For the past few weeks I have been studying the word “faithful” and have really looked at and worked to understand the word in an action form. This morning I was reminded that Jesus is not just acting faithful, but He is also called Faithful.

“¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.” — Revelation 19:11 (ESV)

Jesus is called “Faithful and True”. I am so encouraged by that it gives me pause. I am in awe that the actions of Jesus translate so much into who He is that He is known by name that action that He takes.

I look at Jesus being called that which He is and think about my own life and “am I known as that which actions I take”? Would I be considered to be called by the actions people see in me. When others see me, do they think, “there is Caring, Teaching, Understanding?” I would be so lucky if that were the case.

I now have something to strive for, living the example of Christ in being known and called by those actions I take. My mission I have stated a number of times and here again, to “Improve Lives Through Growth and Learning as an Example of Christ’s Love”. This mission is not just about action, but being known as such. Will people call me “Improver” or “Grower” or “Example”?

Jesus continues to show the way and be the example. He not only takes the action to be faithful, but is also called Faithful in name. I am encouraged to take the example and work to be known by those actions that I take.

What actions do you take? Are you or should you be known by those actions? What if you were to follow the example of Christ and be the example of the actions you take as He acts faithful and is known as Faithful?

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

I know that I will experience challenges and persecution as a follower of Christ. I will be tested in my faith, not by God, but by the evil one. I will have every opportunity to give up and submit to the difficulty and abandon God. It is easy to give up. It is easy to give in. It is easy to just allow myself to become and be the victim. Every day I will be tested, and every day I will have that chance to throw in the towel and allow myself to be beaten.

But, I must remain faithful to Him. I have established that He is faithful and will remain so. He knows I will be tested, and yet, He will be right there with me and never leave. And here in this passage, I see that for my faithful obedience, he will reward me with “the crown of life”. God will make sure that my suffering is not in vain. He will ensure that I receive for what I give. God will be there through all that goes on in my life and I must remain faithful to Him as He is faithful to me.

And just how to remain faithful. Well, there is first of all, remaining in His Word. I have to remember to no give up on studying and learning just what it is that God has for me in this world. I have to look for it and work to understand, knowing that the understanding may not be revealed until I am rewarded in heaven. I have to, as Jared our pastor says, “go where He would me go, and do what He would have me do”. When I am working with God, I am faithful to God and in turn, I will realize His faithfulness to and with me.

I will be challenged and I will suffer for my relationship with God, but my suffering is not the end, but only the beginning or middle of my role to spread the gospel. God is with me always and even in my suffering He is faithful to me, I owe it to Him to return His faithfulness.

What suffering are you experiencing in life? Are you turning to God and realizing His faithfulness to you? What if you did?

This morning I am continuing to study the word “faithful” and I read in 1 John. I was open to just what God had for me this morning and admit to being surprised as I was reminded of His faithfulness to forgive and even when I am not faithful, He does not leave.

“⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” — 1 John 1:5-10 (ESV)

I know, this is a long passage. And it is quite a bit to unpack. I zeroed in on one thing from it all that was of impact to me this morning. I see there in the verses the references to Gods faithful walk with us, and I mean His continuous walk with us. He is there all the time. Yes, when you look, there is reference to when we are not in line with Him and that we will not have Him in us. We deceive and are not in line with God and as noted in verse 10, “make him a liar”.

There is something that is not found in these verses, God leaving us. We may not have Him in us as noted in verses 8 and 10. But, in those verses, it is us that are missing, not God. Notice there is no reference to Him leaving us. He is still there, we have just not allowed Him to be in us. We are the ones that have resisted Him and turned away from Him. Even when we turn our back on God, He is still faithfully standing there with us (behind us).

We have a cat, Jesse in our home and she has been with us for a number of years. She will get your lap (if you are lucky) and then she will turn her head away from you as if rejecting you and with what we believe is her trying to act as if we are not really there. The reality is that we are still there and she is just pretending. All at once, she will, on her terms, turn and lick you to let you know that she is there and accept your comfort.

