Hello,
Welcome and thank you to all who have found your way to the “Pursuit of Character” blog/website.
Our mission at Pursuit of Character is the continuous “striving” for, the Pursuit of, God’s Character. All we do – this Website, the Books, the Music, and whatever “step” He directs us to next – are to support others in doing the same. We are called to be a “light” in the darkness that finds the “Lost,” guides the “Wandering,” and joins with others to triumph over that darkness. Christ, Himself, instructed that we are not to hide this light from the world as “under a bowl.” Therefore, this Website, the Books, the Music, and whatever step comes next!
For more on What & Who we are… –CLICK HERE–
Our prayer for ourselves as we begin each day comes from Proverbs 2, and it is our prayer for you as well:
“…then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Proverbs 2:9,10
To aid visitors in accessing what the P.O.C. has to offer, we have added Audio recordings of the reading of content. Where you see this Symbol 
simply find the Audio bar like the one above and push the play arrow. Posts with this Symbol will have the Audio bar following the text version of the post.
POC – The Sum-up
The Character Issue!
Humanity today is ill with a lack of character. They impose it on their young, raising them under the lie that they can have Virtue without Character. Our children have all but lost the inherent presence of Truth, Courage, Respect, Compassion, Empathy or Sympathy, and Forgiveness, etc. For those who claim to be “Christian,” this is unacceptable within the fellowship of His children. Upon our embracing His righteousness, we are endued with these very qualities, or as Scripture represents, His Character. The world and the churches have adopted the idea that these attributes of character are not requisite. The Truth Is, the world has suffered greatly under this lie, and the churches are not far behind. Without His Character, His Nature, His Image, we can neither teach what a Christian is nor attain it ourselves. There are very few evils worse than this that we could inflict on our children.
As for our “Beliefs”
We have only one. “God is exactly who He says He is” (Titus 1:2) and what He says is recorded in the original languages of the Holy Scriptures, compiled as the Book of the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:1-5,9,10). Our understanding of what He says is well published on our websites, in our posts, in our books, in our songs, and played out imperfectly in our daily lives. We pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and listen (1 Samuel 3:10) daily for instruction from the only Christ endorsed teacher, The Holy Spirit (John 14:26), who is the original author of the just referenced texts.
For more on
What & Who we are… click here
Note:
Our last New Years message, Bittersweet, is written by Pursuit of Character Chief Editor, Bethany Huot. We have been talking for awhile about her writing some blogs of her own. As we talked about what the last article of the year might be Bethany went into the P.O.C. worship room and sat down at the computer. A short while later she said, “what about this?” The article she had written both reflected back on the year just completed and forward into the unknown. Bittersweet also reflects the hearts of all of us at P.O.C.. Please take the time to read the very first installment of “The Bethany Blog.” (scroll down)
Latest Posts
I Have Cancer…
If you’ve read Forgotten Hope and the post “If I Wanted You Dead…” (and I know you have), then you know that I have been “in search of the C-Monster,” on “cancer alert,” since 2015. In the standard “you are now 50” screening, a particular test result came out a little high. Now, 25 tests and 8 years later, that result continues to go up. What that has meant is 6 MRIs, 4 biopsies (100+ samples), 2 genetic tests, and more. For 8 years I have had no symptoms of a problem, and the doctors, with all their efforts, could not find a problem. So, by all accounts except one, I did not have a problem. Now, after 8 years of warnings, 8 years of oversight, 8 years of doctors not shrinking from their conviction that this one negative sign comes from somewhere, they have found it. After 8 years of hiding, being too small to find, the truth has been revealed. I have a 2 mm, Gleason 6 (least aggressive) “adenocarcinoma.” 2 mm, 0.078 inches, or the thickness of a nickel for those who remember what coins are.
In reflecting on these 8 years, some questions arose: –READ MORE–
The Sarx Saga
Matthew 26:41
I am so tired of this verse and others like it being used to make helpless victims out of God’s chosen victors. Time to bury this lie! Got your shovel? Let’s dig!
