So, tomorrow, we shall resume our talk about our relationship with the Holy Spirit. But right now, we're going to have the much awaited Bible study recap for those who could not make it!!!
What is the definition of character? When someone says that a person has a good character, what does that mean? What would you say of your own character? Can we name some people that we know with good character? Is character something that we can fake? How do we know?
Definitions of Character:
-the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions
-an actor's portrayal of someone in a play
-the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing
We find out early in the Bible, in Genesis 1, that God made man in His image:
Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
Here we see not only that God did in fact make man in His image, but He also gave us a few instructions or charges. He told us to have dominion, be fruitful and multiply. He also states that earth is for us, He gave it to us. That being said, it also stands to reason that since God gave us something to be in charge of and we were made in His image, that we are to live like Him. The fact that He made us in His image make it evident we can. Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, but we are able.
What are some characteristics of Christ? If you were 4 yrs old, what are some things you would say about Jesus: Nice, Pretty (lol), Forgiving, Loving, Good, etc. All these things.
Starting with Jesus’ childhood what are some of the characteristics we see?
Same characteristics listed above. But we saw them at an early age. In Luke 2:39-52 we see a prime example of this. Jesus is 12 years old and his parents come back to find Him talking and teaching the teachers! Amazing. At 12 He still embodied the characteristics of Christ. And why shouldn’t He? I’m sure at 5 years old He did the same thing…no matter His age, He was still Christ…in the flesh. Meaning that, as it says in Hebrews 4:15, Jesus was tempted as we are being, will be, but still managed to stay without sin. NOT at all saying that we are to be without sin, because we won’t, but just to emphasize that Christ knows what we’re going through so we need to draw on Him to keep having the mind of Christ. Draw on Christ to get a Christ-like mindset.
At my church we are doing this thing called “Twenty-One”, where we are reading the book of John in 21 days. So we read a chapter a day and then answer some questions. There is a lot to learn from that book alone, so using John 15, let’s read through verses 1-20 and answer the following questions:
What did Jesus do/say?
What does this tell us about His character?
How can we be like this in our own lives?
Basically, some answers were that Jesus lived as an example showing us that we can strive to be like Him.
It’s also clear that He has our best interests at heart. He is trying to have us live like Him so we may live life a little bit “easier”. Easier in the sense that we are able to tap into His power, tap into HIM. This passage is full of advice of what He would have us do and how to do. The truth is, however, that it’s not easy to have the mind of Christ. Sometimes it’s just difficult or it’s not something we want to do. Some practical steps to having the mind of Christ or working towards having the mind of Christ are:
-Prayer- talk to God about it, about how you feel and why you feel that way and ask Him to help change your heart/mind
-Accountability- in talking to God, ask Him to show you who can hold you accountable, who can remind you that you should/shouldn’t be doing or saying these things; someone you trust and someone who isn’t just going to tell you what you want to hear
-Search scripture- Search the Bible to see what the scripture says about what you’re feeling/thinking and find ways to combat it. WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) is really important in some cases. Maybe all you need to do is repeat that to make it through.
Also remember that having the mind of Christ includes being wise, making wise decisions, saying things that may need to be said, but saying them in the right way. Jesus was God in the flesh, but He was still God. Let Him lead you and guide you…sometimes it’s not so much an issue of responding, but how you respond.
~ Dove Sister Adeola Oyelabi~
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