same ending.

1. We can make our plans and take our own steps in pursuing those plans.
2. A. We can ask God for His plans and direction. Patiently waiting, relying on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide us.
   B. We can make plans and submit them to God, asking for His will to be done. Relinquishing our desires knowing His will is best. Also patiently waiting, relying on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide us.

No matter which way we go about choosing, or what choice we make—the end result will be the same—God’s purpose for our life will prevail.

I’m half a century old, and believe me I have tried and retried over and over again to make the first way of choosing work—but it never has.

God loves us too much, to allow our plans for our life to supersede His.

This might be frustrating to some people, because they just want to do what they want, but truly God knows the beginning to the end of each situation. He knows how it will start and how it will end and every detail in the middle. He wants the best for us, that’s why He wants us to choose His paths.

Taking our own paths and following our own direction is not only disobedience, but painful. Sometimes after we wake up from a bad choice—be it years, months or days later, we have regret, desiring that we would have listened to God or the good counsel He put in front of us.

I’ll never forget these words; “Careful, that pitfall will cost you two years, oh watch out for that one, it’ll take five years to get out.” They were spoken by an older prophetic gentleman; he was talking about wanting to warn people before they charged through life, not inquiring of God’s direction.

Being a Mom of teens and young adults, I’m constantly reiterating the concept of these scriptures. My kids are visionaries with huge dreams and plans—I love this about them and believe these are God given qualities inherit within them, but that doesn’t mean every idea is God breathed. My advice to them is to submit their plans to God and find out which path He wants them to take. I desire my kids to be discerning of God’s voice and will—this will assist them in not wasting their life getting in and out of pitfalls.

Understandably the desert of some pitfalls are places God allows us to go through, where we can find Him in a new way as we learn life’s lessons, but I don’t necessarily believe they are all God ordained stops in life. We can learn just as much, if not more, by first submitting to the obedience of God’s will. There are huge blessings in seeking, finding and following God’s will.

I had an interesting conversation with a young friend, who told me a story about his relationship with a random girl—now in his life forever. The gist of the story was this; he was reflecting on what he called the ripple effect. He met a girl, knew her only a week or two and had sex with her. He said he didn’t love her, she was not really his type but it had been awhile—so he indulged himself. The relationship, loaded with issues, became one of convenience for both of them—until she got pregnant.

The ripple effect started first by living a casual lifestyle of ignoring God, second by fulfilling the lust of the flesh and having sex outside of marriage. Then pregnancy, it continued with an unwanted dysfunctional relationship, sharing a child, who will no doubt reap the consequences. He sadly said “One bad choice has caused a lifelong ripple in my life.”

Opening one door of self-will, can lead to many other doors that inevitably open more doors— leading to hardship, heartache and wasted time.

Proverbs 16 gives generous advice on this concept, it would significantly benefit us and those we influence, to listen and follow its guidance.

Verse 1—“Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.” (MSG)
Verse 2—“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart).” (AMP)
Verse 3—“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” (NLT)
Verse 5—“The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished.” (NLT)
Verse 7—“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (NKJ)
Verse 9—“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (NLT)
Verse 16—“How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” (AMP)
Verse 17—“The road of right living bypasses evil; watch your step and save your life.” (MSG)
Verse 18—“First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” (MSG)
Verse 20—“It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God.” (MSG)
Verse 25—“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (NKJ)
Verse 33—“Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say.” (MSG)

The heart breaking ripple effect can be avoided by tucking our self into relationship with God, where we hear His voice, know His will and delight in obedience.

Skillful Living Tools

• A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps
  
• You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail
• Choosing the right paths and or direction in life is a surrender issue
• Submit plans, ideas and dreams to God, asking for His will to be done
• Patiently wait on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide you
• Remember the ripple effect: choices have consequences
• The road of right living bypasses evil
• Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed
• Pride comes before a fall
• God always has the final say

Please be encouraged—skillful living comes by patiently submitting our plans to God before we proceed.

Please share with those who need to live skillfully!

Check out the Skillful Living Tool Box (updated weekly) at the top of this page!

Life…A Jenga Game!

Have you ever played the game Jenga? Blocks are neatly stacked, then extracted one by one; taken out of their order, removed from their secure location and precariously rearranged. The repositioning of the blocks causes the stability of the tower to appear unstable.

Some experts can play this game very precisely, without compromising the tower. Others, such as my grandson, play similarly to a tornado! All you can do is watch and hold your breath!

As I was talking with God today, the words “Lord, my life resembles a Jenga game” came rolling off my tongue. Even I was surprised! I had never thought of that analogy before. I chuckled.

Then I started to name each block. My kids and grandson all had one, my husband, my marriage, my heart, my heart attitude, my will, emotions, mind, church, church people, finances, relationships, health, blogging, writing, school, my past, and my future. Everything important in life was a block. At some point in time each one extracted from their comfortable place and precariously rearranged.

I saw my tower of life reordered. Standing—in what would seem to the natural eye as an unstable position—then God spoke. Don’t you just love when He speaks?

