MODULE 2 - CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

About PRIDE

A. Signs of Pride

1.   Cannot be Corrected
      If you are a person full of PRIDE, you feel bad when you are corrected. “sa tingin mo, ikaw ay always right”. There is always a ready explanation for everything that you do ex. Full of justifications. And when you are being corrected, you always see the sins and mistakes of others but you do not see your own. “alam ko…, hindi ko naman talaga sinabi yon…, ba’t ikaw?..., alam ko na yan…, siya naman talaga ang may kasalanan…, ganito kasi yun…” PRIDE!!!
      A humble person on the other hand is ready to be corrected. “kahit na masakit, tinatanggap ang corrections… without explaining everything. Actually it is pure and simple PRIDE which is the greatest hindrance to TRUE REPENTANCE.

2.   Cannot Ask for Forgiveness
      Because pride serves as blindfold and you refuse to see your sin, you therefore cannot say “will you please forgive me?” … but rather “bakit ako hihingi ng tawad?... sino ba siya?... kung sino ang may kailangan at may kasalanan siya ang lumapit…” Asking forgiveness from the people you hurt is a sign of humility. If you find it hard to ask forgiveness, then you have a problem with pride in your life.

3.   Cannot Submit
      Pride makes you think you are better and higher than other people that is why it is difficult for you to submit specially to someone who is younger than you or to someone who you think is lower in status than you. You want people to follow you, or do whatever you say but you, yourself cannot submit to your leaders. You want your own sides or plans to be followed. The root cause of rebellion and insubordination is PRIDE.

4.   Cannot say “thank you”
      Pride makes you see that people should be serving you. “Dapat lang na gawin niya yan… dapat lang na gawin nila yon..” So you are not thankful to people when they do little things for you. Humility on the other hand causes you to be always thankful to God and to man for the things they do or gave no matter how little these things may seem to you.

5.   Cannot appreciate others
      Pride causes you to hide your appreciation to other people. Even if you think they are very good or beautiful or that they did an excellent job, you will not appreciate them because Pride causes you to see, instead the mistakes, the weaknesses, and the failures of people. “Para kang sinsapawan kung pupurihin mo sila o di kaya you will have the feeling na baka lumaki ang ulo ng taong yun…” if this is the case let them be… you don’t have to worry about it… its their accountability to God… as long as you know that you are doing it for the Glory of God, you don’t have to think twice but to appreciate at once. Humility, on the other hand causes you to consider other people better than yourself.
      Philippians 2:3 – “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (pride) but in humility consider other better than yourselves.”

6.   Cannot serve others
      The best humility is SERVANTHOOD! Pride wants you to be served; not to serve others. If you are full of pride, tamad ka at ayaw mong maglingkod sa iba. You will only serve with wrong motives. On the other hand, pure, selfless servanthood is possible only if you are humble person. (Matthew 20: 25-28)

Matthew 20:25 -28
25 – But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princess of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 – But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 – and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 – even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to give his life a ransom for many.

7.   Cannot Give
      Pride makes you think of yourself and your needs more than the others. You cannot give your time, money, things, effort, work for others because you are always thinking “paano naman AKO???”

8.   Very Sensitive
      Madali kang masaktan kung may sasabihin sa iyo na correction or anything. Madali kang mapahiya. You are easily hurt because you think highly of yourself. Hindi ka lang pinansin or sinali sa program or sinali sa group, you are already hurt. Biniro ka lang tungkol sa height mo or size mo or way of talking, nasaktan ka kaagad. Napagalitan ka lang, gusto mo nang umuwi o umalis sa ministry.”

9.   Concerned with Reputation
      “Concerned ka sa sasabihin ng tao kaysa sa Diyos.” Pride makes you very self-centered. You are always conscious about your REPUTATION: “Ano ang sasabihin nila sa akin?”…”baka naman isipin nila na ganito AKO”… therefore you are always protecting your reputation.
      Makikipag-away ka pa…in order to protect your reputation if somebody has said something about you. You are a very shallow person since you are only concerned about your outward appearance – what others think of you.
      That is why in front of other people you always want to look your best, “pa-impress”, you show all your talents and abilities” FOR THE SHOW… BUT WHEN NOBODY IS LOOKING AND YOU ARE ALONE, wala rin pala!!!