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
grēgoreuō: “keep awake, watch: – be vigilant.”
prothumos: “forward in spirit, that is, predisposed (willing): from “pro” & “thumos – passion, fierceness.”
sarx: “meat of the body, the ‘flesh’ of a human being as opposed to the spirit.” (Not to be confused with psuchē, “Living Being.”)
asthenēs: “(literally, or figuratively and morally): – more feeble, impotent, sick, without strength, weak:” from “A (alpha)” meaning first & “sthenoō.”
So what is Christ saying in those 19 little words?
You must stay awake, be vigilant, and keep watch and pray that you will not be tempted and brought into adversity. The spirit is indeed fiercely predisposed to stand with Christ; moreover, the flesh of the body has no moral authority and is impotent to begin with. (Stand with Christ? See verses 36-40 that precede this statement.)
This error in thinking is shelved in the same library as, “The Bible is the autobiography of God,” which we have already thoroughly debunked in Forgotten Hope and the post “The Auto-biography of God.” People who make these “flesh” errors look at the Manual through the flesh and thus see flesh and miss the instruction. Christ and the Holy Spirit, through the Apostles, the Prophets, and everyone else, are teaching us of “Spiritual Things.” The Holy Instructor and His Textbook teach us our image, designed in God’s Image, that gives unquestioned authority to the spirit over the flesh (sarx) and our living being (psuchē)… if we stand with Christ.
Tangent Alert! –READ MORE–
From our New Contributor – Bethany H
Necessary & Sufficient
The subject of being “born again” has been coming up frequently in our conversations. Since our mission is the Great Commission, this makes sense! One concern we have been discussing is how many people believe they are “saved” who have never been born again. They may have prayed a prayer asking Jesus to “come into their hearts and save them,” but they do not understand what this means and all that it requires.
When people say they are “saved,” they most likely mean they believe they will go to heaven when they die. They have been “saved” from an eternity in hell. They may even say that Jesus is their Savior. He is the One who will guarantee their entrance into heaven. They may also hope (little h) that Jesus will make their lives here a bit better than their unsaved friends. For some, the here and now benefits are what they are really after. Sadly, fewer and fewer people today recognize or understand what being “born again” involves and what it results in.
Having spent over 10 years in the field of molecular biology, I learned… –READ MORE–
Bittersweet
Here at P.O.C., our mission is the Great Commission:
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)
While this summer we began “Going Out” in a more official way, we are always looking for opportunities to “make disciples” with each person God brings across our paths. Sad to say, those interested in even having a first conversation are few, but, of those few, we have had opportunities to help people begin or continue to walk as followers of the Way. In several cases, individuals have asked us to help them grow in their walk with God, to teach them how to study His Word and apply it in living their lives. This is something we are always happy to do…but it tends to be bittersweet. More often than not, each person invariably finds a Truth that is too hard for them, and they walk away sad. So far, each one has expressed a continued affection for us but has had one reason or another why they feel they can no longer walk with us in the Way. Similar to the excuses Jesus was given, we have heard:
I want to keep following Jesus… but…-READ MORE–
What’s News
We have launched our Raising The Church Outreach, a series of community worship events open to the public. Our series is appropriately named to reflect both the cause and the content. The world has been losing the real meaning of Hope for a long time, but this darkness has accelerated over the last few years. In the Restoring Hope series we aim, as the name implies, to Re-introduce the meaning and the indispensable value of The Offer of Hope and the One who makes it. Each event includes, Worship Through Song, lessons from The Hope Series, and messages from the Manual.
We are now accepting invitations to bring Raising The Church to your community in 2023. If you would like to know more click –HERE–
Bethany Rae’s singles from her Captivated album are now available in MP3 downloads right here on POC! –click here–
Breaking News! Bethany Rae is back In Studio planning, and working on, her next Worship Through Song project… her 2nd album, Cut Me Loose. Watch all year for the release of new singles from this album!
Our Ministries
More on our Mission: “To Go Out.” To those who understand this reference, no more needs to be said. To those who are unsure, we will expound. To Go Out, in search of the “Lost” of Christ’s flock, introduce the Shepherd, and show them the Path to His fold. To Go Out, in search of the “Wandering” from their belief in the Shepherd, support, admonish, and direct them back to the Path to His fold. To Go Out, in search of those who “Stand” on the Path and “Strive with Christ” in “the Fellowship of Believers” and to Stand with them in proclaiming God is exactly Who He says He is!
