For Kaelen - who has the righteousness of God in Christ. Now to live out that precious gift by letting Jesus's victory shine out from your life!
Dearest Kaelen, my precious gift from God...
Many succeed momentarily by what they know;
Some succeed temporarily by what they do;
Few achieve permanent success by what they are.
To achieve permanent success, one needs to go back to the roots of making the right decisions in Christ in all areas. We ARE overcomers in Christ; but if we behave as if the devil has overcame us instead of behaving like a believer who has overcome through Jesus, we won't live out that life of victory that Christ has already won for us on the Cross!
We also need to be people of integrity. It is the quality of our character that we must develop and fiercely guard/protect.
What is intergrity?
It is defined by the dictionary as:
- Honesty
- Wholeness
- Soundness (which means correct, not rotten, well-founded)
Our integrity is closely cemented to our being founded upon Christ the Solid Rock. It is a main characteristic of a Christian. If there are cracks in our integrity, eventually our mask crumbles and the holes are exposed.
We maintain our integrity first and foremost in the littlest of things.
Examples -
- Brushing your teeth: it is your teeth. How well you take care of teeth determines how long you don't have to wear dentures. =D
- Packing your toys after you've played with them
- Drinking 2 waterbottles full of water a day because your body needs to replenish the water it has lost
- Finishing your school work and packing your bag before bedtime
- Doing what you know is right, not what is popular with your friends.
- Choosing to react the right way despitie the way we actually feel inside (eg. choosing the healing response not the hurtful response even when we feel angry or upset).
A lie is a lie whether it is a big one or an itsy bitsy one. The moment we convince ourselves that it is okay to tell a small lie, we set ourselves up for trouble! A lie is required to mask that lie, and another lie is needed to hide that new lie... one lie leads to more lies, then bigger lies!
What you must know about Lies is this - they do not stay hidden or concealed forever. A saying goes - "The bright Sun will bring it to light". It is not going to be pretty when the lies are exposed to the world to see.
Lies exposed cause doubt. I've said it before - trust lost is one of the most difficult things to win back. So don't lose that trustworthiness you've started out with.
Character is made of the small moments in our lives. If we find it hard to be honest and choose to do the right things when everything's going well, we might crack like a nut when times get tough.
An important businessman gives this valuable tip - "Don't do what you wouldn't feel comfortable reading about in the newspapers the next day." That is a good thing to keep in mind before you choose to say or do anything.
Remember even if nobody knows, God does! He will STILL love you plenty-much-lots, but when we feel guilty about something we sometimes find it hard to look Him in the eye. Some people find guilt a heavy burden to bear. And we shouldn't have to bear such burdens since we are destined to reign in Jesus. But this burden of guilt is one of the sneaky and terrible ways the devil uses to rob us of our joy and our relationship with Jesus.
Worry less about what people think about you and be more attentive to your inner character. Someone wise wrote this - "If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself." Mummy's take on that is this- you should let the Holy Spirit take care of your character by listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say and following His leading closely. Jesus knows we don''t know much so He sent the Holy Spirit to teach us ALL things. But just like when you are in school, if you don't listen closely to what the teacher says you will not learn.
If you struggle with maintaining your integrity and you are trying to all the right things on the outside (ie. in the flesh) - but still get the wrong results - something is wrong and still needs to be changed from the inside (ie. HEART TRANSFORMATION).
These questions may help you figure out the areas that need your attention -
1) How well do I treat people from whom I can gain no advantage?
2) Am I transparent with others? Do I seek to hide things from people's knowledge or not?
3) Do I pretend to be someone I am not when I hang out with others?
4) Am I the same person in the spotlight as when I am alone? Am I proud?
5) Do I quickly admit wrongdoing without being pressed to do so?
6) Do I put other people's welfare ahead of my own plans? Am I selfish?
7) Do I have a firm, unchanging standard for making decisions or am I like a lalang- letting the situation sway the decisions I make?
8) Do I make the right decisions even if they are difficult ones and will cost me?
9) When I have something to say about people, do I talk TO them or do I talk ABOUT them? (Do I gossip or talk behind people's back, instead of having a heart-to-heart personal talk with them?)
10) Am I answerable to at least one other person for what I think, say or do?
Now, don't be too quick to answer all these questions. If you have problems with self-control and self-discipline, sometimes you might give answers to the questions that reflect HOW you wish you were rather than giving honest answers that reflect who you are at this moment in time. It is important that you are honest to yourself as you think through the 10 questions and answer them. Never be dishonest to yourself, making excuses for the wrong decisions you've made and justifying yourself about everything. That is NOT the way the Scripture asks us to lead our life. We are not told to justify ourselves, we need Jesus to justify us, and that also means being honest in the inward parts so He can help transform our thinking.