TWO FACES OF PRIDE:

1.   Superiority complex
   You think of yourself as the TOP GUY. NUMERO UNO… the best among the rest… the STAR of the party and the group is nothing without you. ME, I and MYSELF… ito ang laging bida.
   Therefore, you find it hard to serve, to give, and to appreciate others. You cannot be corrected but you want to correct others because all you see are their faults, weaknesses and mistakes.
   The people with this kind of attitude are usually the ones with a history of being a “spoiled brat” of a kid who always get what he wants because he was very “cute”, smart or the only child. He grew up with “WHATEVER I WANT, I GET’ attitude.
   If you are this kind of person, you better decide to break your heart and get down from your throne because “God resists the proud (kalaban ka ng Diyos!) but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6)”.

2.   Inferiority Complex
   You are sill the center of your thinking although it is on the negative side. “KAWAWA NAMAN AKO… GANITO LANG KASI AKO… Nahihiya ako, kasi baka kung ano ang sabihin nila sa AKIN…”
   Is this a form of Humility? NO!!! it is still self centeredness because you are still in the center. Your concern is still your reputation. Sometimes you cannot serve, you cannot give your testimony because you say “nahihiya AKO”… in that sense, you are not able to give God the glory because of your hiya. When is “HIYA” a form of pride? When you refuse to do things because you are so concerned about what others will say about you. This is FALSE HUMLITY.
   True humility is when you think of others, how to serve them and how to be a blessing to them, without considering what other people would think of you. True humility is when you are so concerned about how GOD SEE YOU. “Ano na lang ang sasabihin ng tao sa akin?...” kahit na ano ang sabihin ng tao sa iyo, ang mahalaga nalulugod ba ang Diyos? That is our main concern in life!

Formula for Misery

   Think about yourself, what you want in life, then think of how people are treating you, keep a record of “wrongs” and create your “museum of injustices”. Remember all the unfair treatment people did to you and soak in the memory of yourself…”kawawa naman AKO…” self is still the center!

Evaluation: What kind of face do you wear? (Face 1: Superiority Complex or Face 2: Inferiority complex? Explain)

ROOTS OF PRIDE

?   LUCIFER said: AKO, I, ME, MYSELF
      Isaiah 14:12-14

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
       From these verses taken from Isiah 14, the fall of Lucifer, God’s original Praise and Worship leader in heaven, had the word “I” five times used. The center of his life is HIMSELF.
      That was the basic reason he was kicked out from his ministry in heaven and thrown out (Ezekiel 28) to the depths of the pit. In the same manner, if you are still full of “I”, “Ako”, “me”, “Myself”, “akin”… you are a candidate to follow in the footsteps of LUCIFER, the paragon (model or perfect example) of PRIDE! Listen to yourself talk. Look at the way you live.
      If you are always first on the list, or if you always want to do things your way, watch out… the basic hindrance to serve God is: “ME, I , MYSELF” “This is graphically illustrated in the fall of Lucifer in Ezekiel 28: 12-19; Isaiah 14:12. The five I is really a big hindrance to serve God.

REMEMBER: “There are only three (3) persons in the Godhead and you are NOT one of them.

RESULTS OF PRIDE:

?   Destruction – Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before fall…

      It is not an issue whether you will fall or not. The bible says the next step if you have pride is: DESTRUCTION! Why is this so? Because if you are full of pride you are fighting agains God ( 1Peter 5:5), and if you fight against God, of course you will be destroyed. Kung mayroon kang pride, ang kaaway mo ay Diyos. (1 Peter 5:5)
      The NO. 1 thing that God hates is a proud man! (Proverbs 6:16-18)

There are five things that the Lord hates, yea five things that are detestable to HIM:

1.   A PROUD LOOK – Lucifer (Ezekiel 28:12-19); (Isaiah 14:12-15)

Ezekiel 12:12-19
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

2.   NEBUCHADNEZZAR- (Daniel 4, 5:20)

Daniel 5:20 - But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

3.   SAUL – ( 1 Samuel 15:12) “nagpatayo ng sariling bantayog”. Saul was a king who never humbled himself but was so concerned with his reputation. He always finds excuses for his sins and blames other people for his misdeeds.

