5 Characteristics Every Christian Should Have 5 Characteristics Chrstians should have

Have you ever wondered what characteristics you exhibit that tell people you follow Christ? I like to do a little self-examination from time to time to see if the way I live shows that I have a relationship with Jesus.
While everyone serves the Lord differently, there are 5 characteristics every Christian should exhibit on a regular basis, regardless of what may be going on in thier life or how long they have been serving the Lord.

1. Thankfulness
God is so very good to us, and we have so much to be thankful for!
Salvation alone is enough to have a thankful heart and attitude; God loves us so very much He sent His only Son to take our place for our sins! But He didn’t stop there!
When we received Christ as our Savior we also became a part of God’s family, He adopted us!! Have you ever adopted a pet from an animal shelter? There is something different about a pet you adopt from a shelter then one you adopt from an individual. They know you rescued them from a bad situation; when you take a pet home from a shelter they fall in love with you and just seem to have a heart of gratitude toward you.
When we got saved God rescued us from a bad situation; He took us in to His family and cleansed us, redeemed us, and calls us His child. He provides for us, blesses us, teaches us, leads and guides us, and is always with us no matter where we go or what we do. He gives us so much to be thankful for; even when our lives here on earth take a turn for the worse, we still have a lot to be thankful for, I know when I concentrate on what God has done for me, any ungratefulness in my heart quickly goes away!
The Bible commands us to be thankful. I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of god in Christ Jesus concerning you” and Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

2. Prayerfulness
One of the many benefits a child of God has is a direct, open like of communication with God. Prayer is something we can do anytime, anywhere, no matter what; no-one but you can stop you from praying.
Prayer isn’t just a quick, “God, I need this or that, or for you to fix this”; Jesus gave us the perfect model for prayer in the Lord’s Prayer when His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. He acknowledged who God is, gave Him honor, prayed for His will to be done; then He asked for His daily provision, asked for God’s forgiveness and protection.
Jesus said our heavenly Father already knows what we have need of, but to ask, seek and knock. But; God is not a genie; and prayer is more than asking, it is communication with God, it is listening to His still, small, voice. What a privilege it is to take everything to the Lord in prayer!
One of my favorite verses sums up prayer and thanksgiving, Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Colossians 4:2, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving”

3. Submissiveness
I do not see any possible way for anyone to grow spiritually if they do not submit to God and His will. I’ll admit, it’s not always easy to submit to God, sometimes He asks us to do things that are hard for us to do, or that may seem impossible, but, if we can’t trust Him enough to submit to His will for our lives and step out in faith there is no way our relationship with Him will grow or that we’ll grow spiritually.
If we aren’t submitting to God, we certainly can’t submit to our husbands. Sometimes submitting to God means doing things that we don’t want to do or that are uncomfortable, but, His Word says He is always with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. When we submit to God, we are able to submit to our husbands and others.
James summed it up perfectly in chapter 4 verse 7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

submit to God and resist the devil

4. Giving
God loves a cheerful giver! {II Corinthians 9:7}.
I’m not talking about tithe here; yes, I believe in giving the first fruits, the first ten percent, but I am talking about giving of time and service here; for God, for His Kingdom, for His glory.
God loves it when we freely give with our time and talents that He has given us, wherever we are needed, when we are needed; while the hopes of getting should never be why we give with our time and talents, the Bible does say when we give, God gives! Luke said in chapter 6, verse 38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Jesus said when we give to those in need, it is as if we are giving to Him, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:” in Matthew 25:35.

5. Humble
Jesus was the most humble person to ever walk the face of this earth. Pride is ugly on everyone, and when we forget that everything we have has been entrusted to us to take care of by our heavenly Father, pride slips in.
My husband and I call it the “I factor”. I did this, I did that, because I, I, I, I …..we don’t do anything on our own. Our very breath, thought, action, reaction, everything we do and have and are or ever were, is because of God. Yes, He gives us free choice to do what we want with what He has given us, but He is the one who gives to us to begin with.
Jesus, the Messiah, God in the flesh, sat down and washed the feet of His disciples. Ladies, have you ever washed your husband’s feet? If you’ve never done this, surprise your husband one evening by washing his feet, it will do wonders for your marriage and yourself.
Remembering that everything you have belongs to God will help keep you humble. James said in chapter 4, verse 6, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” and in verse 10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

I know I have a long way to go in my walk with the Lord, and I need to work on these characteristics myself; I am going to make it a personal goal to pick one today and spend the week concentrating on it, and making it a point to put it to use! What about you, do you have an area listed above that you need to work on?

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Living a life of thankfulness, prayerfulness, being submissive to God and others, giving yourself and remaining humble through it all will help you draw closer to God because your focus will be on Him, not on yourself or what you do. In the end, isn't that the ultimate goal, to be closer to God and have that intimate relationship with Him?

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