Pursuit Of Character

It was impressed on me that I share the deeper (longer) studies and lessons offered on His Pursuit of Character website. So, on Weekends, I will do just that. Here is our most searched and read post.

Understanding The Prayer Of Jabez
Posted on https://pursuitofcharacter.org/ January 17, 2024 by Bethany H

First, a bit of context.

As P.O.C. is God’s ministry and we are simply the stewards overseeing it, listening for direction is an ongoing thing. However, there are times of listening while going out and times of listening and waiting. We are currently in a season of listening and waiting for direction from God regarding our next steps. Our friend, Pastor Ken, who has been praying for us while we are in this season, came to visit recently. He shared with us that God had put the prayer of Jabez on his heart specifically for P.O.C., and asked that we prayerfully consider how it might apply to our listening for those next steps. So yesterday, I took a P.O.C. approach to doing just that. I put aside “what I knew” about the prayer, opened up my Bible, and asked God to show me what He would have me to see. Here is what I learned.

To get us started, I want to simply get the verse containing the prayer in front of us. I will also include the preceding verse, as it is the only other information about Jabez provided in the Manual:
“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”
1 Chronicles 4:9-10

In v9 we are told that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers” and that “his mother called his name Jabez, saying ‘Because I bore him in pain.’” I find it striking...

To read the full post click on the following link. https://pursuitofcharacter.org/2024/01/17/understanding-the-prayer-of-jabez/

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… The Motive

I will get right to the point: prosochthizo and âtsab of and in my leb (heart/spirit). I really mean it.

I look out at the world, the pain and loss it continues to suffer because of the great lie and unwillingness to reject it, and I am “prosochthizo,” I am “grieved.” I am filled with “âtsab,” “grief” in my leb (heart/spirit). This state is repeatedly referred to in the Old Testament. While it is bluntly stated that God’s Heart (Leb) was grieved at the state of mankind at the time of Noah, it is safely assumed throughout Scripture. Often, the SSR popular view of God as an “angry God” is a misrepresentation of the Hebrew depiction of a God who had deep âtsab, “grief,” in His Spirit.

This one does not take a lot of illustration. Ever see a mother whose child just disobeyed, and the result was injury to the child? What the casual passerby might describe as anger, is the heartfelt grief of a parent who saw their child threatened by their choice.

So, while the events of Noah may have been the first recorded “Grief” of God, how do you think His Heart felt when Adam and Eve wandered to the wrong tree? He was prosochthizo! The price His children would have to pay for their choice hurt Him deeply; it caused their Father unimaginable grief.

Therefore, like Noah as God raised the ramp, like Abraham as the smoke rose over the plains, like Moses leading the Hebrews back away from the Promised Land, I feel grief. Not just for the things I stated at the beginning of this message, but every time some truly “poor” and “needful” person searches for answers and is shown man instead of God. I feel grief whenever someone seeks Truth and is led to The Tree of (the) Knowledge of the created rather than The Tree of Life of the Creator.

I am grieved at even the thought that, while I have found the Good Shepherd, even one lost sheep remains lost. Or worse, wandered into a den of wolves. I am in grief when I see the self-centered act of a party when so many go without “bread and water.” (Matthew 16:11)

Why do I question what the world is being told is God? Because as history and the Manual has shown, when you truly see yourself in relation to your Creator… you are grieved that you have grieved Him. While you are inexpressibly grateful for Christ's Surety, you know your unworthiness and are humbled by the undeserved gift.

Havner said, “If you are what you have always been, you are not a Christian.” Paul said, “If you are in Christ, you are a new Creation.” Tozer said, “Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.” Paul said, “Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Paul also said that we are “being renewed…to the image of our Creator.” Ezekiel reports that God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…My spirit…which will cause you to walk in my statutes and CAREFULLY observe My ordinances.” Christ said, “You must be born anew…Behold I make all things new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10, Ezekiel 36:26-27, John3:3, Revelation 21:5)

So, I am grieved deep down in my spirit when I see Jezebel where I should see Christ. I am grieved when at even the thought that, while I have found the Good Shepherd, even one lost sheep remains lost. Why do I know that grief is the natural position of the True Believer? Because Christ said, “‘Watch out! ...Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.’”

