Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Character

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Christian character is the characteristics of a Christian striving to follow Christ’s example.

The Attractive Christian

Nothing is more attractive to a hurting world seeking truth, purpose, and comfort than a Christian who lives to model Jesus Christ, not primarily in actions, but in character. Get the character or heart right toward Christ and actions always follow. There is something irresistible about a believer exuding the spiritual qualities found in Jesus. They are magnetic, encouraging, and open up many opportunities to proclaim Him.

Representing Our Lord Jesus

The story is told of Gordon Maxwell, missionary to India, that when he asked a Hindu scholar to teach him the language, the Hindu replied: “No Sahib, I will not teach you my language. You would make me a Christian.” Gordon Maxwell replied, “You misunderstand me. I am simply asking you to teach me your language.” Again the Hindu responded, “No, Sahib, I will not teach you. No man can live with you and not become a Christian.”

The Most Damaging Weapon In The World

In today’s scripture, we find the most damaging weapon in the world. It isn’t found in the militaries of the world’s superpowers. Nor is it contained in a nuclear missile hidden in a secret silo somewhere. The most damaging weapon lies in our mouth. It is that little piece of cartilage called the “tongue.”

It Doesn’t Take Much But It Accomplishes Much

We live in dangerous and scary times and that includes dangerous spiritual times. For the Christian, I am not referring primarily to persecution and the threat of being martyred. Granted, that is real and happening in our world today, but not in our neighborhoods or churches today – yet. We face a serious spiritual threat described by the Apostle Paul in a letter to a young pastor named Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-5a). Pay attention to Paul’s list of the signs of end times. The first sign of end times is what causes Christians the greatest problem in their lives robbing them of the joy of walking with Jesus. It is the sin of selfishness; a focus on me, my, and mine. Paul calls it “people being lovers of self.” Then notice another characteristic in the middle of Paul’s list – “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Delighting the Heart of God

Every Christian longs to please the Lord. We yearn to obey the Apostle Paul’s words, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Every day we should want to bring delight to the Lord in how we live, speak, and conduct ourselves in a godless world. And there are many ways we may do so. For today, I want us to focus on one of those ways. It is found in today’s scripture. We please the Lord and bring delight to His heart by living a life bathed in the spirit of thanksgiving.

The Decisive Christian Life

The main character in today’s scripture (Hebrews 11:24-26) serves us well as a role model on how to not only live the Christian life, but to evaluate the quality of our Christian life. His name is Moses and he is included in the “Hall of Fame of Faith” chapter in our Bibles. When life gets tough and it will, look at Moses. Yet, there is something else about Moses leaving us a worthy model to follow. It happened before he became the great leader of Israel. This excellent quality in him is found in today’s scripture. It was his decisiveness when it came to living out his walk with God.