I see us as Jesse in our walk and relationship with God. I may turn away from Him in hopes that He cannot see me. And, even with that, God is still present and there just waiting on me to turn back to Him and accept His comfort. God is there walking with me, faithfully, and just waiting on my to turn back and let Him in.

God is with me faithfully, even when I am not faithful in return to Him. He is walking beside me and waiting on me to turn back to Him and jump in His arms and accept the love and comfort that only He can and will provide.

What does your relationship with God look like? Are you turned away from Him and acting as though He is nowhere to be found so you are able to work on things for yourself? What if you were to simply turn around, would you be able to recognize that He is there and has been all the time, just waiting on you?

Action in context is not always the doing of something. It is simply the intentional. Intentionally doing is more of the action that I speak of here. Too often I find that there is an aversion to thoughtful reflection. That aversion is based on the idea that somehow just sitting still is not productive, and that by doing so there is a visual that others may see as lazy. With intent, that could not be further from the truth.

This morning I continue my study of the word “faithful” and again am reading in Hebrews where I find three exhortations, draw near, hold fast, and consider, that are presented in God’s word. These I see as intentional action with God.

“²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” — Hebrews 10:22-24 (ESV)

Each of these exhortations are actions for me to take in my relationship with God. I am to draw near to Him, hold fast to Him, and consider how to get others to action with Him. On the surface, this seems as though I am not taking any action at all as it is all about me and my individual relationship with God. And where that is true, I will point to the intentional nature of the exhortations. I am to do all of these intentionally, not passively when I feel like it and have nothing else to do, but on purpose and with thought. This is action and that action is with faith.

My intentional action is that which is allowing me to know and understand the tasks that God has for me to complete. Without reflection and truly listening to God, I will certainly miss something. This morning even before reading, I prayed that God would guide me. I even said to Him that He should “hit me over the head” as I may not hear Him in His often whispers. This is intentional action to “draw near”, “hold fast”, and “consider”. I did not just happen to have the time to talk with God, I made the time and am in my office in the quiet early morning where I will not be disturbed to be sure and devote the time to Him. This is the intentional action.

All of my intentional action is great, however that has to be faithful and not simply a one time thing. I daily engage in prayer and study to learn and understand God’s Word. I know that I will not know or understand it all as there is too much and God is too big. But, with faithful action I will learn, know, and understand what God has for me and what my role in this world is to be.

What action are you doing or not doing in your relationship with God? Are you avoiding certain things with the thought that you have to be seen to be considered acting? What if you approached action as more intentional and did so faithfully each day with God?

Jesus is better. I am referring here to one of the first posts as relates to “Trevor’s Thoughts”. I was in a small group bible study and the pastor of the church was doing a series on just that topic that Jesus is better. A good portion of the series was founded in Hebrews, where my study of the word “faithful” brought me this morning.

“⁵Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” — Hebrews 3:5-6 (ESV)

This overall passage is titled “Jesus Greater Than Moses” in my ESV Bible. And, it is clear as I read and study that this is indeed the case. Just look at the words used in the passage. Verse 5: “Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house” and in verse 6: “but Christ is faithful over God’s house”. What I see here is that Moses is a part of the house of God and Christ is in a position of authority in the house of God.

Now, I look even closer at verse 6: “And we are his house”. We being me being more in line with Moses as a part of the house of God. I am not in the same position as Christ but more in the position of Moses. I am a servant just as Moses. I am, as a part of the house of God, a servant to the authority in the house of God and that is Christ Jesus. I am but a servant of God and not of any authority. I am in God’s house and submit to the authority over God’s house and that authority is Christ. Christ is faithful over God’s house and therefore, Christ is faithful over me.

It is important for me to remember my place and not try to step out of my lane as a servant of Christ. I am to be in line with that which I am tasked to complete and being an/the authority is certainly not that which I am tasked. I am to spread the gospel and teach others and allow God to do His work in the lives of those I contact. I am faithful to the house of God and Christ is faithful over me.

