Faithfulness

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Faithfulness

Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit and is necessary in the life of all believers. Someone who is faithful is loyal, steadfast, constant, and can be trusted. When we talk about faithfulness in terms of believers, we may think about faithfully attending church, being faithful to God by believing in God even though we can’t see Him. We believe that He exists and that His promises are true.  

Faithfulness is trusting God even when we cannot hear Him, see Him working, and we see no solutions.  We know that God is reliable and trustworthy.  Faithfulness is ultimately believing that God is who He says He is no matter what.  This is living by faith and not by sight, and when others see us have faith in God in spite of our world crumbling around us, they notice the difference. We have the word of God that tells us all about God and His attributes, so we have faith and believe. Faithfulness is the result of a growing relationship with Jesus, learning to live and love like Him. It is the result of the Holy Spirit working in us.    

The Bible is full of accounts of God showing His faithfulness to His people. We have His word to believe that he is Who He says He is and that we can believe on Him in any circumstance and season of life. Then as we see Him work in our lives and others lives, we have the testimony of what He has done. Remembering all He has done will strengthen our faithfulness and it will grow and get stronger. We trust that He is always with us, even when we don’t feel like He is with us. We trust that He will work everything for good and then we live out that demonstration of faith to others around us. Our faith in difficult times will be one of the most powerful testimonies we can give others because faith is not just something we hold in our hearts. Our faith in Him is to be lived out in everything we say and do. 

In our faithfulness we believe that He has truly saved us and cleansed us from all our sin. This faithfulness gives us the hope of eternal life with Jesus. The trials of this world are momentary in the grand scheme of eternity. Our faithfulness in Him is what helps us keep going each day.  We know He is with us through everything and will never leave us or forsake us. He is faithful and true to His word.           

Remember

 Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been[a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.  Joshua 4:9

Remember

Our God is faithful. the Bible is full of stories of how He was faithful to His people then, and we all have stories of how faithful He has been to us now. The Israelites saw God's faithfulness when they finally got to the promised land. 

The Israelites had crossed the Jordan.  God had dried up the water, just like before, so they could cross on dry land instead of wading through the raging river.  For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up before us until we had crossed over.   Joshua 4:23 

Now they were not just outside the promised land, but before they did anything else, they built a memorial so that the generations ahead would know what God did for them, and so they could remember.  The Israelites were divided into twelve tribes so twelve stones were used to build the memorial.  When all the people had passed over Jordan, Joshua commanded one man from each of the 12 tribes to get a rock from the river bed and build a memorial on the Canaan (Promised Land) side.  These verses tell us that the purpose of the memorial was to remind future generations of the power and faithfulness of God on behalf of His people. That memorial would be an important landmark to those who would come after.

There was actually a second memorial built with 12 stones in the river bed.  This memorial was not for the future generations.  This memorial was a monument to the faith of the Israelites. No one could see it but God.  Even though the Israelites couldn't see it, they knew the monument was there! They remembered that they had believed God then and it had worked. This was a monument in their hearts.

We need some memorials in our lives as well. We need to always remember that the Lord was faithful in the past and that He will be faithful now as well. Never forget what the Lord has done for you in your yesterdays. It is those yesterday experiences that will tide you over when the trials of today and tomorrow arise in your life!   

When you have trusted Him, and He has brought you through, never forget it.  Build that monument in your heart, where only God can see it, and where you will never forget it and when the tough time comes again, and they will, look at that monument of His faithfulness and of your faith and know that what worked before will work again.  Teach your children about the faithfulness of God and what He has done in your life.  Teach them the story of the Israelites and what God did for them.  Tell of God’s miracles and provisions in other stories of the Bible.  Tell of God’s miracles and provisions in your own life and teach them that they can trust Him to meet their needs too.  Make room in your heart to build a memorial so that you never forget the faithfulness and provision of God.  

He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.  Joshua 4:24

My Rock

Monday, October 28, 2024

My Rock – Psalm 18:1-3 Submitted by Kay Crumley

 

Where do you put your faith or hope when times are hard? What is the one place you know you can turn for help? Is it a physical place or a person? Most of us have a short list of those people who we would seek out when we are in crisis. The truth is that any human, no matter how dependable, powerful, or compassionate they may be, is not the ultimate solution to our problems. We are all fallible, fragile, and will crumble because we are not God.  

 

David wrote a song to God after he had been rescued from his enemies and the power of Saul. Saul had pursued David because he knew David would be the next King of Israel. He plotted to kill him many times. Yet, David respected Saul’s position as God’s anointed King. That forced him to live in exile, separated from all family support and protection. During that time, David learned that God was the only hope and source of protection he had. His faith was tested and strengthen as he was finally delivered from his enemies. 