1 Samuel 5:11-12

11 - So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12 - And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

4.   HEROD – (Acts 12: 20-25) – tinanggap ang pagsamba ng mga tao sa kaniya
20 - And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 - And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 - And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 - And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 - But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 - And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark
5.   _________________ (I pray that your name will not be listed as another example of Pride… who will be later DESTROYED)

   PRIDE stinks! “MABAHO”… people can see it, smell it, know it, hear it. People will run away from you – “hindi ka blessing”… People know that you have pride and usually, you are the last one to accept it because you refuse to see yourself having pride but the smell of it is very strong. You cannot hide it.
   All forms of FALSE HUMILITY will be exposed and sooner or later, lalabas ang tunay mong kulay, so do not delay!!!! Find the solution!!!

SOLUTION: DIE TO YOUR SELF

STEP 1: Die to your selfish ambitions

   Your self-centeredness, your “AKO, AKIN, ME, MYSELF, I” must be put to death on the cross. (Romans 6:6-11)

Romans 6:6-11
6 - Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 - For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 - Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 - Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 - For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 - Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
DIE TO YOUR SELF!!!!......
STEP 2: BURY
   A dead thing which is not buried will smell so bad. Furthermore, a dead person will not arise anymore… No matter how SWEET IS THE SMELL OF TEMPTATION… a dead man will not rise anymore!!! WHY??? HE IS SIMPLY DEAD!!!
CONCLUSION:
   “In the kingdom of the “SELF” the KING must DIE!!! Palitan ang hari ng puso mo, ipalit si JESUS…

   If you are working in the ministry and you do it “depende sa mood” then you are not serving God at all but YOURSELF. That is because you are serving only if you feel good or if you feel OK.
   The sacrifice of worship comes when you serve God because He is God, not depending on the circumstances. “kung hindi uulan… kung may pamasahe… kung ok ang mga tao sa paligid ko… kung may sundo… kung wala akong sumpong…” the ONLY reason you should not minister is when you have sin in your heart that you have not repented of, or when you are dealing with a situation that requires you to settle the matter first. If you serve with these things in your heart, your sacrifice of worship will not be accepted, no matter how sincere or how talented you are. Settle yourself and clean up your life first!

DYING TO SELF
Kung ikaw ay nakalimutan, hindi pinansin o hindi ginalang…
At hindi ka nagdamdam o nasaktan man
Kundi ang puso mo ay mapayapa
Dahil alam mong ang Diyos ay nalulugod sa iyo...
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili!!!

Kung ang ginawa mong mabuti ay tinaguriang mali o masama
At ang iyong mga nais mangyari ay hindi binigyang halaga, at kung ang
Iyong mga payo ay di pinansin,
Kung sa kabila nito ikaw ay hindi umalsa, nagreklamo o nagmukmok,
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili!!!

Kung kaya mong tiisin ang anumang hirap, pasakit, panlalait o pangungutya
At katulad ni Jesus ay hindi mo ipinagtanggol ang iyong reputasyon
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili!!!

Kung hindi mo na pinag-uusapan ang iyong sarili,
Magagandang gawa, kadakilaang nakamit,
At hindi ka nangangating marinig ang papuri ng iba,
Bagkus kung ang puso mo ay mayaman sa papuri at pasasalamat sa iba...
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili.

Kung ikaw ay handang makinig sa karaingan ng iba
At kung kaya mong ilaan ang iyong panahon
Sa kanilang mga problema…

Kung sa kabila ng iyong karamdaman ay kaya mong maramdaman ang kalagayan ng iba at isinasantabi mo ang iyong sariling kapakanan,
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili…

Kung sa kabila ng pagod mo at pressure sa workplace mo
Ay nagagawa mo pa ring ngumiti at makipag usap ng tama
Mahinahon pa rin ang iyong pagsasalita
Yan ang kamatayan sa sarili…

Sa kabila ng kawalan ng tiwala sa iyo ng ibang tao dahil sa nagawa mong
Mga karumal dumal na kasalanan
Maging ang mga mahal mo sa buhay ay iniwanan ka
Subalit ikaw ay nagpakumababa sa Panginoon at inako mo lahat ng kasalanan mo
At dahil dito hindi mo binalingan ang mga taong nanakit sa iyo
Bagkus pagmamahal ng Diyos ang ipinakita mo
Hindi ka nanumbat o ipinagtanggol ang sarili mo
Ito ang tunay kamatayan sa sarili

Meditation: Daily Devotion

Isaiah 14:12-15         Proverbs 9:7-10
Ezekiel 28:4         Philippians 2:4-11
Proverbs 16:18-19      1 Peter 5:5-6
Proverbs 6:16-19

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:

   Reputation is what others think you are while Character is what God knows about you. Character is the real YOU… your values, priorities, your private life, your secret thoughts, and your belief system. Your true character is reflected by the way you talk, your choices, and your attitude towards circumstance in your life.