The road of integrity may not be the easiest one, but it is the ONLY one that will get you where you want to go. The voice of integrity is really the Holy Spirit, so listen close. He is your best friend. Your integrity/HS leading will never betray you or put you in an embarrassing position. It will help you keep your priorities right-, that is it helps you do the important things that need to be done first. It acts as your compass, helping you stay on the right course instead of taking shortcuts that lead to disaster. Integrity, with the help of the Holy Spirit, helps you take the "high road" so when people criticise you unfairly or insult you, it helps you keep on going the right way, to not strike back and not to come down to their level. As seen in Nehemiah - "Why should I leave the good work I am doing and come down to meet you?"
No matter what you do or where you go in life, this remains true - there will always people who like you and people who dislike you. As long as you walk in Christ and remain a person of integrity, you remain secure, you can hold your head high and you will have joy no matter what happens. When you have integrity you fear nothing and no one. The devil has no weapon to yield against you! =D
To bring to a close this letter... integrity's greatest benefit to you is that it allows others to trust you. Without trust, it is difficult to live your life in this world. You will still have Jesus but His love and His redemption and His forgiveness... but you will not be living the victorious life and potential He has given you on that cross. You will not be a good steward to the gifts His grace has paid for you and made available to you.
Trust is one of the most important factors in our personal and professional relationships- at home, at school, in the office, amongst family, friends and strangers. It is like a glue that helps a couple walk together in love and in Christ. It is like a bond that helps friendships stay strong in Christ. The opposite of suspicion, distrust and these breed disharmony and unhappiness.
Trust is the key to being a person of influence - to be a person who helps influence goodness and the love of God in society and amongst the people in they come in contact with.
So...
Keep your promises, never ever lie no matter the circumstances, be humble and not proud, be ready to apologise willingly (don't wait till people have to press you for an apology), serve others out of the love of Christ and not a desire to be praised or promoted in the flesh, encourage and build people up with your words and deeds.
Be the love letter from JESUS that He has written you out to be =) Be the Champion that He died for you to become through His sacrifice. Be the person that our Abba Daddy can look and say - "This is my son whom I am proud of." =)
And how you get to that stage? By asking Jesus to give you the grace to do the right thing. You don't have to struggle in the flesh if you lean on Jesus, listen to His advice and follow them with love.
Lots of love,
Mummy
Many succeed momentarily by what they know;
Some succeed temporarily by what they do;
Few achieve permanent success by what they are.
To achieve permanent success, one needs to go back to the roots of making the right decisions in Christ in all areas. We ARE overcomers in Christ; but if we behave as if the devil has overcame us instead of behaving like a believer who has overcome through Jesus, we won't live out that life of victory that Christ has already won for us on the Cross!
We also need to be people of integrity. It is the quality of our character that we must develop and fiercely guard/protect.
What is intergrity?
It is defined by the dictionary as:
- Honesty
- Wholeness
- Soundness (which means correct, not rotten, well-founded)
Our integrity is closely cemented to our being founded upon Christ the Solid Rock. It is a main characteristic of a Christian. If there are cracks in our integrity, eventually our mask crumbles and the holes are exposed.
We maintain our integrity first and foremost in the littlest of things.
Examples -
- Brushing your teeth: it is your teeth. How well you take care of teeth determines how long you don't have to wear dentures. =D
- Packing your toys after you've played with them
- Drinking 2 waterbottles full of water a day because your body needs to replenish the water it has lost
- Finishing your school work and packing your bag before bedtime
- Doing what you know is right, not what is popular with your friends.
- Choosing to react the right way despitie the way we actually feel inside (eg. choosing the healing response not the hurtful response even when we feel angry or upset).
A lie is a lie whether it is a big one or an itsy bitsy one. The moment we convince ourselves that it is okay to tell a small lie, we set ourselves up for trouble! A lie is required to mask that lie, and another lie is needed to hide that new lie... one lie leads to more lies, then bigger lies!
What you must know about Lies is this - they do not stay hidden or concealed forever. A saying goes - "The bright Sun will bring it to light". It is not going to be pretty when the lies are exposed to the world to see.
Lies exposed cause doubt. I've said it before - trust lost is one of the most difficult things to win back. So don't lose that trustworthiness you've started out with.
Character is made of the small moments in our lives. If we find it hard to be honest and choose to do the right things when everything's going well, we might crack like a nut when times get tough.
An important businessman gives this valuable tip - "Don't do what you wouldn't feel comfortable reading about in the newspapers the next day." That is a good thing to keep in mind before you choose to say or do anything.
