{"id":672,"date":"2022-08-29T06:37:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T11:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.com\/wpbobnichols\/?p=672"},"modified":"2022-07-26T13:42:28","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T18:42:28","slug":"character-not-perfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2022\/08\/29\/character-not-perfection\/","title":{"rendered":"Character Not Perfection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(The following is an excerpt from Bob Nichols’ book, “How to Change Your Destiny.”)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What God is calling for is character, not perfection.  When I think of the name, Billy Graham, I think about integrity and purity. You have to admire the man.  He has never had a scandal.  He has kept his life clean. The man goes out of his way to operate in integrity and moral purity and God has honored him because of that. Even if you have the strongest resolve, Satan will still try to get you to sin. I am telling you, sin always has the same M.O. \u2013 no new wrinkles.  It is the same old, dirty, brown sack.  Satan just puts a new ribbon on it and says, this is new and improved. Satan says, \u201cYou can compromise and God will forgive you so it does not make any difference.\u201d  Do not believe it!  Character is what you do when no one\u2019s looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am going to hit something else here, it is impossible to sit and watch immoral movies and stay the person that God called you to be. It is impossible! It would not hurt us to get back to the Ten Commandments, not to be saved, but to stay on the track. They spell things out plain and simple: Thou shalt no other gods before me.  You are not to covet anything that someone else has. Thou shalt not steal. I do not have to steal, God will give to me everything I need. Thou shall not bear false witness.  God wants us to tell the truth the first time even if does not seem to matter.  Tell the truth. If you cannot do something and tell the truth, do not do it. It is just so good to live clean and put your head on the pillow at night and say, \u201cPraise be unto God, here comes another good night\u2019s rest.\u201d  Everything is okay. There is nothing between your soul and your Savior.  No wonder the man, Jabez, said, if I am ever going to break out of this negative mold that I was born into, keep me from evil and the grief that it brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No single circumstance in your life has to determine your future.  You do not have to become what anyone else says about you.  Go with what God says about you.  Before you were born God called you valuable and precious and wrote out a bright future for you. You are not a mistake going somewhere to happen. God placed you on this earth on purpose and He has a good plan for your life.  Where and when you were born, the parents God gave you, your personality, and everything else about you was orchestrated by God for a purpose.  You can be like Jabez and overcome negative circumstances through prayer.  Change your destiny today through faith in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, the prayer Jabez prayed to You, is my prayer today.  Lord, bless me indeed, enlarge my coast, keep your hand on me, keep me from evil and from causing pain to others. I will not listen to the lies anymore.  I can be what You have called me to be.  I can do what You have called me to do.  I know You will keep me, because I desire with all my heart to be kept by You.  Jesus, be the Lord of my life.  Take my life and make me a blessing to others.  In Jesus\u2019 Name, amen. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(The following is an excerpt from Bob Nichols’ book, “How to Change Your Destiny.”) What God is calling for is character, not perfection.  When I think of the name, Billy Graham, I think about integrity and purity. You have to admire the man.  He has never had a scandal.  He has kept his life clean. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Character Not 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy\u201d Don\u2019t call my God a thief or\u00a0one who\u00a0does things that are not right.\u00a0 I think I have the grace to handle it, but I hope no one gets in my face anytime soon and tells me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon Excerpts"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon Excerpts","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/sermon-excerpts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GodisGood.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GodisGood.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GodisGood.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, 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A record breaking snow storm had come to their city and the weight of snow on the metal building where they worshiped caused the roof to cave in. One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon Excerpts"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon Excerpts","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/sermon-excerpts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Faith600x437.jpg?fit=600%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Faith600x437.jpg?fit=600%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Faith600x437.jpg?fit=600%2C437&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":678,"url":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2022\/09\/19\/the-promise-came-to-pass\/","url_meta":{"origin":672,"position":4},"title":"The Promise Came to Pass","author":"Bob Nichols","date":"September 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"(Excerpt from Pastor's book, 'How to Get a Grip on God's Promises\") The promise of a son was spoken the Shunammite woman.\u00a0 The next thing that happened was the promise came to pass.\u00a0 God\u2019s Word worked because that Word was spoken.\u00a0 By a miracle of God a child was born\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Excerpt"","block_context":{"text":"Book Excerpt","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/book-excerpt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Promise800x533.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Promise800x533.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Promise800x533.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Promise800x533.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":703,"url":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2022\/04\/11\/passion-for-purity\/","url_meta":{"origin":672,"position":5},"title":"Passion for Purity","author":"Bob Nichols","date":"April 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"(An excerpt from Pastor\u2019s Book, \u201cHow to Make Your Life Count for God\u201d) It is important to obey God and live a pure life in order to fulfill God\u2019s plan.\u00a0 Because of this, I want to live clean and pure.\u00a0 The further I go in the ministry purity becomes more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Excerpt"","block_context":{"text":"Book Excerpt","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/book-excerpt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Purity.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Purity.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Purity.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Purity.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1157,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672\/revisions\/1157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}