Jump Start # 788

Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

This week we are taking a look at some of the things God expects from His people. We understand that when we live by these principles, God is pleased. We are doing what He wants us to. When we don’t, He is disappointed and usually, it results in us getting into problems, sins and situations that hurt us. God knows what He is talking about. Yesterday, we saw that God wants us to be strong.

Today, God wants us to be faithful to Him. Our passage comes from the dark days of persecution. The news wasn’t pleasant. The writer didn’t sugar coat things and tell them, “everything will be fine, I just know it.” Instead, you are going to suffer. You are going to be imprisoned by Satan. You will be tested. You will have tribulation. The road ahead is tough. Be faithful. Be faithful even if it takes your life. The “until death” is not old age in an nursing home, but a sword stuck under your throat demanding that you denounce Jesus Christ. Be faithful. Be faithful, even if it means you die!

The idea of faithfulness means being true or staying with it. We use the concept of faithfulness in marriage to describe one who has stayed true to his vows, especially morally. With God, it is the idea of staying with Him. Staying committed to what we started. Finishing.

It’s easy to start things. Most of us do. Staying with it is what is hard. It’s easy to start projects, to start back to school, to start a diet, to start a budget, to start a plan to read the Bible. We do those things all the time. It’s the “staying with it” that trips most of us. Things come up. We get sidetracked and off schedule and then it’s hard to get started again. The kids get sick in the middle of the night and that throws us off our plans in the morning. An emergency comes up and that crashes the budget. We stay up too late watching a ballgame and are too sleepy in the morning to do our reading.

Faithfulness with God involves more than a reading plan for the Bible. It involves keeping the principles of God throughout all of our life. Remaining holy, generous, thankful, obedient and keeping a heart of praise to God.

I find that the difficulty in these things is the length of our journey. It is a lifetime. Being what we should isn’t too much on a Sunday. A week, no problem. A month, gets a bit harder. But the journey continues on and so does life. We get sidetracked and tempted and things come up and we find ourselves not as strong, not as devoted, not as serious as we ought to be.

I also find that during difficult times, it is easier to be committed to God. That may be because the need for God is before us. A loved one hanging on in the hospital pulls our hearts to pray and pray hard and constantly. A prodigal child, the loss of a job, a marriage falling apart—all of these are tough times, but they seem to bring out the best in us. We realize that we need help. We embrace God tightly.

It is the plain, everyday days that tend to lessen our faithfulness. Nothing grand. Nothing trying. Nothing hard. Getting up and heading to work. Getting the kidos ready for school. Another church service. Another Bible class. Another meal at home. Just another day. It’s easy to be less intense during those days. It’s easy to be a bit lazy spiritually on those days. It’s easy to not see the importance during those days. It happens. We slide through a day without even talking to God. We allow days to pass without opening the Bible. We haven’t given up. We aren’t ready to walk away. It’s just our schedules. It’s that we are tired. It’s just life. We look back and we realize that an entire day has passed and I lived as if God didn’t even exist. No thought of Him. No prayers to Him. No thankfulness expressed. During those times it easy to let the guard down. Maybe gossiped when I shouldn’t have. Maybe I told a couple of lies. Just not being careful with the spiritual walk.

Be faithful. That’s the charge. That’s the call upon us. Be faithful—when it is hard. Be faithful  -when it’s easy. Be faithful, when Satan knocks on the door of your heart. Be faithful, when others are not. Be faithful, when it hurts. Be faithful, when out of town. Be faithful, when having to work late. Be faithful. Be faithful, even to death.

God wants you to be faithful. If you are young, be faithful. If you are old, be faithful. If you were once faithful, continue. If you stopped, start being faithful again. If you stumbled, pick yourself up and get faithful again.

Being faithful means that God can count upon you. Being faithful makes a difference to those around you. Anyone can be a fair weather Christian. It’s easy being a Christian in the church house on Sunday morning. How about in the school house? The court house? The gym? The work place? Be faithful.

How are you doing with this? Can God count on you? Can He count on you today? Faithful. Faithful when doing your taxes! OUCH. Faithful when selling things! OUCH. Faithful when someone asks you tough things. God is counting on you…be faithful.

Roger