One last point. This does not contradict “Don’t Fret.” I made no case to worry or doubt God’s Providence. I am pretty sure God was aware of His Providence when He grieved. Grief does not show lack of belief in God’s plan, it confirms it. If we are truly confident that God will fulfill His plan, then we are truly confident that time is running out and many will choose the wrong Tree… And if that is not an ever-present Grief in your heart (leb), then you do not have the Heart of God.

No extra image today. The picture should paint itself.

Also see: https://pursuitofcharacter.org/2024/04/12/blue-spray-paint-the-axe/

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… The Gates of Hell

The plan for today’s A Day In the Life… was to explain the motivation behind the last two. However, all prayer, study, and discussion kept leading back here. So, tomorrow I will disclose my motivation for the last three, A Day In the Life…

Consistently misrepresented is Matthew 16:18, “…the gates of hell will not, prevail (BSB/KJV/ESV), overcome (NIV), conquer (NLT), overpower (NASB/HCSB)… against it!” As I said, this is incorrectly taught that Hell will attack the church and not win. But as Morgan points out this is backwards. Christ tells Peter that the Truth he just stated will play out in the coming days. Christ will be executed, and when He is He will go and take the keys to the gates of hell, forever claiming victory over the power of the Adversary. Matthew 16:18 (&28) directs the about to be born Church to “Go Out” and spread this “Good News,” and that Satan himself cannot stop it!

As I contemplated “disclosing my motives” I kept being brought back to Jezebel. I know???

Here’s why. Jezebel’s imported Baal worship was a polytheistic system centered on fertility gods like Baal and Ashtoreth, promising prosperity through rituals that blended idolatry with moral compromise. It was seductive because it mimicked elements of true faith, control over life's uncertainties (rain, harvests), but twisted them into self-serving practices that opposed God's exclusive, holy demands.

But, other than the previous context this was not about the Jezebel of 1 Kings, this is about the Jezebel of Revelation. In Revelation 2:20, this “Jezebel” spirit teaches tolerance of immorality and idolatry under the guise of deeper knowledge or grace, leading believers astray into a false security that prioritizes experience over obedience. It promotes an emotional and sensual (as in the senses) activity that worships self which is evident in its illustration. This “Jezebel demonstration” is in direct contrast to a God-centered revival as represented in Isaiah 57:15. This activity worships only the Living God and it is evident in its illustration. If a “revival” visually echoes Baal's frenzied but fruitless rituals, it risks being a lie that "sucks the spiritual air out," making it harder for humble, God-centered encounters to be seen and embraced.

To be thorough. Authentic encounters with the Holy Spirit produce fruit like self-control, peace, and reverence (Galatians 5:22-23). Genuine conversion shifts individuals from self to God in ways that are visibly different, humble storytelling (Acts 2), calm delight (Acts 8), or purposeful service (Acts 16), fostering communities of depth, not spectacle. Matthew 7:15-20 & 2 Peter 2:1-3 emphasize testing by fruit: Does it lead to holiness, or does it tolerate sin like Jezebel’s teachings? If a revival’s fruit is lasting God-centered transformation (as in Acts), not fleeting emotion, it aligns with God’s Order; otherwise, it risks idolatry of experience, chaos. As Elijah mocked Baal's silent prophets amid their leaping frenzy (1 Kings 18), so too must we test modern ‘revivals’, does God respond with fire, or is it empty noise? If it is God, then even The Gates of Hell cannot overcome it. Therefore, if it is God, it will change the world around it!

I have to stop there for two reasons. First, I am again passing 500 words. Second, continuing will wander into tomorrow's A Day In the Life… which reveals my motive.

I did promise you an explanation for the 13 second video. I pulled clips from various events and muted the sound. Why? Can you tell me which clips represent the Worship of God from one of the latest “revivals,” and which are from concerts where the topic is “Rage,” the song “killing…,” and the lyrics, the F-word continuously?

My point is this. If a “revival” looks indistinguishable from a Rage concert (muted or not), it risks promoting a Baal-like frenzy, collective energy promising breakthrough but delivering temporary relief, not lasting God-centered change.

While we are at it, which event do you think Christ led? The Last Dinner PARTY! or The Last Supper?

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

I will explain the point of this 13 second video in today's A Day In the Life... in a few hours. Be sure to check back!

A Day In the Life... Be The Church

If yesterday’s A Day In the Life… raised a few eyebrows or tickled a few neck hairs, that’s good. Hopefully that means we are thinking. Considering everything we discussed in “The Few,” I propose the following.

