Character

Our character, if not developed and matured, will eventually catch up with us and knock us down from the platform in which our gifting and talents have taken us.

We all have seen it.  Highly gifted performers who have the world's attention, but lack of character shows through in their actions and their credibility is marred.   Ministers, oftentimes those with a worldwide voice, but eventually their character flaws shine through and it's the very thing that dethrones them from their position.  Marriages that appeared "OK" suddenly end in divorce.  The "perfect" child becomes the prodigal... Why? Because the hidden issues of the heart have been ignored.

"The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them." Proverbs 11:3

Our greatest weaknesses, if left undealt with, will surface to the top.  You can only wear a mask for so long. The rubber band eventually snaps and what used to hide you has now left you revealed.  The self constructed platform, that once elevated your ego, comes crashing down from the weight of the junk that was left unchecked. 

Band-Aids are not a substitute for surgery.  Developing our character is a deep work that requires facing our heart issues, not covering them up.   It takes place in deliberate, quiet, "at the feet of Jesus" moments: diligently exposing ourselves to the Word of God and letting it shine a light on those areas that do not line up. 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Oftentimes we are blinded to our issues and need to seek professional help in order to work along with what God is trying to accomplish.  How do you know when greater help is needed?  Take a look at your relationships around you; take heed to what people have said about you that you rejected.  There could be truth if the majority are saying the same thing.  Ignoring it or making excuses won't bring healing.  Choosing to continue to dismiss it will result in the same broken road of loss. 

 

"The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 12:15

 

"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in the abundance of counselors, there is safety." Proverbs 11:14

 

The other day I learned of a great word picture.  We all have our accomplishments.  Things we've done or do in life that are honorable.  If you can, picture a trophy case that represent these things; a beautiful display of wonderful things you do.  However, all over the floor are piles of junk you have to step over in order to get to these tokens of success.  Are the trophies great?  Yes.  But they do not null and void the fact that we have a garbage heap on the floor.  The good we do in life does not excuse the bad.  Jesus Himself did not excuse sin and say, "Oh, it's okay.  You have a lot going for you over in this area."  No, He showed love and compassion but also clearly said, "Go and sin no more."  If we don't look away from the awards for a time and deal with the stained carpet, our character will never be developed.

 

Slow down and take a look at who you are.  Not at your accomplishments.  Not at your successes.  Not who you lead others or yourself to believe you are.  Not what your reputation says about you.  Who are you when no one else is looking?  What do you allow your eyes to let in and your ears to hear?  How do you treat people?  What heart attitudes reign behind your smile?  What would God say about your character?

Lord, we all have "stuff" that we cover up so beautifully. On the outside everything looks good and yet inside their is decay that needs a touch from You.  Whatever it is in our lives that is keeping us from fully serving and pleasing You, please shine a light on it.  Shine Your light on the ugly parts so that we can, with Your help, become all You have called us to be.  We want to be a living example of Christ in the earth - not a false representation that gives Him a bad name because of our undealt with "stuff."   We love You, Lord, and we desire to become more and more like You.

Grateful in the Storm

We need to consciously make the decision to be grateful in our negative circumstances; grateful that it is in these times God can do His greatest work in us if we allow Him. God's love amazes me that even in our self induced messes, He still wants to work in our lives for the ultimate goal of bringing us closer to Himself. Knowing this, we need to change our outlook in the storms of life... True character is shown and true character can be grown during tough times...  Let's use it to become better! :)

Sermon Nuggets and Afterthoughts

I had the privilege to hear a Jewish missionary from Israel speak recently.  He spoke on the NINE fruits of the spirit in Galatians 6 in correlation to the NINE spices listed in Song of Solomon 4.  I had never heard of these two groupings of scriptures referencing one another before.  I have not done the study myself, but definitely found it intriguing and something to look further into.  I walked away with a stronger desire to be proactive in cultivating the fruit in my life and becoming a person of strong character.

 

There was far too much to it to mentally capture or physically jot down and give it justice.  So I am just going to type as I remember it and add in personal thoughts as they come. J

 

The young woman in Song of Solomon was at that time considered to be an unlearned, peasant girl and the man was a king.  In the very beginning of the book she was awakened to love; just like we become awakened to the love of God before we come to Him.  The king had to teach and show her what it is she needed in order to reign with him. 

 

When you move to the 4th chapter it speaks of the woman being a garden.  We are also the garden; a garden that is meant to live and thrive and grow good fruit that is pleasing to our King.   

 

The fruit that jumped out to me was meekness.  The origin of the word means “to suffer without retaliation.”  Wow.  That sure broadened a word for me that I thought simply meant “teachable.”

 

David was a meek man.  He did not retaliate against Saul when he had opportunities to do so.  Both Saul and David were anointed.  What set David apart is he was a man with character (fruits of the spirit).  He likened Saul to a church who is called and anointed but has not developed character.  We can settle with being like Saul.  We will still be used by God.  We may even slay our thousands.  However, if we develop our character like David did, we will slay ten thousands, so to speak.  (1 Samuel 18:7)  We will have greater power and presence of God working in our lives and in our ministries.

 

Someone asked how important the gifts of the Spirit were.  He said they are essential, but not foundational.  He said we need to desire them and want to be used in them, but without character, our influence and our relationship with the Lord will be limited.  Anointing builds the church but needs to be built on character. 

 

The fruit of the spirit attracts God's presence.  We become a sweet smelling aroma to Him and He is drawn to that.  (2 Corinthians 2:15, Ephesians 5:2)  When we react the right way, it brings God's presence.  When we react wrong, we nauseate Him. (Psalm 95:10)  The word grieved in that scripture literally means disgusted, nauseated, to make vomit. :(

 

Jesus Christ.  Christ is not His last name, as we know.  Christ means anointing.  Satan, anti-Christ = anti-anointing.  He hates the anointing that builds the church.  Made me think that this is why he fights our spirit walk so hard to get us to defer to walking in the flesh.  Flesh produces death.  Flesh never produces life and anointing. 