The Foundation of all of this is that God, the Triune One, is the only authority in our decisions. From this simple position we have both been tested and have triumphed and will continue to Walk in the Way!.
Featured Posts
America Again – Carman
Before Trump made “Make America Great Again” popular, there was Carman. Carman stated a Truth that has been buried by “The World” and Forgotten by the churches… America was born Great because it was born Godly. When we allow – or worse support – His removal, we remove the only thing that made America Great! in the first place.
In 1993, Carman, who appealed most of all to the youth in this country, both warned of the problem in America and defined the solution. If you listen closely, you will hear him say that if we don’t fix this in the next “decade” we will be lost. He also made it quite clear what it would take to actually Make America Great Again… Put God Back IN!
Well, that decade passed, and as it did, it seemed America (government & worldly values) got more into the churches rather than the other way around. Today most Christians thoroughly support Separation of Church from State but apparently not State from Church, as they have bowed in fear and reverence while the State has barged through their doors and locked them tight behind them. When man puts Man between them and God for any reason, they have violated His sovereignty and His commands. Because the churches go along, they actively break the 1st, 3rd & 4th commandments.
Listen to Carman… I Dare You!
Watch… Listen… and ask… Have I been part of the solution…or… part of the problem? Carman references multiple historical and Biblical Facts. For this, the “truth police” are sure to “cancel” him sooner or later. For now, the link connects to YouTube, but I have captured the video just in case. While you’re at it, get his album The Standard from 1993. Listen… and again ask…
This video is offered for the Truth that it contains and not to “endorse” any suggested videos that follow.
Through Improve Life Publishing we are adding new ways we can serve His cause, which is our Mission. Currently, those include producing and publishing The Hope Series of books and the production and release of Bethany Rae‘s Worship through Song ministry. It is our hope that you will help us in this effort, first with your prayers and second by taking whatever action you can to get these into the hands of the Fellowship of Believers known as “The Church,” whether Lost, Wandering, or Flourishing.
Thank you for stopping by.
(You can also reach the “Shopping Around” page under the “Outreach” menu at the top.)
We appreciate your support and hope that you will help us get the Word out.
Layout:
The categories were chosen to reflect the intent of the contained “Posts.”
No.1 “Just a Thought” is just what it sounds like. More than a decade ago, I started writing down spontaneous reflections I had.
No.2 “The Bethany Blog” is the contribution of our chief editor, Bethany Huot. While she has always been a part of our “morning coffee” and other discussions that provide the material for P.O.C. posts, we felt it was time that she brought the teachings the Spirit gives her directly to you… unfiltered. Hence, “The Bethany Blog.”
No.3 “Improve Life” was inspired by a New Year’s sermon published in 1799 by Minister David M’Clure, A. M. This amazing sermon is available to read on the “Lessons from the Past” page of this site.
No.4 “Occasional Boyle” are reflections inspired by Robert Boyle. Boyle was born Jan. 25, 1627. Known as the father of Modern Chemistry, the experimental method, peer reviewed publication, and “Boyle’s Law,” he was also one of the great, yet unnoticed, theologians.
His views on Biblical interpretation:
“We should obtain our opinions from Scripture rather than take them to Scripture since Scripture is the best expositor of itself.”
No.5 “Steel-Toed Shoes” acknowledges that there is only One who ever achieved “God’s Character.” For the rest of us committed to the “Pursuit,” sore toes are a familiar and necessary by-product.
No.6 “Religious Myths – Debunked” is simple. In fact, it is what our Raising The Church Outreach is all about. Every day since Christ exposed the pharisees as both devoutly religious and Godless, His New Testament Congregation have been on a path back to their position. Regardless of denomination, man has “added to or subtracted from” Scripture (see “The “Great Evil” Sisters”). From these prideful acts, man’s theology has, in many ways, denied Christ just as the pharisees and committed people of God (Jews) had done. As these “edits” are a move away from Scripture as originally given by the Holy Spirit, and, therefore, are not “Truth,” they are “myths.” Therefore, we return to the Source to restore what the Truth Is!