There is no evidence that what the Christian claims to be the Church has any everlasting impact on the world directly around them. Yes, we are the church of Isaiah 1:7-9, but we are called to and can choose to be more. To do so, we must be the messenger that Paul was in Acts 17. If we are, then the evidence in Acts 19 will be proof of it.

“Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.

God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:22-31).

“Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:8-10).

And what was the result of consistently delivering the Great Commission in this way?

“…there arose a great disturbance about the Way” among the “silversmiths” and “craftsmen” who made the idols of Diana (Artemis) and the men who sold them, led by Demetrius, who railed against the teachings of Paul as “bad for business.” The people around Paul’s great revivals rioted because they knew that his teaching would “discredit” and “depose” Diana and the pagan gods. Then who would buy the idols! “Soon the whole city was in disarray.” (Acts 19:21-41).

So, what I said yesterday is true, “…if we were converting people by the thousands, the world would look much different. The policies of those institutions, at least those claiming to be Christian, would have instantly changed. The community around them would be unrecognizable.”

Show me the “Paul Effect” following these revivals, or for that matter in the cities around the “mega-churches” or in the towns and communities around the small “local church.” Show me the world that has abandoned their idols, their temples, and their pagan practices, their Social/Secular Religion.

What do I see? Pot shops on every corner with a Planned Parenthood next door. I see anarchy in the streets and militant unbelievers invading Christ’s Sanctuary and much, much more. All the time… where is Paul? Where is David? Why, in this time of great revival and mega-churches, do Goliath and the Philistines run loose, unopposed and unconcerned?

We are not the Acts 2 Church! But I challenge us to be the Paul of Acts 17 and 19, or why not 13 and 16? While we are at it, why not be the Church of Peter? The Church of Peter Acts 8, that is. If we are, the world will know it, see it, and feel it… and so will we!

See you next time

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… The Few

These days it seems like everyone is trying to be Peter; “about three thousand were added to the believers that day…” (Acts 2:41). Because of this it is also very popular to proclaim “we are the 2nd chapter of Acts church!”

A few years ago, at the beginning of the “college revivals”, a catalyst event happened. There were reports that a large revival had broken out, and persisted, on a college campus. Wanting to know more, I looked into it. What I found was at once surprising and expected. A normal “praise and worship” event had been held on campus. The event concluded, the people left the stage, the crowd dispersed, all pretty uneventful. Left standing in the empty space was a group of 6 or 8 people around a single person. In the midst of all the noise and pageantry, this one person’s hardened heart broke, they bowed down in humble submission and confessed their unbelief. Those immediately around them stayed and began to actually worship, assuming that one person’s position of humble and contrite submission. Noticing that the place had not completely emptied curious people returned, retook the stage, filled the room, and the noise and pageantry resumed.

Now you don’t have to like this story, you can even resent me for telling it, but such attitudes will not change the truth. If we were an Acts 2 church, if we were converting people by the thousands, the world would look much different. The policies of those institutions, at least those claiming to be Christian, would have instantly changed. The community around them would be unrecognizable.

Something that people miss, or overlook, in the Peter event is Acts 4:4 “many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” After giving a message where the Holy Spirit converted 3,000 Peter and the others were arrested. However, the impact of the message and the work of the Holy Spirit was so strong that an additional 2,000 surrendered to Christ.

We are not an Acts 2 church, we are a Proverbs 1:20-33 church or maybe a Matthew 22:3 church, even a Romans 10:21 church. Actually, all evidence shows that we are an Isaiah 1:7-9 church, “Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you, a desolation demolished by strangers. And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged. Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

We are not in the times of Peter, we are in the times of Noah, “…all the desires of their spirits are evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) The church has gone the way of the vineyard, the Pharisees, the plains, and the ramp to the Ark that Christ built is about to close. And “while many were called, few…” will follow Him to Ararat. (Matthew 22:14)

Christ “converted” thousands when He walked the earth… how many stood with Him at Calvary?

I don’t know how many did as the one did in that “revival”, or in the “revivals” since; Heard the “Good Message of repentance and redemption” and the warning “that those who disobey and do not entrust their spirit to Christ will be condemned.” The Message of The Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19,20, Mark 16:15,16, Luke 24:47) What I do know is that it was “few”. Finney was credited with the conversion of tens of thousands in his revivals, about which afterward he said maybe 20% (or few) were discipled and went on to walk with Christ.

