“Strive to please Him in whose service you are fighting, for from Him you will receive the pay. Let none of you prove deserters.”
“America’s Heritage of Christian Character”, Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History: The Principle Approach, p. 212
The key to the principle of Christian Character is steadfastness. Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 defines steadfastness as “firmness of mind or purpose, fixedness in principle; constancy of faith”.
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24 NIV
So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
Acts 24:16 NIV
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by it self unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
John 15:4 BSB
Teach the children:
First: Character is the distinguishing mark of the Christian in the fallen world.
Second: Character is built as God leads and works in your life.
Third: Our character is visible in our behavior and conversation.
Consider and Ponder:
We are willing to spend many hours preparing models of many things which our students study—examples in arithmetic, pictures on the bulletin boards—and many other visual displays for the classroom. It is much harder to provide models of character—but that is an area which needs to be spelled out in great detail and with loving care if we expect to weave lives pleasing to God. The qualities of character need to be exercised in honest encounters with the world and in this way they are strengthened from within
“Faith and Steadfastness”, Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History: The Principle Approach, p. 216