If you were writing a book about a favorite character, would you include all the negative aspects of this person’s character as well as the positive, or would you gloss over the negative and only accent the positive? One of the great features of the Bible is that it does not gloss over the sins and failures of its greatest characters. The Lord has chosen to reveal the whole truth about many great saints in the Word of God. In this way we can not only see the positive aspects of their lives and gain instruction in right living, we can also draw strength from the fact that though they sinned and failed, God in grace forgave them and so He will do for us!

Let’s take for example the great Old Testament prophet Elijah. Though he was without doubt one of the very greatest prophets Israel ever had, he also revealed that he could be moody, fearful and even a little prideful at one point. Yet God used this man Elijah in mighty ways to bring Israel back to the worship of the one true God from the wicked Baal-worship that they had been involved in for so long. Aren’t we thankful that God uses us even though we may fail Him? We all know the story of Jonah and his actual attempt to run from God! David the sweet singer of Israel also committed adultery and then murder in a futile cover-up attempt. The list could go on and on. Suffice it to say that the Bible is definitely not boring reading! Our holy God is the only One who knows all about us and still loves us completely! If you are feeling that you have failed too badly for God to use you again, it may be that you need to be reminded of some of these Bible character accounts that the BBN Bible Institute covers in its 40000 Division, Bible Character Studies. In fact, the division is summed up with a special study by Dr. John Phillips entitled simply Special Bible Characters which is course number 41600. If you are not familiar with the BBN Bible Institute, come on over to www.bbnbi.org and sign up for the free online Bible Institute with 102 courses free of charge. You will see that God gives the whole story of His people, warts and all, so that we can be encouraged that He will not abandon us even if we fail.