A World Changer's Devotion

The Mark of a World Changer

What Is the Mark of a Worldchanger?

2 Peter 1:5-9

     For this very reason,make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you posses these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (NIV)

     You develop character one step at a time, one day at a time, one piece at a time - in other words, "in increasing measure". Many Christians are trying to do too many things for God, but they may do nothing at all in their walk with God. They don't add anything to their faith. They just keep going to church and youth group. Peter challenges us to add things to our faith that will help us build a life of godly character. It is great to have faith in the Lord, but the Bible is very clearly saying that you need to add things to your faith. You need to put some ingredients into your life showing that you do have faith.

     When your faith is real, you can't stand just to be full of lip service.  You have to have some substance in your life. That's a World Changer does. You commit to the ten challenges, and you build substance into your life. When people look at you, they see an impression of what Jesus looks like.

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What Is Character?

2 Peter 1:5-9

     For this very reason,make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you posses these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (NIV)

     Webster's New Collegiate dictionary defines character as " one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish the individual; mental and ethical traits marking and individualizing a person; a person marked by notable traits; moral excellence and firmness." Character is a distinctive mark of what makes something or someone unique. God is looking to build character in us so that we have a distinct mark of our lives that we are Christians. Character is moral fiber. It is a difference between a loudmouthed hot-air Christian and somebody who really lives what he believes.

     Character is a collection of godly habits and a godly lifestyle.  A person of character will live in a righteous and holy way and do things in a way God wants them done. Character makes your life stable and firm so it cannot be moved. It builds a reputation that people have confidence in you, and they know they can count on you to act or respond consistently because you have that kind of character built in you.

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Why Is Character Important?

1 Timothy 4:12

     Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (NIV)

     Many times others look down on young people in their Christianity because they don't have character. They just have lip service. They go back and forth, up and down, depending on their emotions, depending on their mood swings. Character separates us from the world. The world mocks us as young Christians. It mocks Christianity in general because Christians are full of lip service, but they hardly ever back it up with their actions. It is time for that to stop. It is time for somebody to stand up and say, "I'm going to do what I say I believe, and I'm going to live it. I'm going to build into my life my godly habits that make me distinctfrom this world."

    How would you like it if you never knew what your parents were going to do when you asked them for basic things? You could ask them for a glass of water, and they might bring you a glass of water or a glass of poison. We need to show the world what to expect from Christians. Throughout His whole life Jesus described God's character and His kingdom. When He talked about healing and told parables, He was describing what was typical in the kingdom of God.

     Character has to do with being consistent regardless of the circumstances. People need to know that our relationship with Jesus is so real it has permanently changed our lives. We aren't just changed whenever we might feel in a good mood. Character is about living the gospel. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16 NKJV). Having character is doing a lot more living and a lot less talking. Let your living do the talking.  Somebody once said, "I need to preach everyday and all day long and use my mouth only when necessary." In other words, you need to preach with your life, with your character, by the way you live.

     Character is important because through it, people will see a glimpse of what God is like. Most people have no idea what the living God is really like, the only way they can find out is to look at Christians. If they don't see character in our lives, then they don't see what God is like. We are in the body of Christ. We are the representation of God on this earth. We need to build godly habits into our lives. We don't want to misrepresent the awesome Holy God in any way. We have to build character into our lives.