Y is for Yearning! Yearning is a deep, tender and urgent longing; an appitite or craving. Do you have a yearning to know more about Jesus and the Bible? Isaiah 26:9 says “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you”. The old hymn More About Jesus describes yearning well:
“More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me. More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me. More about Jesus; in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord; Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine. More about Jesus; on His throne, Riches in glory all His own; More of His kingdom’s sure increase; More of His coming, Prince of Peace. More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me”.
They got it…MORE ABOUT JESUS! Life has to be more about Jesus, not about us! Do you yearn to know Him deeper? Psalm 42:1-2 says “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”. We have to crave, thirst, yearn for a relationship with God. Are you doing that today?
Prayer starter: Heavenly Father, help me to crave a relationship with You. Create in me a yearning for Your Word. I want to be more in love with You than anything else in this world. Thank You for never giving up on me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work on developing a yearning for God. Make it a goal to spend more time in prayer and reading His Word. Crave Him today!
X! I know if you have been following my ABC's all month, then you have probably been wondering what is an X word that deals with Godly Character….well, here are a few: X is for X-alt (exalt) Him, be an x-ample (example) x-hibit (exhibit) Godly Character, or x-pand (expand) His Kingdom. However, there was only 1 true X word that would do, so here we go! X is for Xerox copy! We should be a Xerox copy of the of the beatitudes in the Bible. Matthew 5:3-16 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”. Are you a good example of these traits? Are you living a life that is a Xerox copy of the True Light of the World?
Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please help me to be more like a Xerox copy of the life You lived on earth as an example for us. Help me to develop more and more of Your character traits by Your Holy Spirit filling me and guiding me each and every day. In Your Name, Amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to let your light shine for others to see! Be a Xerox copy of God’s commands today. Live out loud for Him!
W is for Worship! Worship is reverent honor paid to God; adoring reverence; attending services of divine worship; to feel an adoring reverence or regard. Worship means reverent love and devotion to God. Worship is an outward expression of our love for God.
We should worship God every day in all we do. Psalm 95:6 says “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” It’s easy to get things in life out of balance. It is easy to put “things” above God without realizing it. Idols interfere with our worship if we are not cautious. Does your phone, Xbox, computer, sports, ballgames, boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/kids, family, talking, friends, school, or work, interfere with your worship? If you spend time with these things when you should be studying God’s word, praying, witnessing, or attending church on a regular basis then you may need to evaluate your life and what you are worshiping
. We should take time DAILY to worship God and thank Him for all He has blessed us with. We should avoid appearances and behaviors that detract from our ultimate goal of being believable witnesses for Jesus Christ and demonstrating our Christian faith. We should honor God with the way we dress, our attitudes, and our manners toward others when we attend church and in daily life—that is worship. When we enter into the House of God we should have the attitude of being open and ready participate and to listen to God. Are you just going through the motions or do you have meaningful worship with God?
Matthew West sings: “This might hurt, it's not safe but I know that I've gotta make a change. I don't care if I break, at least I'll be feeling something, 'cause just okay is not enough. Help me fight through the nothingness of life. I don't wanna go through the motions. I don't wanna go one more day without Your all consuming passion inside of me. I don't wanna spend my whole life asking, ‘What if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions?’ No regrets, not this time. I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind, let Your love make me whole.”
It is more than putting on a good appearance attending church; true worship occurs in your heart and mind.
Chris Tomlin sums it up this way: “Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. Here I am to worship.”
Are you here to worship? Deuteronomy 8:19 warns us about a heart not devoted to the One True God “if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish”. Matthew Henry said “It is not enough for us to be where God is worshiped, if we do not ourselves worship Him”. Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please develop a true heart of worship in me. Reveal any idols that I am placing in front of You. Help me to always keep You first in my life. In Your Glorious Name I pray, Amen. Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to have a heart of worship, every day. D.L. Moody said “We ought to see the face of God every morning before we see the face of man”. Have you sought the face of God in worship today? We should all want to be like Mary, the sister of Martha, who sat at Jesus’ feet listening while Martha worked in the kitchen (Luke 10:38-42). We may not be able to sit at His actual feet but we can in our hearts and minds today!
V is for Virtuous or having Virtue! Being virtuous means conforming to moral and ethical principles; being morally excellent and upright. Philippians 4:8 defines virtue: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”. Colossians 3:13 says “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”. That’s virtue! Proverbs 31 describes an excellent or virtuous woman. Guys, you should seek a lady of strong Godly character, great wisdom, skills, and compassion. It is not all about their appearance. Ladies, we should strive to be this lady. Proverbs 31:10 says “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies”. The lady/man you are seeking should be attractive because of their character, not their appearance. What are you chasing after? Are you a good catch for someone? Do you show virtue? We should all try to be the very best we can be. Proverbs describes virtue all throughout the book. It tells us we should work hard, fear God, respect others, spend money wisely, and seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. How are you doing on this list? Are your moral and ethical principles that of God or do they conform to the sin-filled world? 2 Peter 1:5-10 says “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall”. Being virtuous is where success begins.
