Wednesday, August 27, 2014

How to Be a Fruity Christian (Part 18)

*When archaeologists were digging through the ruins of the city of Pompeii, they found many bodies buried, in varying positions, most of whom were trying to flee the raining ash and lava from  Mt. Vesuvius.  Upon closer examination of the people in this town, one amazing revelation was discovered in the posture of the Romans soldiers who were stationed as sentinels.  Archaeologist found each soldier still standing at the gate of the city, where he had been stationed by his captain, with his hands still grasping the weapon, a spear.  While the earth shook beneath him; there, while the floods of ashes and cinders overwhelmed him, he had stood and not abandoned his post of duty until he was engulfed by the hot molten rock.

What a picture of faithfulness, duty, and responsibility! Can you say that you show that much faithfulness for God?  How is Godly faithfulness developed in our lives?  First, it develops as we grow in love and obedience toward God and His Word.  Second, it develops as we use our spiritual gifts for God's glory (Matt. 24:14-30).  Third, faithfulness develops as we interact with other believers in God's Kingdom (Prov. 11:13,13:17,14:5).  And as we grow in our faithfulness to God and His church, we must be on guard to the #1 villain to godly, faithful living, and that is the desire and pursuit of wealth and riches (1 Tim. 6:9-10).  Faithfulness begins with God, given to us by the Holy Spirit, to be applied into every relationship we have on earth.  The more faithful we are in our relationships to God and man, the less stress we will have.  Until next time, keep walking faithfully with Christ. 




*story taken from Robert Strand's book Faithfulness, p.p. 27-28   

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

How to Be a Fruity Christian (Part 17)

The sixth fruit that flows out of God's love is called "faithfulness".  Someone has described faithfulness as "love's quantity".  "Quantity" is a very important word.  For instance, if a doctor gives you "too much quantity" of medicine, it could cause harm to your body, or even kill you.  If that same doctor gives you "too little quantity" of medicine, it will not be able to have the needed effect to make you better.   Quantity speaks of the measurable whole, the body of, or amount of.  Faithfulness is the quantity that makes up love.  In fact, faithfulness always presupposes God's love. (Ps. 36:5; 89:1-2)

In the Old Testament, the word for faithfulness (emunah) means certainty, reliable, dependable.  It is synonymous to the word righteousness (Is. 11:5), loving kindness (Ps. 98:3), and justice (Jer. 5:1).  Men are called to show themselves "faithful" in their relationship with God Himself (2 Chr. 19:9).  And by being faithful, they are displaying their love for God.  In the New Testament, the word faith (pistis) is a foundational word.  Faithfulness speaks of one's loyal trust in God, or ones steadfast and constant walk before God and man.  The word "faithfulness" is a manifestation of God's saving grace in one's life.  Faithfulness grows out of one's saving faith.  As James 2:17 teaches, "When we have faith in God, we will act in faithful ways toward God and man."  As we learn to put all of our faith in a faithful God, then our lives will be less filled with stress.  Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.