Is this a criticism, or meant to discourage evangelism? Absolutely not! It is an encouragement that the time is short, the clouds are rolling in, and we dare not get caught up in the crowds so that we do not see “the few”. Or just as bad, see the few as an opportunity, rather than a responsibility.

By all means! “Travel, teaching all races, tribes, and peoples, introducing and proclaiming to them the Good Message (Gospel) of repentance and freedom, which is Salvation to those who entrust their spirit to Christ and are fully cleansed. Teach them to hold tight and guard all the commands I have given you. But warn them also that those who disobey and do not entrust their spirit to Christ will be condemned. To be fully cleansed they must be submersed (baptized) in the Authority and Character of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” But don’t look for the crowds… look for the few!

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… I Really Meme It

On February 3 I posted “A little more information” about A Day In the Life… First, I refer to it as a “blurb” and defined it, at 400 words, just under what I would refer to as a “post” at 1,000 to 2,000 words. What I wanted to call your attention to was this sentence, “The goal of a blurb is to spark thought, provoke prayer, and push you into personal study.” Our subject of discussion today is what stands just under a blurb, and that is a “meme”. A meme being an image accompanied by 8 to 12 words, or in that vicinity.

On September 26, 2022, I posted the meme attached to this blurb on various social media. It got less than a robust response. The idea wasn’t, and isn’t, to attack memes, but rather to address “Meme Christianity”.

To me, memes serve the same purpose as blurbs; they should spark thought, provoke prayer, and drive personal study. The problem is most of the time they don’t. Professed Christians today have joined society in being satisfied with the quick fix, the push button answers, the fast-food world. For Christians this translates into, the “daily bread” faith, the “verse of the day”, the “inspirational meme”. Need an example? How many people actually clicked on the link for the full Biblical study in my blurb, A Day In the Life… We All Know Jesus? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every person that reads the blurb, “reacts” to the blurb, and especially “shares” the blurb. But this is not about my recognition.

This is about the professed Christian, of which I am one, and whether or not we actually view every second of our time as God’s and whether we Steward it as such. Or are we just too busy to slow down and listen when the Holy Spirit speaks. If we did, we wouldn’t just scroll to the next meme or click away from the blurb, we would say… TELL ME MORE!

I thought of this this morning after seeing another person here on ActsSocial post my favorite verse, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A meme, a blurb, or even a post, can’t reach that level, and that level is the standard every Christian professes to aspire.

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… Trust No One

Do I actually mean that? Yes! Allow me to explain.

Trust God Only! Hold everything and everyone up against that Truth (His Truth). How else are we to Pursue His Character?

This one is longer than usual, but why shouldn’t it be? It’s the Sabbath and it’s God’s Truth.

The Manual only tells us to “separate” from one thing – the world. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him…The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever” (1 John 2:15-17). “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

A common teaching long held in the churches, and all but ignored today, was Paul’s teaching to not be “unequally yoked.” Trimmed of its True meaning, the churches used this to tell Christian young people not to marry non-Christians, or as Paul put it, “believers to non-believers.” But Paul’s teaching was not just for couples, and it was not just in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15. Paul taught it to the church in Ephesus, in Rome, and everywhere else he went. In fact, John says they were only teaching what Christ Himself taught, “this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” AND “If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5,6).

I am so tired of professed Christians taking the back seat in a car they were meant to drive, “God blessed them and said to them…fill the earth and subdue it; rule over…” (Genesis 1:28). “The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God…creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-22).

Christ never instructed His disciples to separate from their responsibility to stand with Him “in all things.” He taught us to separate righteousness and wickedness, light and darkness, Christ and Belial, believers from unbelievers. How did Christ do that? He walked right into their institutions, their synagogues, their towns, and their homes, and He held up the Truth of His Father. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me…” Under that authority, “GO and make disciples of ALL nations…” (Matthew 28:18-20) Actually, Christ’s dying declaration was an appeal to that Father regarding the response the world would have toward His disciples because He taught them not to separate God from their every breath: “I have given them Your word and the world has hated them…They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14-16).