 

Another question asked was how to overcome anger.  He said we need to get to the root of it so God can heal us, but even apart from doing that, if we learn to walk in the fruit of peace, anger will be diminished.  It is like a buffer.  Imagine someone walking with a full cup of water to the brim.  Someone bumps them, it spills.  That's how it is when someone has pent up anger.  However, if we are walking in peace, even if the anger is underneath, there's a buffer there; a covering that allows for us a little extra time to not react in anger.  It reminded me of Philippians 4:7, "Then you will experience God’s peace [when you pray and give thanks, verse 6], which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will GUARD your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." His peace guards and keeps us.

 

When our peace is disturbed, we need to stop and identify the fear attached to that moment.  In finding the root, we can be set free to walk in faith and not fear.  Fear is the default mode for our flesh.  Faith allows us to walk in the spirit and not default to our natural flesh reactions.  Faith shields us. (1 Peter 1:5) 

 

He shared he unknowingly had fear of abandonment his whole life due to being away from his mother for nearly a year after her suicide attempt when he was a young boy.  Once he got to the root of that fear, he learned to walk in the fruit of peace so he has that "buffer" to react properly.  He said without peace, he is sure his reactions would not be pleasant.  I found it interesting that he said lavender in Song of Solomon 4 was peace.  As we know, we use lavender for relaxation J

 

Final thoughts:  As I pondered on all of this today, I got to thinking about the gifts brought to Jesus after his birth. 

 

Gold = Associated with kings and kingdoms

Frankincense = Faith/faithfulness

Myrrh = Meekness

 

The King of kings (gold), who suffered for us without retaliation (myrrh), was faithful even unto death (frankincense)!  J

 

 

Pressing On

No matter what gets thrown smack dab in the middle of our "race" --  God's plan still remains intact.  Our purpose doesn't end at the rock in the road!  Our journey continues on to the other side.  All of the hurdle jumping and obstacle maneuvering develops character and endurance in us that becomes the needed strength for us to press on to the prize!

 

Father, even in the midst of the temptations and trials, we can have the confidence that You are working it all out for our ultimate good because Your Word declares it so.  We trust You.  We believe in Your love, a love that wants the best for Your children, a love that sees the end from the beginning, a love that doesn't see a situation in a temporal sense but by the eternal. 

We so often only see what is right in front of us; failing to remember that even when we can't see it You ARE working behind the scenes!  Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!   As our example, He endured the race that was set before Him even to the point of death.  What appeared, in the natural, as a tragedy was actually a victory!  Lord, help us not to limit our sight on circumstances, setbacks, or on a single chapter in our lives...  We commit to press on despite  the current "backdrop" in our race KNOWING that the scenery is going to change and ultimate victory is ours through Jesus!  Amen!

 

 

"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."  James 1:12

 

 "I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."  Philippians 3:14 

 

 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28

 

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

 

Character

Our character, if not developed and matured, will eventually catch up with us and knock us down from the platform in which our gifting and talents have taken us.

We all have seen it.  Highly gifted performers who have the world's attention but lack of character shows through in their actions and their credibility is marred.   Ministers, oftentimes those with a worldwide voice, but EVENTUALLY their character flaws shine through and it's the very thing that dethrones them from their position.  Marriages that appeared "OK" suddenly end in divorce.  The "perfect" child becomes the prodigal... Why? Because the hidden issues of the heart have been ignored.

"The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them." Proverbs 11:3

Our greatest weaknesses, if left undealt with, will surface to the top.  You can only wear a mask for so long. The rubber band eventually snaps and what used to hide you has now left you revealed.  The self constructed platform that once elevated your ego comes crashing down from the weight of the junk that was left unchecked. 

Bandaids are not a substitute for surgery.  Developing our character is a deep work that requires facing our heart issues not covering them up.  Building godly character takes place in quiet, "at the feet of Jesus" times: diligently exposing ourselves to the Word of God and letting it shine a light on those areas that do not line up. 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Slow down and take a look at who you are. Not who you lead others or yourself to believe.  Not what your reputation says about you. Who are you when no one else is looking?  What heart attitudes reign behind your smile?  What would God say about your character?

Lord, we all have "stuff" that we cover up so beautifully. On the outside everything looks good and yet inside their is decay that needs a touch from You.  Whatever it is in our lives that is keeping us from fully serving and pleasing You, please shine a light on it.  Shine Your light on the ugly parts so that we can, with Your help, become all You have called us to be.  We want to be a living example of Christ in the earth - not a false representation that gives Him a bad name because of our undealt with "stuff."   We love You, Lord, and we desire to become more and more like You.

Grateful in the Storm

 

We need to consciously make the decision to be grateful IN our negative circumstances. Grateful that in these times God can do His greatest work in us if we allow Him. God's love amazes me that even in self induced messes, He still wants to work in our lives for the ultimate goal of bringing us closer to Himself. Knowing this, we need to change our outlook during the storms of life... True character is shown and true character can be grown during tough times... Let's use it to become better! :)

Grateful in the Storm

 

 

We need to consciously make the decision to be grateful IN our negative circumstances. Grateful that in these times God can do His greatest work in us if we allow Him. God's love amazes me that even in self induced messes, He still wants to work in our lives for the ultimate goal of bringing us closer to Himself. Knowing this, we need to change our outlook during the storms of life... True character is shown and true character can be grown during tough times... Let's use it to become better! :)