The little troubles and worries of life may be as stumbling blocks in our way, or we may make them stepping-stones to a nobler character and to Heaven. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.
Henry Ward Beecher
Archives
Snarling at other folks is not the best way of showing the superior quality of your own character. He is blind who thinks he sees everything. The observant man recognizes many mysteries into which he can not pretend to see, and he remembers that the world is too wide for the eye of one man. But the modern sophists are sure of everything, especially if it contradicts the Bible.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The Spurgeon Archive
The world needs men and women.......
a.. who cannot be bought;
b.. whose word is their bond;
c.. who put character above wealth;
d.. who possess opinions and a will;
e.. who are larger than their vocations;
f.. who do not hesitate to take chances;
g.. who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
h.. who will make no compromise with wrong;
i.. whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;
j.. who will not say they do it "because everybody else does it";
k.. who are true to their friends through good report and evil report in adversity as well as in prosperity;
l.. who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheartedness are the best qualities for winning success;
m.. who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;
n.. who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says "yes."
Dr. Larry M. Groves
Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man's real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man's true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man's character and how he handles his money.
Richard C. Halverson
The 7 Modern Sins:
- Politics without principles
- Pleasures without conscience
- Wealth without work
- Knowledge without character
- Industry without morality
- Science without humanity
- Worship without sacrifice.
[I wish you] health enough to make work a pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbour. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
Johann von Goethe
Character is not built by battling and excitement alone. The harvest is not ripened by the thunderous forces of nature, but by the secret silent invisible forces. So the best qualities of our spiritual lives are matured by quietness, silence and commonplace.
A. P. Gouthey
If believers decay in their first love, or in some other grace, yet another grace may grow and increase, such as humility, their brokenheartedness; they sometimes seem not to grow in the branches when they may grow at the root; upon a check grace breaks out more; as we say, after a hard winter there usually follows a glorious spring.
Richard Sibbes
Brief Biography and Article
Life is way too short to waste time doing average things, since average things produce average results. I would rather search for the greater things in life and die searching; better this than to never search and always wonder.
Anonymous
True godliness leaves the world, convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the only explanation for you, is Jesus Christ, to whose eternally unchanging and altogether adequate "I AM!" your heart has learned to say with unshatterable faith, "Thou art!"
W. Ian Thomas
Excerpts from the writings of Major W. Ian Thomas
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A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.
Peter Marshall
Spiritual Portrait
God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must accept it. The only choice is how.
Henry Ward Beecher
Archives
It is said that one of the early church fathers, seeing a woman of loose morals arrayed in rich apparel, was moved to tears and confessed that he had never taken such pains to adorn his soul with faith and godliness as she had taken to adorn her body to please the world.
A Naismith
Cheerfulness - A state of mind free from gloom or dejection. It is the duty of every Christian, by faith in the goodness, power, and love of God, to cultivate a cheerful frame of mind, even though this may be difficult by reason of afflictions.
J. G. Vos
Spend your time in nothing which you know must be repented of. In nothing on which you might not pray for the blessing of God. In nothing which you could not review with a quiet conscience on your dying bed. In nothing which you might not safely and properly be found doing if death should surprise you in the act.
Anonymous
Too many Christians become bitter and angry in the conflict. If we descend into hatefulness, we have already lost the battle ... We must cooperate with God in turning what was meant for evil into a greater good within us. This is why we bless those who would curse us: It is not only for their sakes but to preserve our own soul from its natural response toward hatred.
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
With the help of grace, the habit of saying kind words is very quickly formed, and when once formed, it is not speedily lost. Sharpness, bitterness, sarcasm, acute observation, divination of motives, - all these things disappear when a man is earnestly conforming himself to the image of Christ Jesus. The very attempt to be like our dearest Lord is already a well-spring of sweetness within us, flowing with an easy grace over all who come within our reach.