?   What is Reputation = this is what others think you are
?   What is Character = this is what God knows you are
-   this is the real you
-   your values, priorities, your private life, your secret thoughts and your belief.
-   Your true character reflected by the way you talk, your choices and your attitude towards circumstances.
?   Hebrews 12: 5-6 = pinapalo ng Ama ang anak pagkat ito’y mahal niya…

?   Application: This is the right time to evaluate your self… your true nature… If you are willing God will open your eyes and you will see your self like never before. It maybe painful, but if you want your character will be changed and to be like Jesus… He will expose everything you have done in private and everything you have been hiding in the past and He will change you from strength to strength, from glory to glory…!!! The process may sometimes be painful but the pain is temporary for it will result to a fruit of righteousness!!!

GUIDE QUESTIONS TO CHECK YOUR TRUE CHARACTER:

1.   What do you do when no one is looking and when no one will find out? Matthew 23: 27-28 – “ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. 28 – Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. ( Ano ang ginagawa mo kung walang nakatingin at walang makakabisto?)

   Many Christians can pray aloud, praise and worship the Lord, work diligently, smile at everybody and do everything right in the presence of other people but when they are alone and no one is looking, they have no prayer life, they do not praise and worship God alone, they are really lazy and in the word of Jesus, these are “hypocrites” or tombstone (nitso) who are full of dead men’s bones in the inside but who are white and clean outside. Matthew 23:27-28. Private life should be consistent with public life.

   Tombstone (Nitso)- full of dead men’s bones inside but white and clean outside ( nabubulok na bangkay, nakakasuka, kagila-gilalas, karimarimarim sa loob subalit maputi at nagniningning sa paimbabaw… “Hindi lahat ng kumikinang ay ginto”)

   Example: DANIEL 6:4 – “then, the residents and princess sought to find charges against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could fine none nor any fault, for he was faithful and there was no error or fault found in him…” in his private and public life, Daniel was clean. Even if detectives monitored him 24 hours a day, there was no hidden sin they could find!

2.   What do you SAY OR DO during unguarded moments? Matthew 12:33-35

   Mat 12:33 – Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree known by his fruit.
      V34 – O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of your heart the mouth speaketh.
      V35 – A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (for the tree is known by its fruit)

   We can tell a lot about a person by the way he speaks, “ for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. Listen to yourself talk and you will discover who you are.
   A person who talks about himself… yung problema KO, kawawa AKO, yung crusch KO…is self centeredness. No matter how hard you try by the way you react to circumstances in life.
   You can’t pretend forever!!! Lalabas at lalabas din ang tunay na ikaw, alam ng tao kung plastic ka o tunay…STOP Covering your self.

Application: Listen to your self talk and you will discover who you are. No matter how hard you try to pretend, people will know your character by the way you talk and by the way you react to circumstances. YOU CAN NOT PRETEND FOREVER!!!

3.   How to react to the BEST and/or WORST of circumstances?
   3a. Reaction to worst circumstances:
      Illustration: (Get a calamansi, orange or any fruit with juice. Then squeeze it.)
      Discussion: What is this fruit? “Calamnsi” … (squeeze it)… what is the juice that came out? “Calamansi Juice”… in life, pressures are designed to squeeze you. Problems, trials and persecutions are designed to bring out your true character.

Example: A very quiet and “humble” person encounters someone who shames him in public. If he reacts negatively and says terrible things, lumabas ang tunay niyang pagkatao… outwardly, he has the reputation of being humble but when was squeezed hindi pala.

How did you react when you failed?... kung pinahiya ka?... walang pera?... may problema… that is the real you…!!!

