I decided to take a break from the character qualities this week and share what Character Qualities of God have been so important to me this past week. Maybe one of them will strike a chord with you.

Abba Father - when we need fathering
Adequacy - for our inadequacy
All-sufficient - in our hardest situations
Amen - we need Him to be the last word
Answer - for our uncertainty and questions
Bread of life - for our spiritual hunger
Bridegroom - when we need companionship and cherishing
Broken and spilled out for us - when we’ve been used
Burden Bearer - when we are heavy laden
Before all things - when we’re surprised
Closer than a brother - when we are lonely
Comforter who wipes away tears - in our grief and sorrow
Door - when it looks like there’s no way out
Fullness - when we’re empty
God of details - when we’re frustrated
Hope - when we are discouraged and want to quit
Prince of peace - when we are stressed, worried, and confused
Provider - for every financial need
Quieter of the storm - for our struggles without and within
Rest - when we’re tired and can’t go on
Reviver, living water - when we are depleted, barren and thirsty
Satisfaction - when we’ve tried everything
Way-maker - when a solution seems impossible
Wisdom - for our hard choices

What an amazing God we have!

AVAILABILITY (vs. Self-centeredness) – Learning to make my schedules and priorities secondary to the wishes of those I serve.
– Learning to not be distracted from fulfilling my responsibilities. Rejecting ambitions that would hinder me from delighting in God-given priorities. Standing by a task until it is fully completed. (The verses for this character quality are Matthew 16:24 - 25)

When Christ called his disciples he used a Greek word that meant “to accompany”. He then taught them to not be hindered by personal cares and distractions. To deny and pick up their cross and follow. The Greek word for deny simply means to “forget oneself, lose sight of one’s own interests.”

Availability is basic to discipleship. Jesus called his disciples to a life of AVAILABILITY.

Available for training and serving. Availability that was and is motivated by being a “giver” rather than a “taker”.

Availability is giving our hearts not just our hands to a task. We are motivated to be available if we recognize how our tasks are accomplishing a greater objective. The Joy of making other’s successful. The Joy of giving that which benefits the lives of others.
Jesus was and is the ultimate example of availability. He lived among people who had needs and served them. He laid down his life so we might have life.

How can we develop Availability?
1. By not seeking our own pleasures and wants, our own amusements.
2. By not seeking great achievements that bring ourselves glory. Not being distracted from achieving the goals to serve and meet the needs of those around us.
3. By developing efficiency in meeting our personal needs not wants, so we have the time and energy and resources to meet the needs of others.
4. Discovering the needs of those around us and being alert to those.

Personal Evaluation:
- Do you choose to serve God or money?
- Do you purpose to be a giver and not a taker?
- Do you work to make others successful?
- Do you deny yourself from distracting pleasures?
- Do you set aside personal ambitions in order to advance God’s purpose and Kingdom?

ATTENTIVENESS (vs. Distraction)

– Showing the worth of a person by giving sincere attention to.
- Learning who to be attentive to, what to listen for, and who not to listen to.
(The verses for this character quality are Romans 15:3-6)

In Hebrew this attentiveness means “to give ear to”. There is also a word for Attentiveness to God which means “to hear intellectually”. The Greek us of Attentiveness was used to describe the crowds who listened to Jesus, “to listen closely”.

Attentiveness is an attitude of readiness to do what is true and right.

An Attentive person maintains good eye contact, is not distracted, and clarifies information given. It involves more than just listening with the ears it involves the heart as well.
Understanding can be synonymous with hearing. The ear is one of the first organs to develop in the womb, and hearing is one of the last senses to cease as death approaches.
Prov. 1:5
Ex 15:26

God speaks to us through Scripture. God brings to our attention verses that have significance in our lives.

How attentive are you to God?
-Do you spend time each day reading His Words?
-Do you ask how you can apply the scriptures to your daily life?
- Do you turn scriptures into personal prayer?
- Do you take time to listen to God speak to you as you pray?

Attentiveness springs from an Obedient Heart. It begins by asking God for a “hearing” heart.

Attentiveness to others requires discerning facial expressions, tonal patterns, body language and most of all, listening to the spirit of the person.

- Do you surround yourself with wise individuals?
- Do you seek wise counsel?
- Do you carefully search out a matter before making decisions?

May we be ATTENTIVE first to God, hearing with our hearts and then to others, as we understand with our hearts.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

ALERTNESS (vs. unawareness) – The ability to anticipate right responses to that which is taking place around me.