Prayer starter: Dear Lord, help me to be more concerned with the virtues and character that You say are important. Help me to forget about the world’s description of a good person and cling to the descriptions of Godly Character in Your Word. Mold me to be more like You, in Jesus’ Name, amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be more virtuous. The Bible is a great place to start working on your character.
U is for Understanding! Understanding has two parts: 1) the ability to learn, comprehend, and make decisions; intelligence; and 2) being sympathetic, tolerant, or wise towards people. The first is about gaining knowledge of the Bible. We should ask God to help us understand what His Word says and how to apply it to our lives. Secondly, we should be understanding toward others. We should show them Christ-like love and try to see their point of view. We should try to relate to what is going on in their lives; have compassion. Proverbs 18:2 says “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion”. Don’t be selfish about having it “your way”, listen to others and be kind. Godly Character is more important that getting it “our way” all the time. Proverbs 2:1-6 says “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”. Wisdom and understanding come from God. It is gained by seeking it. His Word reveals it, but we must read His Word if we want to gain it. True understanding is of God and we can’t create it by our own efforts. We have to seek it, want it, and search for it. It doesn’t come easy, nothing we treasure does. Once we obtain it, we must always try to use it and be understanding toward others.
Prayer starter: Heavenly Father, thank you for making understanding and wisdom available to us. Help me to study Your Word more and to earnestly seek understanding. Also, help me to be understanding toward others and show them compassion and mercy, just as You have shown me. I love you, Amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read God’s Word today. Ask God, through prayer, to make the verses become real to you. Ask Him to help you “get it” and understand what you read. Also, show understanding toward others today.
T is for tough word for me to choose…I couldn't decide on Trust in God, being trustworthy, talk to Jesus, talk about Jesus, truthful, using our talents, thoughtfulness, where is your treasure, teaching others about Christ, or thankfulness…just to name a few "T" words that came to my mind as I have thought about Godly character this week. So, today, T is for Thankfulness! Thankfulness is gratitude or appreciation for what someone does for you. It's an attitude of being appreciative and grateful for all circumstances. Living as a thankful person is making a conscious decision to always acknowledge and recognize someone, specifically God, for showing favor and kindness in your life – no matter how good or how bad you may feel at the time. The Bible is full of verses about being thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you". Giving thanks in ALL situations doesn’t mean we thank God for bad things that happen. Bad, mean, hurtful things don’t come from God, so we shouldn’t thank Him for them, but we should be thankful that God is in control of the situation and that He will give us the strength to get through it. We should be thankful that He is letting our faith and maturity grow. God wants what is best for all His children. He wants us to love and honor Him above all else. One way we do this is by giving thanks to Him. Psalm 100:4 says "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name"! We have so much to be thankful for, but most of all I am thankful for Jesus, my Savior, my Lord! He blesses me so much more than I could ever be worthy. Give thanks to God EVERY DAY! "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, Most High". (Psalms 9:1-2 ESV)
Prayer starter: Heavenly Father, thank you for all the wonderful blessings and people you have placed in my life. Help me to always be thankful to You. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I love you, Jesus. In Your Name, amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give God thanks today!
S is for Self-discipline and self-control! Self-discipline is the power or ability to control your thoughts, actions, feelings and desires with the intention of improving yourself. Self-control is restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. It is self-discipline in action. Galatians 5:22-23 says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Self-discipline and self-control come from the Holy Spirit living in us. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. It is hard without the help of the Holy Spirit to keep our cool. It can be difficult to not lose our temper or to spout off at the mouth. It can be hard to not go too far in relationships and to save ourselves for marriage. It can be difficult to not overeat or be a slob. It is hard to make it a priority to spend quality time in God’s Word…but all of these things are possible when we let the Holy Spirit control our thoughts, words and actions. With His help, we can accomplish self-discipline and self-control. Tell God what areas you are struggle in and ask Him to help you overcome them. He will when we sincerely ask Him.
Prayer starter: Heavenly Father, please help me learn to control _______ in my life. You know the struggle and battle that I am facing. Give me the strength to stand strong and have self-discipline and self-control. Help me to be a positive example of Your love and not be a negative one. In Christ’ Name I pray, Amen.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work on your self-control today. Think before you speak or act. Is what you are about to do or say pleasing to God? Is it helpful or hurtful to others and to your testimony? Live out loud for Christ!
