Conscience, Courage, Honesty

CONSCIENCE:

"A clear conscience is the greatest armor." Chinese proverb.

"There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience." French proverb.

"You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience." Victor Hugo, Les Miserables.

"A clear conscience laughs at false accusations." Author Unknown.

"I believe that we cannot live better than in seeking to become better, nor more agreeably than having a clear conscience." Socrates.

"Happiness consists of three things; Someone to love, work to do, and a clear conscience. " Anonymous.

"I want to make this perfectly clear: you can be sure that I will never be a yes-man except to my own conscience." Charles Edison

"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory."

COURAGE:

"You will never do anything in this world without courage." Aristotle.

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." Churchill.

"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

"Courage is the main quality of leadership...no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk--especially in new undertakings." Walt Disney.

"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." John Wayne. (Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid.")

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." Atticus Finch, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.

"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

Honesty:

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Oscar Wilde.

"Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom." Thomas Jefferson.

"Truth never damages a cause that is just." Mahatma Gandhi.

"Anything is better than lies and deceit." Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina.

"It is not easy to keep silent when silence is a lie." Victor Hugo.

"Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery." Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

How often do Christians read the Bible

A 2013 ABS (American Bible Society) poll says Americans love the Bible but don't read it much. 88% of respondents said they own a Bible, 80% think the Bible is sacred, 61% wish they read the Bible more, and the average household has 4.4 Bibles. Doug Birdsall, president of American Bible Society, said he sees a reason for why the Bible isn't connecting with people: "I see the problem as analogous to obesity in America. We have an awful lot of people who realize they're overweight, but they don't follow a diet. People realize the Bible has values that would help us in our spiritual health, but they just don't read it." If they do read it, the majority (57%) only read their Bibles four times a year or less. Only 26% of Americans said they read their Bible on a regular basis (four or more times a week). Younger people also seem to be moving away from the Bible. A majority (57%) of those ages 18-28 read their Bibles less than three times a year, if at all. [The Barna Group conducted "The State of the Bible 2013" study for ABS, using 1,005 telephone interviews and 1,078 online surveys with a margin of error for the combined data of plus or minus 2 percentage points.]

A 2012 LifeWay survey of 2,900 Protestant churchgoers found that  while 90% "desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do," only 19% personally read the Bible every day. Most Christians don't read the Bible much. Only 1 in 5 Christians read the Bible daily. The responses to how often they personally read the Bible are: "Every Day" (19%). "Rarely/Never" (18%). A few times a week (25%). "Once a Week" (14%). "Once a Month" or "A Few Times a Month" (22%). This LifeWay research survey concluded: "The impact of the Word of God on people's lives is seen in the relationship between Bible engagement and turning from wrongdoings and choosing to obey God – two indicators of higher Bible engagement scores. Such tangible life changes show the transformational impact of Bible engagement in the life of a disciple of Christ." LifeWay Research president Ed Stetzer said, "Almost all churchgoers want to honor God, but more than a third indicate obedience is not something they have done when it is costly to them."

A Celebration of God's Word (Psalm 119)

Psalm 119 is a celebration of God's gift of the Scriptures and uses ten synonyms for God's word:

1. law (25 times).
2. testimonies (22).
3. ways (5).
4. precepts (21).
5. statutes (21).
6. commandments (21).
7. judgment(s) (19).
8. word(s) (25).
9. sayings (19).
10. path (5).

The psalmist gives several responses to the Scriptures:

1. obey/keep/observe his word (Ps 119:4, 5, 8, 17, 34, 44, 56-57, 60, 67, 88, 100-101, 129, 134, 145, 167-168).
2. meditate on his word (Ps 119:5, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148).
3. rejoice in the word (Ps 119:14, 162).
4. delight in the word (Ps 119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174).
5. love God's word (Ps 119:47-48, 97, 113, 119, 127, 159, 163, 165, 167).
6. asking God to revive him by the word or as he obeyed the word (Ps 119:25, 40, 88, 107, 149, 154, 156, 159).

Overview:

1. God's word brings happiness and blessing (Ps 119:1-8, 1-2).
2. God's word provides protection against sin (Ps 119:9-16, 11).
3. God's word is wonderful and delightful (Ps 119:17-24, 18, 24).
4. God's word strengthens amid sorrow (Ps 119:25-32, 28).
5. God's word produces the fear of God (Ps 119:33-40, 38, 120).
6. God's word enables one to answer anyone who taunts them (Ps 119:41-48, 42).
7. God's word gives hope amid suffering (Ps 119:49-56, 49-50, 23, 42).
8. God's word is our sufficient portion (Ps 119:57-64, 57; 16:5; 73:26).
9. God's word is better than much money (Ps 119:65-72, 72; 37:16; Prov 15:16).
10. God's word gives a good testimony (Ps 119:73-80, 74, 79-80).
11. God's word is trustworthy even while languishing (Ps 119:81-88, 83, 86).
12. God's word is eternal (Ps 119:89-96).
13. God's word is sweet (Ps 119:97-104, 97, 103).
14. God's word gives guidance (Ps 119:105-112, 105).
15. God's word is a secure refuge (Ps 119:113-120, 114).
16. God's word vindicates (Ps 119:121-128, 122).
17. God's word is wonderful (Ps 119:129-136, 129).
18. God's word is righteous (Ps 119:137-144, 138, 144).
19. God's word is truth (Ps 119:145-152, 151-152, 160).
20. God's word delivers and preserves (Ps 119:153-160, 153, 156).
21. God's word gives great peace (Ps 119:161-168, 165).
22. God's word saves the strays (Ps 119:169-176, 176).