Remember even if nobody knows, God does! He will STILL love you plenty-much-lots, but when we feel guilty about something we sometimes find it hard to look Him in the eye. Some people find guilt a heavy burden to bear. And we shouldn't have to bear such burdens since we are destined to reign in Jesus. But this burden of guilt is one of the sneaky and terrible ways the devil uses to rob us of our joy and our relationship with Jesus.
Worry less about what people think about you and be more attentive to your inner character. Someone wise wrote this - "If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself." Mummy's take on that is this- you should let the Holy Spirit take care of your character by listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say and following His leading closely. Jesus knows we don''t know much so He sent the Holy Spirit to teach us ALL things. But just like when you are in school, if you don't listen closely to what the teacher says you will not learn.
If you struggle with maintaining your integrity and you are trying to all the right things on the outside (ie. in the flesh) - but still get the wrong results - something is wrong and still needs to be changed from the inside (ie. HEART TRANSFORMATION).
These questions may help you figure out the areas that need your attention -
1) How well do I treat people from whom I can gain no advantage?
2) Am I transparent with others? Do I seek to hide things from people's knowledge or not?
3) Do I pretend to be someone I am not when I hang out with others?
4) Am I the same person in the spotlight as when I am alone? Am I proud?
5) Do I quickly admit wrongdoing without being pressed to do so?
6) Do I put other people's welfare ahead of my own plans? Am I selfish?
7) Do I have a firm, unchanging standard for making decisions or am I like a lalang- letting the situation sway the decisions I make?
8) Do I make the right decisions even if they are difficult ones and will cost me?
9) When I have something to say about people, do I talk TO them or do I talk ABOUT them? (Do I gossip or talk behind people's back, instead of having a heart-to-heart personal talk with them?)
10) Am I answerable to at least one other person for what I think, say or do?
Now, don't be too quick to answer all these questions. If you have problems with self-control and self-discipline, sometimes you might give answers to the questions that reflect HOW you wish you were rather than giving honest answers that reflect who you are at this moment in time. It is important that you are honest to yourself as you think through the 10 questions and answer them. Never be dishonest to yourself, making excuses for the wrong decisions you've made and justifying yourself about everything. That is NOT the way the Scripture asks us to lead our life. We are not told to justify ourselves, we need Jesus to justify us, and that also means being honest in the inward parts so He can help transform our thinking.
The road of integrity may not be the easiest one, but it is the ONLY one that will get you where you want to go. The voice of integrity is really the Holy Spirit, so listen close. He is your best friend. Your integrity/HS leading will never betray you or put you in an embarrassing position. It will help you keep your priorities right-, that is it helps you do the important things that need to be done first. It acts as your compass, helping you stay on the right course instead of taking shortcuts that lead to disaster. Integrity, with the help of the Holy Spirit, helps you take the "high road" so when people criticise you unfairly or insult you, it helps you keep on going the right way, to not strike back and not to come down to their level. As seen in Nehemiah - "Why should I leave the good work I am doing and come down to meet you?"
No matter what you do or where you go in life, this remains true - there will always people who like you and people who dislike you. As long as you walk in Christ and remain a person of integrity, you remain secure, you can hold your head high and you will have joy no matter what happens. When you have integrity you fear nothing and no one. The devil has no weapon to yield against you! =D
To bring to a close this letter... integrity's greatest benefit to you is that it allows others to trust you. Without trust, it is difficult to live your life in this world. You will still have Jesus but His love and His redemption and His forgiveness... but you will not be living the victorious life and potential He has given you on that cross. You will not be a good steward to the gifts His grace has paid for you and made available to you.
Trust is one of the most important factors in our personal and professional relationships- at home, at school, in the office, amongst family, friends and strangers. It is like a glue that helps a couple walk together in love and in Christ. It is like a bond that helps friendships stay strong in Christ. The opposite of suspicion, distrust and these breed disharmony and unhappiness.
Trust is the key to being a person of influence - to be a person who helps influence goodness and the love of God in society and amongst the people in they come in contact with.
So...
Keep your promises, never ever lie no matter the circumstances, be humble and not proud, be ready to apologise willingly (don't wait till people have to press you for an apology), serve others out of the love of Christ and not a desire to be praised or promoted in the flesh, encourage and build people up with your words and deeds.
Be the love letter from JESUS that He has written you out to be =) Be the Champion that He died for you to become through His sacrifice. Be the person that our Abba Daddy can look and say - "This is my son whom I am proud of." =)
And how you get to that stage? By asking Jesus to give you the grace to do the right thing. You don't have to struggle in the flesh if you lean on Jesus, listen to His advice and follow them with love.
Lots of love,
Mummy
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