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.
What are you made of?
Character: The set of individual qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody's qualities of mind and feeling.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
Are you strong like a mighty oak tree? Do your roots go deep? Are you a person of substance? When the sky gets dark and the weather gets rough, does your character stand strong like a growing tree, or does it fade away the same way a shadow does when the clouds roll in?
Character Is Definately An Inside Job!
1. Gifts And Talents Are Given To Us, But Character Is Developed By Us.
2. Our Character Is Crucial Because It Earns The Trust Of Others.
3. Only Good Character Gives Us Lasting Success With People.
4. Strong Character Communicates Credibility And Consistency.
5. Our Character Colors Our Perspective.
6. We Cannot Rise Above The Limitations Of Our Character.
What You Are Will Outlast What People Say You Are.
Time Is The Builder And Revealer Of Character.
We buried my father in law last week he was 82 years old. Frank Tristan was a Christian for 76 years. That’s right saved at 6 and never looked back! He was a Great Husband, father, friend of the Church. A man of TRUE CHARACTER!
Thank – You for all the Prayers, cards, and kind words.
Deb & I felt your Prayers & Support. ~ Thanks.
See You In Church
Great to have so many “Comments” the last few weeks. Keep it up!
Leave a Quote about character…( Not yours, or we will have to do a blog on Humility)
Come on Willie this means you too.
You “Must Not” miss the Bible Study Below….
A MAN OF EXCELLENT SPIRIT.
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20 comments:
Wow!!!!
Lord help me be on the Inside what you need other people to see on the Outside.
Thanks for the awesome study. Everyone has to read this. (Slowly)
"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."- Henry David Thoreau
Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.
Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs.
Joan Didion, "Slouching Towards Bethlehem"
US author & journalist (1934 - )
"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us."
Thomas Paine
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Lord!!! I am amazed at how great You are. For weeks I have been struggling to find a sense of direction in my reading time with Him, I have been searching this little "where to find it in the Bible" help book, to give me insight on where to go in God's word to find meaningful scripture that would change me. This weeks blog has given me insight on what I have been searching for.
Yesturday in my current afternoon prayer time, I asked the Lord to give me a new desire and the energy to wake up early and begin the day with Him, instead of half way through it... and I have to say, God answers those little prayers, I was up at 5:30 this morning, but what is so awesome is the fact that God answered a bigger request by using Pastor Mark and this great tool, of blogging, to show me what it is that I have been searching for in my quest to finding these scriptures... CHARACTER!!!
Thank you PM for extending yourself beyond Sunday services, weekly prayer, and Bible study nights, not to mention the rest of your week, to this great venue of outreach... I have gained much knowledge and insight through your encouraging yet challenging words.
Lord, Help me to
Sow Thoughts, that reap action;
Sow acts, that reap Habits;
Sow habits, that reap Character;
Sow Character, that reaps a
destiny.
this is good!!! Thank you Lord for answering my prayers above and beyond.
Looking forward to tomorrow morning
Just have to comment...
God's funny, half way through my earlier comment (about reading and spending time in His word) this morning I got a call to sub for Bible class at CHS, I don't know, I just think He knows our weaknesses and challenges us to take on what we feel most uncomfortable with.
THANK YOU LORD FOR GOING WITH ME INTO THAT CLASSROOM TODAY...
Wow! what a Bible Study Tonight @New Life. If you missed "Debt Free Living" get the Cd.
Thanks PM for the laughs and Word.
Can't wait for next week
Thanks PM for the Selah and Bible study on Character. I like the way Paul and Luke address Character. It seems to be more like a result of our honest longing for righteousness....you know seeking first His Kingdom, rather than a say a badge or something.
Romans 5:3-5 (New Living Translation)
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Acts 17:11 (New International Version)
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
I like that, "For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." and...."for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
I think I have been blessed by the "Character" I see exemplified in your Dad. His zeal, passion and love for God and His Truth is so inspiring. He makes sure his flock feels and experiences the same confidence and character he has himself. It's a blessing....you and your bros are so blessed to have a father like this....We are blessed he's our Pastor \0/
I tried to instill in my children when they were little the concept of having "good character". What I told them was character was what you did when NO ONE WAS WATCHING.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
~~ Helen Keller
When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
~~ Japanese Proverb
Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character.
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Great Blog once again Pastor Mark, Thank You!
Here's a quote I first heard from you a long time ago that I never forgot:
"The good times build your character, the tough times reveal it".
Brilliant bible study last night too.
PM. I was thinking about character...and you said to think of someone's charachter that we admire or look to, and I mentioned your father, which I really do....and then, I thought of someone else as I was doing a little quiet time this AM...and I thought of my Father in heaven!
Whose character is better to look to for strength and an example to give us courage and a sense of peace.
John 17:26 (Amplified Bible)
26I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very [a]Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them.
I'm not sure if I'm happy with what I've done in my life to build my own character, but I'm workin on it and I know in my weakness and in times when the world presses in on me I know Who's character I can look to for HOPE.
Jude 1:24-25 (Amplified Bible)
24Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--
25To the one only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority, before all time and now and forever (unto all the ages of eternity). Amen (so be it).
Lord I am amazed by You, how you love me....\0/
Jonah 2:1-2 (New International Version)
Jonah's Prayer
2 He said:
"In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave [a] I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
I read the words that follow here, and I thought it was scripture, but I couldn't find it...it should be "The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue...fresh as the morning....as sure as the sunrise."
Well Glory !!!
Love Him...Praise Him !!\0/ \0/
OK, so now the pressure is on to post something! It's not easy, especially with a topic like this! ;)
I'll give it my best try, tho. Lord, please guide me...
