Word of the Week - godly Character

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, Character; and Character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  Romans 5:3-5

What is Character”  The Oxford English Dictionary defines Character as “a distinctive mark impressed, engraved, or otherwise formed”.  Character is the essence of who we are on the inside – the internal system that guides us in all that we do, which becomes our permanent engraved nature.  You do not have to be a believer to have strong moral Character, in fact there are many great people throughout history who have displayed amazing Character who did not profess faith.  Godly Character includes all of the core virtues of moral Character such as honesty, courage, patience, integrity and self-control but takes Character to a new level with Christlike virtues like humility, joy, faith, hope and love.  As Christians our objective is to take on the Character and nature of Christ so that His ways become our ways.  In order to develop Christlike Character we must first be born of the spirit by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17.  This is the part of the Character building process that is a gift from God that we can do nothing to earn or achieve, it is of the Spirit and given by Grace.  “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and not from yourselves; it is the gift of God not by works, so than no one can boast” Ephesians 2:8-9.  Once we become a new creation in Christ, then our purpose is to Glorify God and produce fruit with our lives and this requires Character, which I believe requires effort and intentionality.  So how do we build and develop our Character?  My good friend Drayton Nabors who wrote “Case for Character’, Looking at Character from a Biblical Perspective, makes the case that to develop godly Character we must intentionally put on and practice godly virtues through training and repetition, the disciplines of our faith.  Similar to daily workouts for a professional athlete, we must strive daily towards developing godly virtues so they become our nature.  It requires intentional effort and discipline.  Godly Character is forged and developed over time and the byproduct of Godly Character is that we produces good fruit by becoming human beings who are naturally inclined to do the right thing.  This is the goal and evidence of godly Character and the highest purpose of our lives as Christ followers.  This Glorifies God!!!!!!God is so good that He blesses us with truth that leads to “Life” and we get the benefit.  This is definitely the case with godly Character.Have a great week.-Duane

Word of the Week - Sacrifice

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” 1 John 3:16

On this Memorial Day as we remember the nearly 1.2 million men and women who have made the ultimate Sacrifice by giving their lives in service of our country, I am reminded of the sobering reality of the true price of freedom, and how fortunate we are to live in the land of the free because of the price others paid for our freedom.  I am very grateful and humbled by this amazing reality.  In the same frame, I am even more grateful for the fact that God freely chose to come down to earth in the flesh as Jesus the Messiah and was crucified for our sins, so we can have eternal freedom (salvation) and live with God forever. “For it is for Freedom that Christ set us free” Galatians 5:1  Let us Remember who God is and what He has done for us (see below Jesus on the Cross).  Lord I pray that we would understand the reality of what you have done for us and never forget the suffering you endured for our benefit.  Let us receive the fullness of your love and Sacrifice. -Duane 

Word of the Week - Honor

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves”. Romans 12:10

Honoring the Lord, all people and especially those in authority is one of the key themes of God’s Word and key to us living healthy and productive lives. The principal of Honoring people is based on the concept that we value people and give them worth and weight. That we don’t dishonor them by taking them lightly and overlooking them. The truth of the matter is that when we Honor God and His people we are blessed and benefit. Similar to the principal of giving, the more we Honor others, the more we gain favor and receive Honor and blessing. That being said, our motivation should come not from what we can get out of the process but from understanding that Honoring God and others pleases our Father and promotes the Gospel. We should especially Honor those in authority to include Parents, Teachers, Leaders, and yes especially Government Officials. The idea of Honoring someone is not a function of the persons skill, competence, performance, how they treat us or even their character; the concept is that God calls us to Honor all authority and all people as a human beings and children of the Living God, even if we don’t like them or agree with their approach or philosophy. This is one of the more challenging mandates of our Christian faith, especially in today’s world that seems to be driven by dishonor and disunity.Just to be clear, Honoring someone in authority does not mean we have to obey them or agree with them, it just simply means we need to recognize and consider the weight of their position and authority. 1 Peter 2:13-17 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men; whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king,” All of that being said, if we disobey or disagree with those in authority then we have to be willing to face the consequences; if done in a godly manner with the right motivation this is called persecution, being willing to suffer for a greater purpose. There are many examples of this in the Bible and throughout history.So how do we Honor God and others?

1. By prioritizing them;
2. By using words of praise that build them up and not tear them down; and
3. By protecting them and standing up for them, especially if they don’t have a voice.

“Honor god with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Then your barns will burst, you wine vats will brim over” Proverbs 3:9-10. “The more we value others the more we will value from it” Pastor Chris Hodges. “If we sow honor we will reap honor” Pastor/Coach Tom MullinsI don’t know about you but I am encouraged to sow some Honor this week and see what God produces. Have a great week.-Duane 

Word of the Week - Teachable

“People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed. The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain; those who accept it avoid the snares of death.” Proverbs 13: 13-14

We all desire to flourish and experience the abundant life that Jesus tells us is available to all His followers. In order to flourish in life we must continue grow and develop in all areas of life. I am convinced that the key to experiencing growth in our lives is based on this principle of being Teachable. The day we stop learning is the day we stop growing. If we are not growing in all areas of life then the natural law of Entropy sets in and we start to decline, which ultimately leads to death. I think we would all agree that we don’t enjoy being around people who act like they know everything and have been there done that, and seem to have no capacity for hearing or learning from others. I surely don’t want to be that person. On the other hand, isn’t it refreshing to be around people that listen well and seem to sincerely want to improve and grow and value what is being shared. In order to be Teachable we must be humble, have a desire to grow and welcome input and correction. This is not the easiest thing for most of us but it truly is how we maintain a posture to flourish and continue to grow towards our God given potential. Personally I find it really freeing to realize that I am not expected to be all knowing, that place is reserved only for God. I simply need to posture myself toward God and others with a curious and willing spirit to learn and grow, which I actually find to be the most enjoyable and rich experiences in life. I believe this is the “life that is truly life” Paul talks about in 1 Timothy 6:19.So what are some of the characteristics of being a lifetime learner?

1. We should initiate in pursuing counsel from God and others,
2. We should take counsel to heart and actually implement the counsel we receive. James 1:22 says to “be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves”,
3. We should always be working to improve and get better in every area of life, and
4. We should be an example for all those around us to encourage and inspire others to be Teachable.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5.Happy Mother’s Day,-Duane 

Word of the Week - Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

According to God’s Word, the greatest of all godly virtues is Love.  The highest form of Love is sacrificial Love and there is no greater demonstration of this Love than what God did for us through the Cross, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.  The virtue of Love is very expansive and is well defined in the 13^th chapter of 1 Corinthians “the Love Chapter”, see more on this below from prior Word of the Week post in August 2016.  Love encompasses all other godly virtues such as humility, self-control, wisdom, courage, grace, faith and hope.  Love is a gift from God.  We cannot necessarily create it but we can receive it through our abiding relationship with Christ and become a conduit to pass it on to others by pouring out our lives through Love.  This is Christian ministry - Simply taking what God has done and is doing in our lives through His love and grace and sharing it with others in Love.  As we receive God’s Love through His amazing grace through faith, He pours love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit; “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5.  In sum, Love is the first and supreme fruit of our abiding relationship with Christ and the godly virtue that most glorifies and multiplies Christ.  “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on Love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 I hope you have a blessed week and experience the amazing love of Christ.

-Duane