Another example is Job. What is his true character? He is a worshipper. He still worshipped God in the worst times… what about you?

Application: Somebody embarrassed you in public. Yelling at you and insulted you. What will be your reaction? Your reaction will tell you who you really are. What about somebody reveals your tough secret to public… it may result to pain counter pain right? Babawian mo siya at palalabasin din ang bulok niya for you to gain your reputation? Ganun ka ba??? If you really are humble and quite person and in this situation you will burst out to anger, kapatid… hindi ka tunay na ginto!!! Peke lang pala at pakitang tao ang kulay at ugali mo!!! Paano kung wala kang pera, when you failed, may problema ka, sinaktan ka pisikal.

You still have time to change… By the grace and mercy of God, He is able to do things!!! Ephesians 3:20

Example: The best example is the life of JOB… He is a worshipper. He still worship God in worst time. What about you??? Can you praise and worship God in times of your pain and sufferings? I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (FOR MEDITATION)

3b. Reaction to the BEST of circumstances:
   How do you react when you have success? A humble man will always stay humble NO MATTER WHAT MAN DOES OR SAYS TO HIM.
   A good example is Joseph. What is his true character: Joseph is FAITHFUL AND HUMBLE. When he was a slave, a prisoner and finally, Egypt’s No. 2 man, he remained that way. He was CONSISTENT in the best and worst of circumstances, he remained faithful and humble no matter what happened to him.
   If your attitude is dependent on circumstances, you have an unstable character. “Kung totoong mabait ka, mabait ka sa lahat ng panahon.” Remember …YOUR ACTION is a reflection of who you really are.

Example: The life of JOSEPH. He was a slave = ibinenta siya ng kaniyang mga kapatid; servant = naging katulong siya sa bahay ni Pharaoh at kinakitaan siya ng maganda kaya na promote siya. Lahat sa bahay ay pwede niyang pakialaman except sa asawa ni Pharaoh; worker = sa kulungan ay kinakitaan din siya ng maganda kaya sya ang taga hawak ng susi ng kulungan. He is faithful at hindi siya nag complain kahit na mali ang bintang sa kaniya because of the wife of Pharaoh; 2nd to Pharaoh = he was promoted because of his faithfulness and dedication to work. No complains but a servant of all!!! JOSEPH REMAINS HUMBLE AND PURE…

   If your attitude is dependent on circumstances, you have an unstable character… Your reaction is a reflection of who you really are…

4.   How do you treat others who can do nothing for you, or against you:
   How do you treat people who cannot do anything for you? It is easy to be kind to people who are rich so that they will give something to you in return. It is easy to be kind to people who are your leaders so that they will promote you or appreciate you and so that they will not be angry at you… but are you still kind to people who do not like you? To people who have no way to pay you back? Kung mabait ka lang sa tao dahil may binibigay sa iyo, o dahil takot ka, hindi ka totoong mabait.
   How do you treat people who cannot help you?.. if your reaction to people is constantly changing, you are still unstable. If your true character is KIND – you will be kind to ALL people. This does not depend on the circumstances. The key is still CONSISTENCY.

?   It is easy to be kind to those people who may give you something in return
?   But… are you still kind to people who can’t give you anything and rather give you headache, pain and suffering in return. Do you still love this people??? Galatians 5:22-23 (FOR MEDITATION)
?   Love your neighbor as your self… It is really hard to love those difficult people but God allows you to be surrounded by these kind of people for you to develop the right character and it is one way of denying your self… kahit masakit ang ginawa sa iyo, kahit gaano pa kalalim ang sugat na nilikha ng taong ito sa iyo, kahit pa nagkasala siya sa iyo… FORGIVE AND FORGET!!! You must die to your self and take up your cross daily!!!
?   If your reaction to people is constantly changing, you are still unstable.
?   CONSISTENCY is the key to all circumstances.

5.   How do you spend your TIME, MONEY, AND EFFORT?
Luke 12:34 = For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
   This is a reflection of your true values and priorities in life. If you want to know more about yourself, evaluate these areas in your life.

