Character: Take It Seriously

John Maxwell

Leviticus 10:1-12:8

God takes seriously the issue of character: We see His concern repeatedly in Leviticus, from the sin of Aaron's sons - to His detailed instructions about clean and unclean food - to the purification of a woman after childbirth.

While today we recognize some obvious medical and biological reasons for His precise directions, we can assume God intended through these texts to teach His leaders and His people an important lesson: Put "being" before "doing." Get yourself right before you work on anything else.

Far too often we jump to mechanics, methods, and techniques. We put style ahead of substance. We focus on charisma but neglect character. The following axioms beckon us to put our character first:

1. We are given our gifts, but we must develop our character.
2. Our character earns the trust of others.
3. Only good character gives lasting success with people.
4. Sound character communicates credibility and consistency.
5. Our character colors our perspective.
6. Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
7. We cannot rise above the limitations of our character.
   

Isaiah 1:19

If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land

Be Willing!

Gloria Copeland

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." (Isaiah 1:19)

A healthy body. Enough money to pay all your bills and extra to invest in the work of the gospel. A godly marriage and happy, healthy children. Peace of mind. God has prepared a banquet full of blessings for you.

But those blessings are not just going to fall in your lap. You must be willing as well as obedient if you're going to eat the best from God's table.

So, be willing!

Don't be willing for Satan to put sickness on your body. Be willing, instead, to be well! In honor of Jesus' sacrifice at Calvary, refuse to accept anything less than divine health.

Don't be willing to live in lack, but be willing instead to live in divine prosperity and abundance. Refuse to allow Satan to stop the flow of God's financial blessings to you.

Be willing to receive God's best plan for your marriage and your children. Don't settle for the "norm" in the world. Live above it in a home full of love and harmony, a home that is what God meant it to be.

Don't allow Satan to substitute anxiety and ulcers for the peace and undisturbedness that Jesus bought for you. Be willing and obedient to cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.

Refuse to be robbed of the banquet of blessings that have belonged to you since you became a believer. Be willing to eat the good of the land!

Scripture Study: Deuteronomy 8:5-20

Changing Our Paradigm of Experience

Exodus 3:3 - So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up."

Have you ever heard someone say, "God doesn't work that way? He would never do that." Well, there are times when God chooses to confound the foolish in order to change our paradigm of experience. Moses had never seen a bush that burned but did not burn up. It got his attention and it drew him to God.

When Jesus appeared on the water in the middle of the night during a storm, the disciples exclaimed, "It's a ghost!" They had never seen a man walk on water. This led to a great miracle-Peter walked on the water, too. When Jesus asked Peter to catch a fish and get the coin from its mouth to pay their taxes, you can imagine what Peter must have thought about those instructions. When Moses got to the Red Sea, he ran out of options. God had an unexpected solution to the Israelites' problem-He parted the Red Sea to demonstrate His power and allow the people of Israel to cross over to flee the Egyptian army.

Each of these new paradigms was a stepping-stone of an encounter with God so that the individual would experience God in a new way. God used these times to enforce the principle that His ways are not our ways. Whenever we try to predict that God will act in a certain way, He changes the paradigm to keep us from becoming our own little gods.

Have you ever been guilty of judging someone for an experience they've had that you've never had? Did you dismiss it as extreme or something not of God? God is in the business of changing our paradigm from no personal experiences to God-experiences. However, if you operate on a level of rigid logic, you may never have the privilege of having the God-experiences. Keep your heart free to experience new paradigms with God today.