Who is your favourite Bible character? Why?

Yes, Noah is a great lesson in obedience, especially in the face of enormous opposition and ridicule. Thanks for responding.

Did you realise it took Noah 120 years to build the ark? Incredible obedience, especially in the face of ridicule.

What is it you admire about Ezekiel? His bold declaration to the Babylonians that the low would be exalted and the high abased? Or was it his dangerous job as a watchman on the walls? Or was it the object lessons he gave? Or ... There is a lot to admire about Ezekiel but there is no way I'd want his job!

That is a great way of looking at them. Sometimes we consider the great things people do and then we feel inferior, but they are humans and they made mistakes. Isn't God wonderful that He loves us IN SPITE OF our failures? He corrects us, shows us our error, and guides us in the right way. Isn't it great that we don't have to EARN God's love? It is so freely given and we love Him because He first loved us.

Adam & Eve had knowledge before the fall. Adam was given the task of naming every animal: that took knowledge. Adam & Eve were created perfect and that included having perfect minds. The only thing Eve achieved for us was adding the knowledge of evil.

Interesting ... Does that mean you want to be beautiful? Or that you want to be a messenger for God? Thanks for sharing

We all admire the patience of Job. Thanks for sharing

Thank you for sharing, Naseem. It is good to talk again. I totally agree there is none other than God who deserves our praise. We admire certain other leaders, and rightly so, but we must always remember that they were only so because of their faith in a tremendous God, and the way He chose to work through them. While we give God the glory for what these leaders achieve, we still admire them for what they did. The names you give of God are true and there are so many more. I particularly like Isaiah's "The Everlasting Father" I am reminded of Psalm 40:5 "Many O Lord my God are Your wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts towards us. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto You. If I should declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

I admire Job, because even though the sacrifices were thrust upon him and not of his own choosing, he still kept his faith. Easy enough to make sacrifices when it is our choice, but not so easy to accept misfortune!

Yes, Job certainly is a lesson for us. What patience! What trust! Regardless of anything, Job could declare "I KNOW my Redeemer lives!" I think one thing we can surely learn from Job is that God always uses a bigger shovel. We can never outgive God. Who is my favourite? That is like asking for a favourite Bible verse: it depends on what is happening at the time. Because I have been a leader for most of my Christian life, and I train leaders, I would have to say that Nehemiah stands out as one having so many leadership qualities. In fact I think ALL the necessary leadership attributes are found in the life of Nehemiah.

Thanks for a thoughtful answer. Being a leader/trainer of leaders, I would have to say I greatly admire Nehemiah who carries every quality of leadership, but how can one go past so many others? They all have their qualities and I believe they are there for that purpose. No matter what our need, there is an example to follow. I love the book of James for its practicality in day to day living. It is a book that urges us on to maturity. We can "count it all joy" or "count, know, let, ask" when we understand the mind of God: that He desires the very best for us and will work IN us to produce that. However, for a favourite book, I could never go past Romans. It contains all the major doctrines of the Bible. I believe the biggest problem for many believers is a lack of understanding of WHY they believe WHAT they believe and a study of Romans will supply the answers. Thanks for sharing.

Esther has a few lessons for us. I like the way she fasted and prayed and WAITED until the Lord directed her actions. She totally depended on Him and He honoured her faith.