Frederick W. Faber
Biography
The old man does believe what the child believed; but how different it is, though still the same. It is the field that once held the seed, now waving and rustling under the autumn wind with the harvest that it holds, yet all the time it has kept the corn. The joy of his life has richened his belief. His sorrow has deepened it. His doubts have sobered it. His enthusiasms have fired it. His labour has purified it.
Phillips Brooks
Biography
Character is the product of daily, hourly actions, and words and thoughts; daily forgivenesses, unselfishness, kindnesses, sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others, struggles against temptation, submissiveness under trial. Oh, it is these, like the blending colours in a picture of the blending notes of music which constitute the man.
J. R. Macduff
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure and good without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
Phillips Brooks
Biography
Courtesy is the visible "halo" of the saint of today. Do those about you, see tangible signs that identify you as a " saint " of God?
Anonymous
It takes courage To refrain from gossip when others about you delight in it. To stand up for an absent person who is being abused. To live honestly within your means and not dishonestly on the means of others. To be a real man, a true woman, by holding fast to your Christian ideals when it causes you to be looked upon as strange and peculiar. To be talked about and yet remain when a word would justify you in the yes of others, but which you cannot speak without injury to another. To refuse to do a thing which is wrong, though other do it. To dress according to you income and to deny yourself what you cannot afford to buy. To live always according to your convictions.
Anonymous
"If you plant a bean, then you will harvest only beans, not grapes or strawberries." This is an old Korean proverb. God gave us new life through Jesus Christ and planted special seeds of forgiveness and love in our hearts. What fruit will we bear in our daily lives?
Myung Lee
Humble yourself and cease to care what men think. A meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather,... he has stopped being fooled about himself. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. He has obtained a place of soul rest. The old struggle to defend himself is over.
A. W. Tozer
The Works of A. W. Tozer
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
Max Lucado
Upwords
As a piece of brass, being stricken with a hammer upon the anvil or stithy, breaketh, and withal maketh a sharp and irksome noise; so, when a hypocrite cometh betwixt the anvil and the hammer of troubles and affliction, he breaketh with impatience, he murmureth, crieth out, and lamenteth in blasphemies against God.
Robert Cawdray
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Character: Who You Are When No One's Looking, Christian Basics Bible Studies By Bill Hybels We all do our best when others are watching. But what about when no one is looking? That's where character comes in, giving us consistency when it's just between God and us. Courage, discipline, vision, endurance, compassion, self-sacrifice, the qualities covered in this Bible study guide provide a foundation for character. With this foundation and God's guidance, we can maintain character even when we face temptations and troubles. 6 studies for individuals or groups based on Bill Hybels book Who You Are When No One's Looking. |
No, the Christian must stand fixed to his principles, and not change his habit; but freely show what countryman he is by his holy constancy in the truth.
William Gurnall
Online Works
You can no more blame your circumstances for your character than you can blame the mirror for the way you look.
Anonymous
It is strange that while praying, we seldom ask for a change of character, but always a change of circumstances.
Anonymous
If you're so fearful of failure that you never set up your row of tin cans to shoot at, you're not very likely to hit any at all. Failure is not the end. For the person who determines to learn from it, failure is a friend.
Anonymous
Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person's money as his time.
Anonymous
It is the habit of making sacrifices in small things that enables us for making them in great, when it is asked of us. Temper, love of preeminence, bodily indulgence, the quick retort, the sharp irony, - in checking these let us find our cross and carry it. Or, when the moment comes for some really great service, the heart will be petrified for it, and the blinded eyes will not see the occasion of love
Anthony W. Thorold
Character is a victory, not a gift.
Anonymous
The curvature of the moral spine is an affliction which only the Great Physician can cure.
Anonymous
God does not judge the condition or quality of His church by how good the meetings are on Sunday morning, but by how good the people are on Monday morning. The main calling of our life is more than just knowing the truth - — it is having that truth become our life.
Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Meekness is not weakness. On the contrary, it is the sign and cause of strength. The ox lies still while the geese are hissing. The mastiff is still while the curs are yelping. Moses was leader in Israel because of his great meekness among a provoking people.
