Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
Our thought for today: “Be faithful”
When we think about the character trait of faithfulness probably the first thing most of us think of is our determination to be faithful to God. We resolve to believe in Him and to trust in Him no matter what. For those of us who are married the concept of “faithfulness” also reminds us of our commitment to remain faithful to our spouse.
But the practice of faithfulness actually extends to all of life. When we are a faithful person we will be faithful to God and to our spouse, but also to others and to ourselves. We will be a man or woman of our word. We will say what we mean, mean what we say, and then do what we promise we will do.
Therefore other people can count on us to be truthful and dependable. Beyond that, we can count on ourselves to be truthful and dependable. Not only can others count on you, but you can count on you.
Faithfulness is such an important character trait that Paul includes it as part of the “Fruit of the Spirit” which God develops and brings out in the life of a committed follower of Jesus Christ. The more spiritually mature a person is, the more faithful that person will be – in all areas of life.
I have intentionally addressed this issue of faithfulness today because it’s directly connected to the issue addressed in the devotional from yesterday regarding the bad practice of excuse-making and procrastination. Faithful people don’t make excuses and procrastinate. They just get things done. They make a commitment (to God or to others or to themselves), and then they just start walking it out until the commitment is fulfilled.
One of the most helpful strategies for being a faithful person is the same one we discussed yesterday – segmenting. The best way to faithfully fulfill a commitment is to break it down into easily achievable steps and then just start walking it forward, one small step at a time. There’s an old saying that goes, “Life is a game of inches.” That’s really true. We make progress, and ultimately accomplish things, one moment at a time; one step at a time; one instance of faithfulness at a time.
And so, spiritual growth occurs over the long-term out of the daily habits of things like prayer, Bible study, service to others, and participation in the life of a good church, among others. A college degree is earned one course at a time, one lesson at a time, one homework assignment at a time. Physical fitness is achieved one workout session at a time, one good dietary decision at a time. Children are raised one day at a time, finances are cleaned up one good decision at a time, and on it goes. Life is a game of inches. Success at anything is achieved through thousands of little acts of faithfulness, one after another, day after day, ultimately culminating in a life that is characterized by faithfulness.
I encourage you to work on developing the attitude of faithfulness. Be a faithful person. Make sure that others can count on you. More importantly, make sure that you can count on you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 