Character and Reputation

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. (Psalms 37:6 NLT)

We often worry about our reputation more than we should, rather than being concerned with a clean conscience which produces godly character.

It is effortless in this sinful world to invert our priorities, where reputation takes precedence over conscience and character.  It has been said that reputation is what others think about us, character is what God knows to be true about us.  Reputation can be a positive or negative exaggeration about us.  In this world, a godly character can cause you to lose your reputation.  Dwelling on changing your reputation can be an exercise in futility.  You are trying to change something over which you have no control.  Yes, reputation is affected by having a clean conscience and godly character, but it is accomplished not by dwelling on what people think about you, but by how God views you.  Character is who we are when no one is looking, and it stems from the condition of the heart.

It seems pretty easy to get these virtues mixed-up.  How do we ensure we get these in proper order?  By dwelling first on a clear conscience before God.  If we do,  godly character will follow, and among those who matter, reputation will fall into place. Who matters?  God and those who think and act like him.  Denying our conscience to prop up our reputation, is like a dog chasing it’s tall.

Are you being falsely accused, or your faults being greatly overstated? Join the club. Keep a clear conscience and let God take care of your reputation.  If you do, God promises “the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.”

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Citizens of Heaven

Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1: 27a CSB)

Paul wrote these words from a Roman prison. He found a way of framing all his life experiences, good or bad, by his vision for heaven that furthered the Gospel of Christ. 

The Eternal Kingdom

Life is all about priorities.  For Christians, it is sometimes about choosing between good and God’s best.  There is a difference between doing good things and the right thing.  There are many good pursuits in life, but only God’s direction can bring us to the right course.  We will pursue what we dwell upon.  The Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).  I have often said that the Christian life is choosing between motherhood, apple pie, and the will of God.  Families and friends may desire good things for us according to the world’s standard, but the will of God may lead us a different direction based on an eternal perspective.  What will help us choose the best rather than settling for good?

We must keep our eyes on the prize. Where does our ultimate citizenship lie?  It is in the world to come. We must keep our eyes on where we are going. One of the first lessons we learn in driving on a highway is to keep your eyes down the road. Whatever you focus on you will drive towards.  The Bible says, “the road is narrow” (Matthew 7:13) and straight that leads to life. The pathway of good intentions often leads us on a broad, yet a crooked road. Remembering that first and foremost, we are citizens if heaven will help us make decisions, not with temporal but eternal outcomes furthering the Gospel of Christ.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Dross

You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. (Psalms 66:10 NLT)

The Refiners Fire

For every Christian, there is a testing process. Similar to the purification of silver the process involves fire, expressed in our lives as trials.  Though the process is never pleasant, in the end, it produces the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).

Silver is a beautiful mineral, but in its natural form, comes full of dross.  Dross is foreign material that is considered worthless.  In the smelting process, when heat is applied the impurities rise to the surface.  They are then removed, increasing the beauty and value of the silver.  Something very similar happens in the lives of all true believers.  God allows pressure and heat to be applied to our lives in the form of accusations or other unfair treatment. Most Christians, including myself, don’t recognize or want to admit that we have imperfections in our lives.  When fiery trials come, they bring to the surface areas in our lives hidden from us.  The accusations may even be false, but they bring to the surface other areas that do need our attention.  We can be so concerned with the injustice of the allegations, we miss seeing the impurities and allowing God to deal with them. Therefore, we never shine as God intends. 

How do I know so much about this subject, because I have spent too much time dwelling with what others have done, and not enough on my own faults?  As Pogo said in the comic strip with the same name, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We can dwell on the surface, who is right, or who is wrong, and miss the underlying purpose of our circumstances: eliminating the dross and bringing about the “peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

God Is Still on the Throne

 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. (Psalms 33:10-11 NASB)

Many things happen in this life that seems to be incomprehensible. Christian die seemingly too young in what appears to be in the midst of their usefulness. Occurrences transpire that do not look to fulfill God’s purposes, yet God is still on the throne.

I once heard a story about a Pastor in Hawaii. The Pastor’s wife fell ill and went into a coma.  After some time, she was confined to a nursing facility.  The Pastor, before he went to his church in the morning, would go by and visit with his wife.  He would comb her hair and talk to her, with no response.  In the evening after work, he sat and spoke to her, without ever even a slight reaction from her.  This went on for an extended period of time.  Suddenly, one day she regained consciousness.  It was only for a few moments.  One of the few things that his wife said in those brief seconds was, “God is still on the throne.”  God wanted this Pastor to know that he was still in control.

Things happen in this life that we may never be able to comprehend.  It is in these times that we trust in the character of God.  God is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings (Psalms 145:17). Bible tells us that the just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38).  It is in times of immense loss that by faith we remember that God is still on the throne, and at his return will restore all things.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

The Fear of Death

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had^[a] the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT)

Many of us live in bondage to many things in this life.  Ultimately, there is one great fear owned and propagated by the devil.  There is no greater slavery than the fear of death.

The Bible instructs us that it is appointed for men to die once (Hebrews 9:27). Unless Jesus returns first, all men will experience death.  It is the one great equalizer.  Whether you are rich or poor, famous or not, we will all go the way of the flesh.  The devil is referred to as one who has the power of death.  Satan was the first sinner and the one who first tempted us to sin.  He was the one who brought death into God’s creation, yet by Christ’s death, he defeated the power of the enemy.  Jesus conquered sin by his work on the Cross, and death was overcome by his resurrection, and so will you and I rise with him (Matthew 27:52). As Matthew Henry once said, “Death is not only a conquered enemy but even a reconciled friend. It is not now in the hands of Satan but in the hands of Christ.”

If you are a Christian and still enslaved by the fear of death, you don’t understand the implications of your salvation.  If you cannot approach death well, you will never live well.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com