TIME
   Where do you spend most of your spare time? How much time do you spend reading God’s Word, worshipping, praying, and meditating?
   If you do not spend time at all, or if you spend a little time on these, then I am sorry to say, you do not really love God. If you do not spend more time praying, then you really do not believe in the power of prayer. If you spend more time in “chikahan” with your friends than time worshipping God, then you really value your friends more than God…
   Time is very precious and you spend it with what you consider important in life. Evaluate your use of time…. Then REPENT!!!
?   How much time do you spend in reading your Bible? Meditation? Worshipping God??? Ikaw ba ang taong laging tingin ng tingin sa relo during church service??? Ikaw ba ang taong inaantok kapag sharing ng Gospel pero kapag tsismis sa isang kapatiran, artista at kung sino pa, hindi magkanda ugaga ang tenga mo sa pakikinig nito??? REPENT!!!
?   Kung saan ang marami kang time, iyon ang mahalaga sa buhay mo. Iyang mga bagay na iyan ang pinahahalagahan mo… Tapos sasabihin mo sa Panginoong Diyos “I Love You Lord”??? Magising ka kapatid at mangilabot!!! Isa kang sinungaling!!! REPENT!!!
?   Its time for you to be challenged and be changed!!! Kneel down and pray… God is able to change you from glory to glory… Sa ikadadakila ng Kaniyang Pangalan at sa Kanyang ministry…
?   What do you do most of the time?
?   Do you have any effort to be on prayer, to worship God, to meditate and have a quiet time and to fast?
?   If you’re having an effort to a non-sense things rather than to exert effort to establish your relationship with our Lord Jesus, REPENT…
?   EVRYTHING YOU DO, DO IT ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!!
?   Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling!!!

MONEY
   Where do you spend most of your money? Food? Clothes? Mission?.. like time, the way you spend your money speaks a lot about you. If you are “japorms” most of your money is spent on clothes and things to make you look better.
   A person puts his money on things that he consider important…”for where your treasure is, there your heart be also” Luke 12:34 (FOR MEDITATION)

EFFORT
   What do you do most of the time? If you worship most of the time, you value worship. If you love to pray, you value prayer. If you love to evangelize, you value evangelism. If you love God’s word, you read it most of the time.

CHALLENGE
   It is now time to STOP PRETENDING because you cannot pretend forever. No matter what you do, lalabas at lalabas ang tunay mong pagkatao by the way you speak, the way you react to circumstances, the way you treat people, the way you spend your time, money and effort.

Application: At this very moment, as you go thru this book, allow the Holy Spirit to expose everything that is in you which is grieving Him… Kneel down and be still… Receive God’s corrections and rebuke no matter how painful… Pinapalo ng Diyos ang Kaniyang mga anak pagkat mahal Niya sila…
   As God works in you, He will change all your ugliness into the beauty of His character… I John 1:9 ; Psalms 51:7 = Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

   Just like JOB, can God boast of you to Satan? (Job 1). Satan is always accusing us in front of the Father but can God Say:
   “Nakita mo ba ang anak kong si ___________(put your name). Walang katulad niya. Tapat at malinis ang pamumuhay”… Maipagmamalaki ka ba ng Diyos kay Satanas? At kahit na hamunin ng Diyablo ang Diyos tungkol sa iyo, masasabi ba ng Diyos na “Kilala ko ang aking anak. Gawin mo ang anuman sa kaniya at hindi mo siya maibabagsak”…
   It is my prayer that we have that strength of character. It is only if we have Godly character that our Father can boast of us in front of the devil… Romans 8:29 says that we are predestined to “look like Jesus”. All our weakneses, character defects and “kapalpakans will be changed. There is no place for condemnation. He is changing us!

   “A GODLY CHARACTER IS WHAT I DESIRE, OH LORD… MOLD ME AND BREAK ME UNTIL ALL THAT IS LEFT IS JUST YOU… UNTIL ALL THAT IS LEFT IS JUST PURE GOLD… and then I can mount up on wings like eagles. I shall run and not weary, I shall walk and not faint…”

LIFE’S APPLICATION:
   Please write all your meditations to your notebook with the date on it.

MEDITATION:

Day 1: Hebrews 12:5-11

Day 2: Matthew 23: 27-28

Day 3: Daniel 6: 1-8

Day 4: Matthew 12: 33-35

Day 5: I Thessalonians 5: 16-28

Day 6: Galatians 5: 16-26

Day 7: Luke 12:34 and please send an email to your facilitator on what God has shown you on your meditation.