Anonymous
The fruit of the Spirit is not push, drive, climb, grasp and trample...Life is more than a climb to the top of the heap.
Richard J. Foster
Brief Biography And List Of Works
Nothing so hinders us in what we are doing as to be longing after something else; in so doing, we leave off tilling our own field, to drive the plough through our neighbour's land, where we must not look to reap a harvest; and this is mere waste of time. If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible for us to set our faces steadily towards the work required of us.
Francis de Sales
Biography And Works
Character is not made in a crisis - it is only exhibited.
Anonymous
When God wants to do an impossible task He takes an impossible man and crushes him.
Alan Redpath
Brief Biography And List Of Works
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The Quest for Character By John MacArthur Unearth your heaven-sent value through the treasures of Christlike character! In this reader-friendly collection of life-giving teachings, Grace to You founder John MacArthur examines dozens of God-pleasing traits. Learn why Scripture affirms and encourages qualities including discernment, purity, courage, passion, humility, sincerity, devotion, integrity, selflessness, resiliency, generosity, and more. 128 pages, 5" x 7" hardcover from Countryman. |
I remember once hearing Whipple, of Minnesota, so well known as "The Apostle of the Indians," utter these beautiful words: "For thirty years I have tried to see the face of Christ in those with whom I differed." When this spirit actuates us we shall be preserved at once from a narrow bigotry and an easy-going tolerance, from passionate vindictiveness and everything that would mar or injure our testimony for Him who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
William Henry Griffith Thomas
Brief Biography
There is one thing that keeps many from zealously improving their lives, that is, dread of the difficulty, the toil of battle. Certainly they who try bravely to overcome the most difficult and unpleasant obstacles far outstrip others in the pursuit of virtue. A person makes the most progress and merits the most grace precisely in those matters wherein he gains the greatest victories over self and most mortifies his will. True, each one has his own difficulties to meet and conquer, but a diligent and sincere person will make greater progress even though he have more passions than one who is more even-tempered but less concerned about virtue.
Thomas a Kempis
Thomas a Kempis Biography And Works
Good habits are not made on birthdays, nor Christian character at the New Year. The workshop of character is everyday life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won.
Maltbie Davenport (Mattie D) Babcock
Short Biography
The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation; the truth you believe determines your character. Reputation is what you are supposed to be; charaacter is what you are. Reputation is the photograph; character is the face. Reputation comes over one from without; character grows up from within. Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; character is what you have when you go away. Your reputation is learned in an hour; your character is built in a lifetime. Reputation grows like a mushroom; character grows like the oak. A single newspaper report gives you your reputation, a life of toil gives you your character. Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor; character makes you happy or makes you miserable. Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone; character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God.
William Hersey Davis
Short Biography
It is wisdom to use your influence. It is criminal to sell it.
Ed Cole
Christian Men's Network
In vain I have searched the Bible, looking for examples of early believers whose lives were marked by rigidity, predictability, inhibition, dullness, and caution. Fortunately, grim, frowning, joyless saints in Scriptures are conspicuous by their absence. Instead, the examples I find are of adventurous, risk-taking, enthusiastic, and authentic believers whose joy was contagious even in times of full trial. Their vision was broad even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering.
Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
Insight for Living
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
Max Lucado
Upwords
The cost of true greatness is humble, selfless, sacrificial service. The Christian who desires to be great and first in the kingdom is the one who is willing to serve in the hard place, the uncomfortable place, the lonely place, the demanding place, the place where he is not appreciated and may even be persecuted. Knowing that time is short and eternity is long, he is willing to spend and be spent. He is willing to work for excellence without becoming proud, to withstand criticism without becoming bitter, to be misjudged without becoming defensive, and to withstand suffering without succumbing to self pity.
John MacArthur
Grace to You
Kindness does not require us to be blind to facts or to live in fancies, but it does require us to cherish a habit of goodwill, ready to show pity if sorrow appears, and slow to turn away even if hostility appears.
Alexander MacLaren
Biography And Online Library
The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.
Frederick Brotherton ( F. B. ) Meyer
Online Works
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