So yes, hold everything and everyone up against That Truth (His Truth). Note: “every” starts with ourselves but by no means stops there. The governments of this world separated from God long ago. America’s founders deliberately incorporated God into its system and then designed founding principles that could not stand without Him. I know the world denies this Truth, but I do not walk with that darkness. John Adams, the second President of the U.S.A. wrote this: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In fact, Washington, Madison, Franklin, and all 36 others who signed the Constitution repeated similar statements in their writings and speeches, and none of the signers ever made a statement opposed to this position. I asked an AI about the term “religious people” as it pertained to the time and the writing of the U.S. Constitution. This is what it replied, “It drew from Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu, classical republicanism, and the prevailing Protestant-influenced culture of the era.”

Let’s get to the point. Even if what I just showed weren’t true, since when does a court misrepresenting Jefferson, take precedence over God’s Truth and Instruction? The Rona showed us we should not just trust scientists, politicians, our doctors, or even our pastors. We should hold them up against the standard of God’s Truth and Character. We have sat back as men who profess to be disciples edit God’s Instruction and then teach it from His pulpits. Shame on us!

If a politician says he will leave God in church, leave that politician home. If your doctor does not bring God into the examination room, stay out of the examination room. If a job disciplines you for respectfully standing with God, hit the job postings. If your pastor, or the local church they preside over, edits one Word of God’s Instruction out of their doctrine, edit them out of your life. In other words, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

There is only One “Truth that will set you free;” therefore,
TRUST NO ONE… TRUST GOD (ONLY)

See, What Is A Plumb Line, by Bethany Rae, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkeSCIKu5dw

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

Today, I pass on just a little personal note — a peek behind the curtain, you might say.
The reason I love the “Just A Thought” approach in A Day In the Life… is this:
a short teaching is like the Cliff’s Notes version of a book. The understanding is there, but not the full substance of the lesson.

Just a quick example from the Manual:

“Jesus saves” (2 + 2 = 4). Awesome, exciting, liberating… how did I not hear this before! …How does Jesus Save? (the substance)

I bring this up because I am once again writing a book. Every day I study, listen, and record what the Spirit is teaching me. And every day I get so excited about what I learn that I want to share it immediately. But that is not how writing a book works.

It’s like getting excited to learn that 2 + 2 = 4 and immediately telling everyone (the Cliff’s notes) but not actually teaching the math, the substance that makes reaching 4, or anything more than 4, possible.

That was a great example. I didn’t actually tell you why “I bring this up,” but I did give you 2 + 2 = 4. I bring it up because this week’s learning (for the book) has been particularly exciting and EVERY DAY I want to share that with you! (I guess the days of wanting to hide it under my bed are gone.) But the book He is teaching me is the goal; so, I must resist. Today was particularly hard, so I wrote this instead.

Don’t get me wrong, learning 2 + 2 = 4 is valuable, especially when it comes from the Ultimate Textbook. I wouldn’t waste your time if it weren’t. I—and we—should appreciate every lesson, every “teaching,” the Spirit provides and immediately begin to give that Truth authority in our lives.

I hope (small h) that you will continue to share A Day In the Life…, the teachings the Spirit provides me every day, and that you will bring these lessons to the attention of others so that they might also benefit and grow.

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries

A Day In the Life… Don’t Fret

In Forged Hope I devoted an entire chapter to “Bondage,” and in the section “Bondage A Choice,” I used myself as the example. We like to say, “I came by it honestly,” and I could, as Ma was a lifelong Fretter. But there is no honest avenue a Christian living in active faith travels that leads to Fretting.

Webster’s 1828 defines “fret” as “to wear away; to chafe; to gall.” In Christian terms: do not let a yoke wear away, chafe, or fret the skin of your ox. To cautiously paraphrase Christ, “the weight (yoke) of the world is a heavy burden, but the weight (yoke) of the Lord is light, not burdensome, and will not Fret” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The opposite of fret… is the peace He gives:

There are only Two Trees. Peace grows on the Tree of Life. Every time I fret, I have harvested from the Tree of Knowledge instead.

Psalm 37 represents both sides of the coin well: “Do not fret… Trust in the LORD… Delight yourself in the LORD… Rest in the LORD… do not fret.”
As Jeremiah said “From the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all… So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse” (Jeremiah 6:13,14,15) The tempters of this sin of Fretting exist outside and within the professed church itself. (Also 1 Thessalonians 5:3)

But we have Hope! We have the promise of peace by the Eternal God Himself, and we can rest confidently in that expectation of Peace.

See you next time,

Scott A Caughel

Pursuit of Character Ministries