 

David is overcome with love and devotion to God who was faithful to him by fulfilling His promise that David would be the King of Israel. The word David used for love, in verse one, is an uncommon term. It expresses deep compassionate love, from the very heart. He enumerates nine titles(underlined) for God that demonstrate his love.  

 

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.  
2 The Lord is my rock,  
my fortress, and my deliverer, 
my God, my rock where I seek refuge, 
my shield and the horn of my salvation, 
my stronghold. 
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, 
and I was saved from my enemies. 

 

He is my strength – the One who empowered him to defeat his enemies. His rock – a place of shelter, safety, and secure standing for battle. His fortress – a place of strength and safety. His deliverer – the One who made a way of escape for him. His God – not only the object of his adoration but the One who gives him strength in his soul. His rock and strength – his fountain, source or origin for all he needs. His shield – the One who defends both his heart and head. His horn – strength and defense. His stronghold – his high tower of refuge where he could see an enemy from a long distance and be protected. David was a mighty warrior and thought in terms of the battlefield. He is declaring that God was all he needed for each of his battles. He is his source, protection, security, and strength. God is all those things for us as we face the challenges life throws our way. Paul summarized it in his letter to the Ephesians, 6:10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. His power is greater than any other, more that we can even imagine. That is where we need to place our trust in every battle we face.  

 

How do we access this protection and power? Well, as believers we only have to ask. Get pride behind us and turn to Him to be our source. David called on the Lord. It was just that simple and straightforward. He is ready to hear our plea, all we have to do is admit we need Him to take control of our battle. God is worthy of our praise and our faith. It isn’t easy for anyone to relinquish our control to God. We want to believe we can take care, control our circumstances. Yet, that is not the case in scripture or in our own lives. Psalm 46:10 Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. We must submit to Him, His power and protection to find rest and peace. What titles does He hold in your life? Perhaps some of these are applicable for you.  

The 9: Learning to Live Authentically “Faithfulness”

The 9: Learning to Live Authentically
“Faithfulness”
Matthew 25:14-30 (CSB)

Key Truth: “How we live will be determined by the transformation of our character.”

Main Question: How does the Holy Spirit grow the fruit of faithfulness in our lives so that we might look and act more like Jesus?

1.  We are called to faithfulness. (Matthew 25:14-18)

 

2. We are held accountable for faithfulness. (Matthew 25:19-28)

- Disobedience and sin will always result in fear and shame before God.

3. We are rewarded for faithfulness.
(Matthew 25:29-30)

 

 

After the Message:

Read Luke 16:10-13. What is Jesus’ principle of faithfulness here? How does it relate to our allegiance? 

Motives

Friday, October 25, 2024

Motives – Acts 19:13-17 Submitted by Kay Crumley

As I studied Acts 19, I was forced to ask myself why I do the things I do. What we do is important but more important is why we do it. People can do admirable things but sometimes for the wrong reasons. We may offer a helping hand or encouraging word that is beneficial. But if that is done so other people can see our generosity rather than our seeing a need that we have the means to help with, then we have the wrong motives. As Christ followers we are to have the heart of Jeus and see through His eyes. Paul had one purpose, as he stated in 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Any motive we have for our words, actions, or attitude that does not align with the character of our Savior we must examine. Paul set an example for us to live a life that brings honor and glory to Him alone.  

Acs 19 places Paul back in Ephesus to teach, encourage, and expand the Kingdom. The first 12 verses describe his challenges and achievements. He taught in the synagogue to the Jewish community but was rejected. He then turned to a Gentile lecture hall and became the teacher there for two years. He taught daily from 11 AM to 4 PM spreading the gospel and seeing many Gentiles being converted to the Christian faith. Verse 10 This went on for two years, so that all the resident of Asia, both Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord. Read that carefully, he taught for 5 hours daily for two years in the same place. The result was that ALL the people of both cultures heard the gospel. He must have drawn some big crowds. People came from all around to hear and then tell others about the gospel. God was moving in and around Ephesus because of Paul’s teaching. Don’t forget Paul’s motive was to know nothing to teach about except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God blessed Paul in an amazing way by using him to heal people. He didn’t just heal by praying over or touching the sick people. God enabled the handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul wore to be used to heal the sick and drive out evil spirits. The Holy Spirit was present and active in all Paul did. By the power of God illnesses were healed and evil spirits were driven out. 1 John 4:4 tells us why this was possible, because the one who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. However, as we would expect Paul was met with opposition. 

13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.