He told me yes it’s true, your life does resemble a Jenga game, but I AM the One who has repositioned all the blocks in your life. And to the supernatural eye they are not viewed as precariously rearranged—but rather divinely repositioned.

God—the Master—the expert—has very precisely reordered my life—and yours. He is fashioning it, according to His will, purpose and plan.

Sometimes with so many people and responsibilities, life can seem unorganized and maybe even unstable. Do you ever get that impression? If so there is no reason to fret, it’s all going to work out!

Please be encouraged—if your life resembles a shaky Jenga game—release it, give the control over to the expert Himself, He will divinely reposition every block!

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

From the Wilderness to the Garden of Eden

Ever feel desolate? Weary? Isolated? Barren? As if your life, or parts of it reflect a thirsty wilderness? Ezekiel 36:34-35, was a promise of renewal made to Israel. The people and their nation were in ruins, they were empty and in need of restoration and refreshing. Hope made an entrance when God spoke through the prophet.

 “The desolate land shall be tilled, instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. They will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden.’”

The Word of God is alive and active therefore this same promise is for us today. God in His faithfulness desires to turn our wildernesses into the Garden of Eden.

A wilderness was a place of unrest and striving. The Garden of Eden was a place of peace and relationship with God.

If our life or parts of our life resemble a dry desert, we first have to examine the root cause. Where does the dehydration originate?

It’s easy to fault circumstances, but more than likely our own heart and its attitudes need to be examined. Any work being done to restore our life has to start on the inside—this is where lasting change begins.

Allowing God to turn the wilderness of our heart in to an abundant garden takes time; circumstances do not always immediately change—but our heart can. As we diligently seek God to transform our heart, circumstances will follow.

Note: Keep your eye on the One who changes things, not on the change.

An interesting word to give attention to in Ezekiel 36:34 is the word tilled. The scripture says, the desolate land shall be tilled. When land is overgrown by weeds and full of rocks it has to be tilled before it can be ready for planting.

Tilled defined as: to cultivate the soil, turn up with a plow. To tear up, cut into, or make a furrow.

Most of the time when God does a work in our life/heart, He first takes us through the tilling process, where He will uproot the weeds and discard the rocks. The best realization during these times is to see this process as a blessing from God, rather than as an attack from the enemy.

Psalm 84 says, blessed are those whose strength is in God, when they go through the valley of death they find life. In this case where God tills the soil of your life it’s a death to self, heart attitudes and old habits.

We will find new life in these seasons, if we shift our point of view and recognize—we are blessed by tilling. In this place we go from strength to strength not trial to trial.

What would your life be like if it resembled the Garden of Eden? The Garden of Eden had to be the most beautiful garden ever; healthy, vibrant, fruitful, abundant, lavish, and generously flowing with water—not at all comparable to a wilderness!

I’d say this is the life Jesus talked about in John 10:10

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Yes, tilling does sound painful—something to avoid, but the ability to have our life transformed from a wilderness to the Garden of Eden—sounds worth it to me—what about you?

Be encouraged! You do not have to live in the  wilderness—God’s promise is to turn your wilderness to the Garden of Eden!

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength.” Psalm 84:5-7

True Grit

This blog post is dedicated to my dear friend Terri Wright, whose 18-year-old daughter—Lyndsay was just diagnosed with leukemia. The Wright family has true grit!

Although it’s only January and the New Year’s resolutions are still somewhat fresh, it seems appropriate to start 2012 apprehending a spirit of endurance. We need endurance not just to make it through our resolutions, but endurance to run the race that God has set before us.

Constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out—all these words define endurance.

Hebrews 12:1 says, endurance is essential to run our race, very true, however it takes fortitude to endure.

True grit, backbone, boldness, courage, fearlessness, patience, tenacity—all these words describe fortitude.

Living the Christian life takes true grit—it’s not for wimps, or for those who are faint hearted. Jesus asks us to daily take up our cross and follow Him. He endured the cross. He is our example of fortitude—Jesus had true grit. To daily take up our cross and follow Jesus we basically—die—decrease—surrender–our life daily.

It’s simple to live a life of selfishness, doing whatever you want, but it takes fortitude to continually nail your will to the cross.

Fortitude to endure is attained as we recognize our weakness and find our strength in God. God is so good; He showed us by example what it would take to follow Him, then gives us grace to walk it out.

Not only is true grit necessary for surrendering, it’s also a requirement for the ups and downs in life. Hebrews 12:1 also says, we must lay aside every weight and sin that ensnares us. Fortitude actively resists weariness and defeat, therefore it is needed to endure the heaviness of life.

It’s easy to give up when life hurts, when it becomes difficult and unbearable, but true strength is displayed when we don’t give up—when we follow Jesus no matter the cost.

Jesus is our example of true grit, or for those who are not a fan of westerns—He’s our example of fortitude!  

Be encouraged as you run your race of life, for Jesus is your prize. His strength holds your enduring fortitude, and it’s only a prayer away!

 Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

1 Corinthians 9:24  “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours.”

To learn more about Lyndsay’s fight, log on to www.caringbridge.org/visit/lyndsaywright/createorsignin
Donation site coming soon, at  lyndsayfight.org
Prayers are always welcomed!