Burns Church of Christ

All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble  character. Ruth 3:11

Boaz has checked it out; Ruth is a woman of character.  Her character is known in the town.  He does not realize that he and Ruth are destined to become the ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He only knows that she is a woman of character.

“Character Counts” is a program that caught on a few years ago in the nation’s schools. Our nation was being buried in the manure of character failures.  We had reached the epitome of degradation and character failures.  It was time for us to regain the old ways that brought the character of individuals to the forefront.

We had moved from the character ethic to the personality ethic.  Stephen Covey is his book The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People notes this change in emphasis in our nation.  He found that the literature in early American focused on qualities of honesty, integrity, virtue, and faithfulness.

Today the literature shows a dramatic shift toward a personality ethic that focuses on learning to manipulate, look good, personal satisfaction and a move people toward goals. There is a growing awareness that somewhere we have taken a wrong turn.  Our jails are full of young and old who attempt short cuts to happiness and find the road is full of potholes and pain and disappointment.

God has always shared with us that Character Counts:  3 we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5)  Without character there is little room for hope.  We need to get our nation back to attending church, studying the Bible and living the way we were designed to live.  Only then can we become a great nation. People who have no knowledge of God and His word have a hard time with character. Let’s get with God’s program because Character Counts.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7

At the beginning of the 20^th century, James Allen, an English clergyman, wrote a remarkable book he titled As a Man Thinketh. He based his book on the verse above.  Through the intervening years the book has inspired countless numbers of people. The central message of the book is “good thoughts can never produce bad results; bad thoughts can never produce good results.” It is a very simple formula.

The brain is a marvelous and vital part of our wonderful human machine.  No amount of time for any amount of evolution can explain the brain.  It is God made and God infused. No matter what action one takes it is anticipated and followed by thought. The Bible has told us that we are what we think.  Think about such things (Philippians 4:8) is a given in the Bible.

How can I be a kind person? Think kind thoughts. How can I become a contented person? Think contented thoughts. You can live out what you think. Healthy living is a product of healthy minds.  Thinking can determine the direction of your life.

John Chapman wrote, “Our goodness comes solely from thinking on goodness; our wickedness from thinking on wickedness.” You want to live a good life and avoid the pitfalls of the modern transgressor? Avoid the thinking that can lead you to bad choices and diabolical action.  Want to get out of the ruts you have found so debilitating? Change the way you think. Troubled people have troubled minds.

If you find that your life is crazy, work on your thinking patterns.  Bad patterns of thinking can destroy our lives just as cancer can destroy our bodies. Paul is clear about our thinking. Fix your thoughts on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things (Philippians 4:8)

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

Contentment is not a word we would use to describe the present age.  Restless, agitated, boiling, and discontent are more descriptive of our times.  Financial woes, lost jobs, health issues, insurance, world terrorism are contributing causes that add to the burning flames of discontentment that burns so hot in our stomachs that the “purple pill” seem to have little effect.

Paul had found the magical formula for contentment: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  Circumstances can’t be allowed to be the controlling factor in our contentment.  He later will say, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13). Jesus is there for us in any and all circumstances.  That being the case contentment can be ours every day and every night and during the long cold winters and the simmering hot summers.  We can find contentment when the job fails or our health fails or our relationships falter.

He is our strength in good times and bad.  He will never forsake us and leave us alone. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect (Psalm 18:32). When we are in the mighty arms of Jesus nothing can shake us, nothing can make us lose our contentment.  He is our contentment!

There is an old proverb that I have used on numerous occasions: “The only way to get what you want is to want what you get.” Contentment can not be ours by accumulating things that can never satisfy the inner person.  Contentment does not come from multiplying wealth, but in subtracting our desires.

In our world where contentment is seldom found by the person whose trust is this side of eternity, we can rest assured that Jesus is there with us and all is well.

A stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. Psalm 78:8

Loyalty is one of those words we often beat around.  It is a good subject for workers, citizens and Christians.  When we have it, things are in proportion.  When we lack it, things are all out of kilter.

It is a regular theme of the Bible that God’s people are to remain loyal (Steadfast).  It is our responsibility to resist the intellectual and moral pressures of our day. We must resist the fashions of the day and remain steadfast in our faith. We are not to allow ourselves to slip, slide or slither in the mud of modern day thinking that is opposed to the Word of God. We cannot let the flood of the modern world to cause us to be shipwrecked on the shoals of present day thinking.

We are called to hold to the Truth of God, to cling to this secure handhold in the storms that rage around us.  We are to Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23). We often sing the song Is Thy Heart Right With God? We must take the “not” out of the statement above and be loyal to the point of death.

Here are some warnings from the pen of New Testament writers:

Paul - So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. (II Thessalonians 2:15)

Hebrews - We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1)

John - See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. (I John 2:24)

John - Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (II John 9)

When He comes, will he find us being loyal?

James