Character

Take the Harder Road

[464 words] Building godly character is hard work. “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Every effort is right. That’s what it takes to…

Having a Righteous Character

[277 words] “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from…

Turn About

[134 words] A soldier who was a Christian made it his practice to conclude every day with Bible reading and prayer. As his fellow soldiers gathered in the barrack and retired for the night, he would kneel by his bunk and offer prayers to the Lord. The other soldiers saw this and began to mock…

The Importance of Character

[581 words] Webster tells us that character is “moral excellence” and “firmness.” I tried to find the word in the Bible, and could not in the KJV. However, the word from which we get “character” is there, and thus other translations including NASV, RSV, and NIV use that very word. The text of which I…

Character

John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). Holy conduct will bring genuine joy. John rejoiced that many of his converts were walking a holy life and his rejoicing gives us two good lessons. First, the source of joy. Every parent who has sent…