ABCs of Practical Christian Living: Review and Overview

1. Accountability: Who are you accountable for (Gal 6:1)? To (Heb 3:13)?
   
2. Beauty: Are you enraptured by the beauty of Christ (Ps 27:4)? Or by a sense of duty?
3. Community: Do you sense the unity of Christian community (Ps 133:1)? Or the pressure of a wish dream?
   
4. Delight: Are you happy? How do you find delight (Ps 37:4)?
5. Experience: Do you taste the goodness of God (Ps 34:8; 1 Pet 2:3)? Or is it just head knowledge?
6. Father: Do you know your father and your Father's love for you (Ps 103:13)?
   
7. Freedom: Is your Christian life one of freedom (Gal 5:1; Jn 8:36)? Or a sense of slavery?
   
8. Friendship: Do you have true friends who stab you in the front (Prov 27:5-6)?
9. Forgetfulness: Are you self-forgetful (1 Cor 4:3-4)? Or easily hurt and offended by others?
10. HHHOT: Are you happy, honest, humble, open and transparent?
11. Gentleness: Are you strong enough to be gentle with others (Phil 4:5)?
    

Gentleness

Philippians 4:5

"Let your gentleness be evident to all" (Phil 4:5, NIV). "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone" (Phil 4:5, ESV). "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men" (Phil 4:5, NASB). "Let your graciousness be known to everyone" (Phil 4:5, HCSB). "Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do" (Phil 4:5, NLT).

The word "ἐπιεικής" (epieikēs) means gentle, mild, forbearing, fair, reasonable, moderate, equitable, yielding. In various English Bibles it is translated as "gentleness" (NIV), "reasonableness" (ESV), "gentle spirit" (NASB), "graciousness" (HCSB) and "considerate" (NLT). This word is used five times in five verses in the NT (1 Tim 3:3; Tit 3:2; Jas 3:17; 1 Pet 2:18). In context:

• An overseer or elder or pastor should not be violent but gentle (1 Tim 3:3).

• The people of God should slander no one, be peaceable and considerate (Tit 3:2).

• The wisdom that comes from heaven is pure, peace-loving, considerate (Jas 3:17).

Jesus says about himself, "I am gentle and humble (or lowly) in heart" (Mt 11:29), or "I am humble and gentle at heart" (Mt 11:29, NLT).

A closely related word "πραότης" (praotēs) means mildness, gentleness, meekness, kindness. It also means properly, temperate, displaying the right blend of force and reserve (gentleness). It is "strength in gentleness." It avoids unnecessary harshness, yet without compromising or being too slow to use necessary force. This word is used nine times in the NT. Some verses are:

• Paul appealing to the Corinthians by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (2 Cor 10:1).

• The fruit of the Spirit includes meekness (Gal 5:23).

• Paul encourages Christians in Galatia who are spiritual to restore those caught in a sin gently (Gal 6:1).

• Paul encourages the Christians in Ephesus to be completely humble and gentle (Eph 4:2).

• Paul states that God's chosen people are to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness (Col 3:12).

• Paul encourages Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (1 Tim 6:11).

• Paul says that to those who oppose him, Timothy must gently instruct (2 Tim 2:25).

• Paul instructs Titus to encourage Christians "to show perfect courtesy toward all people" (Tit 3:2, ESV), "to be gentle toward everyone" (Tit 3:2, NIV), to show "every consideration for all men" (Tit 3:2, NASB), and to "show true humility to everyone" (Tit 3:2, NLT).

1 Pet 3:15 says, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness (πραΰτης) and respect."

Are Christians gentle? Gentleness, humility, meekness, mildness, kindness, consideration are attributes of Christ and the attributes that are attractive to all people. Yet when we think of Christians these attributes may not stand out prominently as being descriptive of some of us. Instead, we might think of Christians as rude, judgmental, sanctimonious, condescending, ungracious, critical, etc. It should seem evident that such traits are not common in the world, and sometimes do not even seem common in the church either.

Random Verses about Kingdom and Church

ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia; 115 times in 12 verses): An assembly (of Israelites, of Christians); a congregation; a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place. Mt 16:18; 18:17; Ac 20:28; 1 Cor 3:6; 12:28; Eph 1:22; 3:10; 5:23-24; Col 1:18, 24; 1 Tim 3:15

βασιλεία (basileia; 160 times translated into different words): a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king. Mk 1:15; Mt 6:10, 33; Lk 9:2; 17:21.