(The verse for this character quality is Mark 11:38)

- Learning to pay attention to all the lessons God is teaching through authorities, friends and experiences. Learning to foresee dangers and fully understand the consequences of present words, actions, attitudes, and thoughts.

“Set a strong guard about your outward senses: These can be Satan’s landing places, especially the eyes and ears.” – William Gurnall

The Biblical words to describe alertness are BEWARE and VIGILANCE. There can be three different intensities of alertness. First, giving general oversight to that which is around you. Second, carefully guarding those put under your care. Thirdly, paying attention to, and being very cautious about and aware of all that is going on around you. 1 Peter 5: 8 says that the devil would like nothing better than to catch us “napping”. We need to keep our guard up. Keeping a firm grip on our faith.

What must we protect?
1. Our Time (Eph. 5:16)
2. Our Health (Prov. 5:11)
3. Our Purity (Prov. 6:26)
4. Our Intimacy with God (Is. 59:2)
5. Our Family and Friends (Prov. 16:28)
6. Our Good Name (Prov. 22:1)
7. Our Money and Possessions (Prov. 11:16)
8. Our Eternal Reward (Rev. 3:11)

What is the basis of our Alertness?
Our Physical Senses and Corresponding Spiritual Senses.
1. Sight- “Open my eyes so I can see, show me your miracle wonders.” Ps. 119:18
2. Hearing- “Don’t pick up the bad habit of not listening to God and his truths.” Heb. 5;11
3. Taste- “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him.” Ps. 34:8
4. Touch- “We heard the truth, with our ears, saw with our eyes, verified it with our own hands.” 1 John 1:1
5. Smell- “through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ we give off a sweet scent rising to God!” 2 Cor. 2:16

How Can we Develop Greater ALERTNESS? By recognizing that life involves cause and effect sequences. Alertness is motivated by the realization that actions have predictable results. We reap WHAT we sow! We Reap WHERE we sow. We reap MORE than we sow. We reap in a different SEASON than we sow. (Gal. 6:8-9)

Personal Evaluation: (Am I Alert?)
Are you aware of opportunities God gives to witness and encourage others to grow spiritually?

What is the last problem you could have avoided by being more alert?

Have you learned how to “tune out” distractions that hinder you from being alert to the right things?

LOVE (vs. Selfishness) – Learning to give to the basic needs of others without motive of personal reward.

(The verse for this character quality is 1 Corinthians 13:3)

Every other quality must be motivated by LOVE.

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael

1 Corinthians 13 defines so well what love is and is not (from the Message).

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it does not have.
Love does not strut.
Love does not have a swelled head.
Love does not force itself on others.
Love is never “me first”.
Love does not fly off the handle.
Love does not keep score of the sins of others.
Love does not revel when others grove.
Love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth
Love puts up with anything.
Love Trusts God always.
Love always looks for the best.
Love never looks back but keeps going to the end.

So what comes to mind as I read through these verses? Love does not lose heart and it endures. Love looks for ways to be useful. Love focuses on people’s needs rather than their faults. Love is not possessive of what has been entrusted to me and is content with basic necessities. Love does not boast in abilities or accomplishments. Love does not look down on others with contempt or disdain. Love does not get irritated or exasperated. Love guards the heart and mind and brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Love delights in God’s word. Love dwells on thoughts that are true, honest and pure.

Love is seeing in others what Christ saw in them when He created them. This is not easy to do apart from God’s involvement in our lives.

Personal Evaluation: (Do I Love?)
Do I get discouraged and want to give up when things seem to wrong?
So I look for ways to be useful and helpful?
Do I enjoy telling about my achievements more than listening to the accomplishments of others?
Do I tend to look down on those who do not live by my standards?
Do I get irritated or exasperated with the character deficiencies’ of others?
Do I meditate on God’s word day and night delighting to do His will?

May we look for practical ways to demonstrate LOVE to others this week.

“TRUST steadily in God. HOPE unswervingly, LOVE extravagantly. And LOVE is the best of all three.”
I Corinthians 13:13

What is Character?

The exact representation of the object Who’s image it bore.
The inward motivation to do what is right according to God’s standards of behavior in every situation.
The stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual’s life which determines my response , regardless of my circumstances.
The wise response to the pressure of a difficult situation and what I do when I think no one is watching.

Character reveals the Lord since He is the full personification of good character. Understanding character explains why things happen to us. Knowing precise character qualities gives us the basis for praising the character of God and others.
May the Lord continue to teach us about HIS character and grant us HIS power to make HIS character evident in our lives.