I have no idea who said it... it may have been Pastor Evans or Pastor Mark, or someone on the radio, but I remember a quote that described a person as being like a cup. When "life" happens, and the cup is "bumped", what spills out reveals what was and is inside.
What spills out of you and me when Life "bumps" us, tells others (AND US!) what's inside.
Sometimes, it's really difficult to suppress this rotten FLESH, which wants to "lash out" at whoever or whatever "bumps" us! (This is where the Holy Spirit can really help us, if we allow Him! Remember: He is ALWAYS The Perfect Gentleman!)
We all fail. How do we respond? Sometimes, it depends upon the magnitude of the failure.
Sometimes, Life doesn't just "bump our cup"... it knocks it completely over, dumping everything all over the table. OUCH!
Other times, it violently heaves the cup against the wall, smashing it to bits and splattering the contents everywhere. How do we rebuild after something like THAT?!
ONLY THE LORD can heal a heart that has been so badly smashed!
I think back of that precious family who had a young mother drown in the lake in Bridgeport, along with her kids. HOW does the young widower rebuild after that? ONLY with PRAYER and the LORD's help!
(How ARE the surviving family doing these days?)
Then we hear of Nicolas's terrible car accident...and youing Nazeem. Life has "bumped" those precious families, and already, we have seen some wonderful things "spill out" of them! Let's uphold them before the LORD in our prayers! God WILL use these trials to bring forth amazing fruit in their lives!
I can picture young Nazeem becoming like our dear Brother Baboo, someday- a man of great Faith, quietly serving his LORD in humility and POWER, bringing MANY souls into the Kingdom!
Character... I guess it's a little bit like Humility. If we talk about our own, we spoil it. Unlike Humility, though, we WANT our Character to SHOW... just not in a flaunting way. (Like the man who received a medal for Humility... but they had to take it away from him, because he wore it.)
Pastor Mark, thank you for everything! All of these amazing and PRACTICAL Bible Studies, both here and in Church! Kim and I find ourselves talking about them OFTEN and thaking the LORD for New Life all the time!
When you asked us to "think of a number" this morning, I had no idea where that was heading... I thought of "12", one of God's perfect numbers. :) Then, when you said what you meant, my heart rejoiced at the thought of this number:
Twenty Three!! \o/
Just a couple of months ago, the number of days of my life IN CHRIST exceeded the number of days without Him. I count the day of my Baptism as the REAL start to my Christian walk: January 26'th, 1986! SO LONG AGO, it seems!!
When I think about some churches, where their Pastors never seem to stay more than a couple of years, I rejoice that here at New Life, we have been BLESSED to have this same Pastoral Leadership for much longer than that! I rejoice that all of my life in CHRIST has been watered and fed here! \o/
Easter is a really special time for me, because it was during the Easter celebrations of 1986 that I REALLY, TOTALLY, COMPLETELY, and UNRESERVEDLY SURRENDERED my WHOLE LIFE to Christ! \o/
Thank YOU, JESUS, for giving us GODLY men of prayer as leaders! Together, we pray for Pastor, that You would heal and strengthen him, LORD, in JESUS' NAME! \o/ AMEN!
Willie...
Hey !!! He's Back...
Great to hear from Willie..
Hang in there Willie "God Can!" "God Will."
Willie has been free'd!!!
Bless God. Welcome back Willie. I missed you.
I love a cup of tea but I don't think I'll ever look at my cup quite the same again. Nice post:)
Keep at it.....Shane
Hey... :%) (blushing)
I am truly honored by these responses. Thank you.
This is Pastor Mark's blog, tho! Not Willie's blog! ;)
If anyone's interested, my blogs are here:
www.shoutlife.com/willie
They're not necessarily all that profound, tho. ;) They're usually just prayer requests or praise reports and stuff like that. God bless you! :)
Hey Willie, you are so right.
God help me to have the right stuff inside my cup. \0/
Keep it coming oh pal in Christ!!
Thank you Pastor Mark for another great blog and another great study on an excellent spirit.
I love Daniel and the story around him and how he came to be who he was and how the "world" revered him and respected him for his character and not what he "said" but what he did. I noticed in recalling the stories and in this study how many times Daniel "did" something and for the most part let God's work do the "talking".
This study is a great reminder for all of us folks working in the secular environments M - F. We don't have to "talk" alot if we can get into the habits of "doing" what we know to do...share Jesus thru our actions and our character and our integrity day to day. Then the conversations will come from the most unexpected places...and so will the acknowledgements on a character that stands up to any storm. Obviously this is easier said then done, but our workplace is our "kingdom" that we have to live in 40 plus hours a week. Daniel knew what to do and we should follow suit. I am talking to myself as much as posting on this blog, but this is what i got out of this study. God is so good and He wants to see us be "Daniels" where we are...even in the home. If we can't turn the channel at home, we will never be able to turn away from that rude joke at work or that "grammatically incorrect" sentence used by your neighbor at work.
I would love to see more of my fellow New Lifers blogging here and sharing what they get out of these posts. This is such a powerful tool and a great way to maybe minister to someone.
It's a great place to vent what you are thinking but too afraid sometimes to say to someone, and maybe...just maybe...by getting some practice here, we can gain that confidence to share outside this blog what we know to be true and eternal !!!!
"Pray and ask God to help you uproot those negative seeds and begin to sow good seeds for your future."
Thanks for that Selah today PM.
Can you help me with this one....does God kill the bad seed you may have planted in our ignorance when we were not walking in His way? I ask Him to do so all the time. Because when I was not walking in the light as He is....I know I dumped a lot of bad seed all around....thank God for saving me from myself....I pray for God's weedkiller to cut off any bad seeds I may have sown while I was in darkness...in Jesus name, amen.
\0/ "....even when I fail you, I know You love me..."
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