Christlike Living in a Sinful World

Character

Reputation is what a man's neighbors and friends think of him.
Character is what the man IS.

Character is personal. It is not a possession we can share with someone else. We can give a hungry person part of our loaf of bread; we can divide our money with one who needs it; but character is something we cannot give away or transmit. The brave soldier cannot share his courage with the trembling recruit who fights by his side in the battle. The pure, gentle woman cannot give part of her purity and gentleness, to the defiled and hardened woman she meets.

Character is our own — a part of our very being. It grows in us over the years. Acts repeated become habits, and character is made up in the long run, of those habits which have been repeated so often, that they become a permanent part of our lives.

Sow a thought — and you will reap an act;
sow an act — and you will reap a habit;
sow a habit — and you will reap a character;
sow character — and you will reap a destiny!

As the tree falls — so must it lie;
As the man lives — so must he die!
As a man dies — such must he be;
All through the ages of eternity!

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Practical Kindness

"Love must be sincere." Romans 12:9

Kindness must be practical — not merely emotional and sentimental. It will not be satisfied merely . . .
  with good wishes,
  with sympathetic words,
  or even with prayers.
It should be put into some form that will do practical good.

There are times when even prayer is a mockery. At times it is our duty to answer our own prayers, to be the messengers we ask God to send to help others. We are God's messengers, when we find ourselves in the presence of human needs and sorrows, which we can supply or comfort. Expressions of pity or sympathy are mockeries — when we do nothing to relieve the distress.

"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22

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God's clock!

"What I am doing you do not understand now — but afterward you will understand." John 13:7

In divine providence, nothing comes a moment too soon or too late — but everything comes in its own complete time. God's clock is never too slow. Every link of the chain of God's providence, fits into its own place.

We do not see God's hand at the time. Not until afterward, will you see that your disappointments, hardships, trials, and the wrongs inflicted on you by others — are parts of God's good providence toward you, and full of blessing. Not until afterward will you see it, but the "afterward" is secure to faithful followers of Christ. The "afterward" of every disappointment or sorrow — is blessing and good. We only need to learn to wait in patience for Him.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

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We must test all our pleasures and amusements by this rule:

"Lovers of pleasure — rather than lovers of God; having a form of godliness — but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:4-5

Is the love of pleasure and amusement growing on you — gaining the power and authority over you?
Is it dulling the keenness of your zest for spiritual pleasures?
Is it making Bible study, prayer, communion with Christ, and meditation upon holy themes — less sweet enjoyments than they once were?
Is it making your hunger for righteousness, and for God — less intense?
Is it interfering with the comfort and blessing which you used to find in church services, or in Christ's work?

If so, there is only one thing to do — hurry . . .
  to return to God,
  to abandon the pleasure or amusement which is imperiling your soul, and
  to find in Christ, the joy which the world cannot give, and which never harms any aspect of life. 

We must test all our pleasures and amusements by this rule: Are they helping us to grow into Christ-likeness and spiritual beauty?

"All things are lawful — but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful — but not all things edify." 1 Corinthians 10:23

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Divine discontent!

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled!" Matthew 5:6

The ideal Christian life is one . . .
  of unquenchable thirst,
  of bottomless yearning,
  of divine discontent —
wooed ever on by visions of holier living, higher joy, and new attainments.

The trouble with too many of us, is that we are too satisfied with ourselves as we are. We have attained a small measure of peace, of holiness, of faith, of joy, of knowledge of Christ — and we are not hungering for the larger possible rewards. Pray for discontent with your spiritual state! With all the infinite possibilities of spiritual life before you, do not sit down on a little patch of dusty ground at the foot of the mountain, in restful contentment. Do not be content until you reach the mountain's summit!

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12

~J. R. Miller~ 

(continued with # 2)