" APPEARANCE vs CHARACTER "

Good day to you all and I lovingly wish you the very best that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has to offer. Well the holidays are truly upon us and I believe that we must go the extra mile to share the Word of God with others. Because of commercialism this time of year has truly become stressful for most, when it should be a time of Love and worship.
What do you see when you look at another, I've even heard some say that they can size up another on sight. Then there's another saying out there, that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I believe in learning about one's character.

Now, a person's character is often revealed by how he or she reacts to the unexpected.
But the Lord said to Samuel, " Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." You know God will test us. Is your character one of moral fiber or do you have tendencies to explore the things that are not of God? Are you a person of moral character? A lack of integrity can result into family strife and deception. Integrity and wise choices reflect godly character and I'm a firm believer that one's reaction to the unexpected should be God centered. We should not hate or resent times of inner testing, because through them God can strengthen our character and teach us valuable lessons. Temptation is bad for us only when we give in. How many times have you looked at a person for the very first time and made an instant judgment? God warns us about judging by appearance alone. When we judge by outside appearances we may over look quality individuals who lack the particular physical qualities society currently admires.

People tend to do what ever it takes to be appealing. We diet, hire trainers, join the gym across town, we go under the knife for surgery and we even get total make-overs. News Flash: appearance doesn't reveal what people are actually like or what their true value is! To one's delight, God judges by faith and character not appearances. Maybe it's time to allow the Father to do His supernatural surgery on one's heart.

God will test us, not to trip us and watch us fall, but to deepen our capacity to obey God and thus to develop our character. As purification through fire as fire refines ore to extract precious metals, God refines us through difficult circumstances. When we're going through a time of testing we can complain, or we can try to see how God is stretching us to develop our character. Our faithfulness can be rewarded with blessings greater than you or I might imagine. Remember only you and God know what your heart really looks like. Maybe 2010 will be a great time to work on your character. Just maybe your reaction to the unexpected will change in the upcoming year. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY " CHRIST-CENTERED NEW YEAR ".

Until Next time,

Jim