Faithfulness

Faithfulness is this confidence in God. This absolute trust in who God is and in what God does and it empowers us to just keep going. But let me give you one that may be easier to remember, "Faithfulness is love hanging on." It is love saying, "I will not quit. There may be misunderstandings, there may be disappointments, there may be discouragements, but I will not quit." It is love hanging on.  If a husband says, "I really love my wife," & then he goes out & has an affair, you may call him a liar. You may call him a cheat. But most of all, you will say, "He is unfaithful." Because that is what he has been. And no matter how strong his arguments may be, no matter how loudly he proclaims his love for his wife, you will not believe him because his unfaithfulness negates his proclamation of love. And if someone says, "I really love the Lord," or "I really love the church," & then is unfaithful, then it’s hard to believe that he really does love the Lord. Because, you see, faithfulness & love always go hand in hand. Faithfulness is love hanging  on.

 

You may get discouraged. You may be disappointed. But faithfulness says, "Even though there is discouragement & disappointment, I will not let go, I will not quit. I will keep on attending & giving & serving, because God has called me to be faithful." 

 

The bible commands Christians to be faithful, Proverbs 3:3 says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

 

Faithfulness means we follow through. It implies loyalty to those we love. It is a commitment to being trustworthy. It suggests dependability, reliability, and staying power. The conviction that allows you to keep plugging along when nothing really makes sense. Just keep walking, listening, and following the spirit of God as God infuses in your Love, joy, peace, patience, Kindness, Gentleness, and keeps you growing. Faithfulness is mostly seen in our marriages. We stand before people, preacher, and hopefully God and say I will love you no matter what, until death do us part. 

 

 

I don’t think she is a Christian I cannot help but think of Dana Reeves. The wife of Christopher Reeves who fell off a horse and lived for 16 years after breaking two vertebras in his neck and demonstrated by her life she was in this no matter how long it took. Compare that to a  "YO YO" who says on Television that it is okay to divorce your wife if she has Alzheimer’s because it is like she died. That is one of the most embarrassing things ever said by a Christian and it is said on National TV. I know in context more was said than just that one line but that one line has come to represent a Christian position that is ridiculous. 21 years ago this January I stood in a Church in Knoxville, TN and I said to the woman I love I will be with you no matter what and thank goodness she said the same. Her job has been harder than mine.

It shows when we get up on a Sunday Morning and the day is wonderful and we ask what do we want to do today. Mow lawn, go to the lake, anything but spend an hour or more in church. It shows in who we serve when we are asked to go to the closet and get a few things and some food in the cupboard to donate. It shows up in little things like if you miss a week do you go back and make up what you would have given that week. It shows up in the little things. It reminds me of people who are compelled to stay the course no matter what the course is.

 

 

"How do we develop faithfulness?" In order to answer this you need to realize that an apple tree doesn’t stand out in the middle of an orchard saying, "Now how do I develop apples?" An apple tree produces apples because that’s what apple trees do. And when we are Spirit-led Christians, when we are a branch attached to the vine who is Jesus Christ, then we produce fruit because it’s the natural thing to do. We don’t have to sit around & think about it & analyze it. But we do have to be careful that our branch is never detached from the vine, or that some disease will destroy our fruitfulness.

So there are certain things that we need to be careful about:

We need to realize that temptations will come. Just as surely as Jesus was tempted to be unfaithful, we will be tempted to be unfaithful - in our marriage, in our relationship with the Lord, & in the church. That’s what Satan does. He will tempt us to be unfaithful.

We need to seek the Holy Spirit’s reinforcement & develop regular, positive, spiritual habits. This world is not a Christian world. This nation is not a Christian nation. And we’re being pressured on every side to develop negative habits, tempting us to be unfaithful in church attendance, to be unfaithful in prayer, & in studying the Word of God. But if we’ll say, "Get thee behind me, Satan," & be determined to serve God faithfully, then people will be able to count on us. We’ll be consistent, & trustworthy, & reliable. We’ll develop these habits so they come automatically. And when Satan tempts us, we will not be severely tempted because we’ve developed the habits of faithfulness, & we will not quit.

We need to get back up when we fall or are knocked down.

Simon Peter is one of my heroes in the scriptures, but not because he always did right. Sometimes he made glaring mistakes, even denying the Lord, & he wept bitterly because of what he had done. But every time he fell down, he got back up again. So when it came time to choose someone to preach the very first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost, guess who was chosen? The Holy Spirit said, "Simon Peter, you do it. You’ve had the experience of being down & getting back up again. You’ve made some mistakes, & these people need to know that. They need to hear how vulnerable you’ve been, but despite all that, God is able to do His work through you."

The same is true of Saul of Tarsus who became the Apostle Paul. He experienced all kinds of persecution, all kinds of discouragement, all kinds of temptations. Yet he didn’t give up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Curse of Low Expectations

Over the last few years I have made a decision about Churches. Our Expectations of the people that sit in the pew is too low. In most churches, membership requires little more than a public declaration of faith and a quick trip through the baptistery. After meeting these requirements, members hear vague notions about being involved in stewardship, discipleship, and service.

But usually, there are no consequences for members who rarely attend or participate in anything. The Rotary will kick you out if you don’t attend meetings or pay your dues, but many churches won’t even communicate specific expectations, much less establish consequences if those expectations are not met.

Perhaps we are cheating church members.

We assume that most church members won’t evangelize, so we’re happy to stick with the very few who understand the mandate.

We assume that most church members will not get involved in a demanding Bible study, so we water down our teaching to appeal to the masses.

We assume that many church members will never tithe or give of their time in service to the community for the glory of our King, so we budget accordingly.

At best, we hope that people will act on our suggestions.

Our churches don’t know what they’re missing:

The thrill of leading someone to Christ.

The excitement of discovering God within the pages of his Word.

The satisfaction of making an impact in the community in the name of Christ.

The joy of giving cheerfully to the local church.

The higher the demands, the higher the payoff.

As Christians, we tell a Story much more engaging than any TV show. We live in a fallen world where the stakes are much higher than any board game. Our expectations should be high because of the transformational power of the gospel.

Perhaps we should stop designing worship services, discipleship programs, and youth events for the “average Christian” (aka – the Christian we don’t expect anything out of). Instead, let’s refocus on our church covenants and clearly communicate the expectations for being a disciple in the kingdom of God.

We receive little because we expect little. And church leaders, church members, and especially a lost world – we all miss out because of our low expectations.

Here we go Again!

I am trying this for a second time. I was not very good at updating my last blog so I am starting all over. The thoughts will be random and strange at times. Thinks for stopping by.