How is it that you are approaching life? Are you looking to be the authority over or be a servant in God’s house? What if you were to be faithful to the house of God and allowed Christ to be faithful over you?

There have been and will be many times that I am less than faithful to God and His work. I have in the past and will in the future, drift away from Him and work to accomplish things on my own. Through it all though, God remains faithful.

“¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.” — 2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)

I am grateful that God remains even when I do not. I am a sinner and God knows that. I may have accepted salvation and forgiveness for my sins, but I am still and will always be a sinner in this world. God does not give up on me even when He knows that I am a sinner and will continue sinning. He knows that largely, I will not actively and knowingly sin, although there will be times when I do. It is my repentance and knowing of sin that God accepts daily and that is why I must speak with Him regularly and repent for those sins that I will/have committed.

Why is it that God allows me to sin and still accepts and remains faithful to me? It is because He has a plan for me and that plan can only be carried out by me and He also knows that I will carry it out.

“¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” — 2 Timothy 2:10 (ESV)

Paul is speaking of his enduring the pain and suffering that comes with being imprisoned. He keeps on keeping on for the sake of those that are gaining from him and his dedication to the gospel. Paul, I have no doubt, had a difficult time of it occasionally as he suffered for Christ. I am sure that as a man, there were times when he felt as though he might just give way. It is not chronicled in God’s word, but Paul was human and I am sure that he had his moments. The thing is, even in those moments, they were quickly fleeting and he put his head down and went to work for God and was rewarded with the comfort of knowing that he would soon be with Christ in heaven. Paul knew God was with him every step of the way.

“¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; ¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;” — 2 Timothy 2:11-12 (ESV)

The above verses indicate that God is with me regardless of my circumstances. And they pour into verse 13, where I learn that “He remains faithful”. Regardless of where I might be or what I might be experiencing, God is with me and will remain faithful to me, even when I might not be with Him.

What is going on in your life that you might waiver from your faithfulness to God? Are you out there trying to go it alone? What if you just put your head down and continued to do the work for Him and allowed God to be faithful even when you may not?

“¹¹Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.” — 1 Timothy 3:11 (ESV)

This morning I was reminded of my duty to be faithful in all things as I read the passage containing the verse above. This passage in my ESV bible is titled: “Qualifications for Deacons”, however it is also qualifications that we should all have as a part of our daily lives with Christ.

A number of years ago we, Lori and I as well as our boys, were elected deacons of our church. And yes, I meant to say it was the four of us that were elected, as it is not a role solely for the patriarch of the family. Being a deacon is a role that is a part of the entire household and all in the house are responsible to be living for Christ. In the passage, and notice in the verse above, there are qualifications and direction specifically given for the wife of the deacon and the children have responsibilities as well, although not specifically addressed in this passage.

I have been studying the word “faithful” for the past few weeks and this morning I was reminded of the faithfulness to ALL THINGS that I have been charged with as a follower of Christ. It is not just in the things that are seen, but all things. It is not just those things in the church, it is all things. It is not just those things in my household, but all things. I am to be faithful to Christ in ALL THINGS.

Sitting here in my office all day it is easy to be less than faithful as no one sees or I have minimal direct impact on everyone all day long. I am alone and frankly can go hours without engaging with another person on occasion. Whereas that may be an opportunity to simply do as I please and not be concerned with anyone else, that is not the case at all. If anything, I have a greater responsibility to be sure to demonstrate my faithfulness even more. I have to be overt in my actions to be sure that others realize that I am there for them. I have to be outspoken enough that everyone I do contact knows that I am doing so for their benefit and not my own.

As a child of God, I have a duty to be and do ALL THINGS for Him. Looking at the qualifications for deacons, I have to apply those to myself and my family. I have to be sure that I am living for Christ in ALL THINGS. I have to be faithful to Him in ALL THINGS. The verse above indicates that wives are to be faithful in ALL THINGS, but that translates to me as well. I may not be a deacon of my church here in this world today, but I am a deacon in The Church and therefore I have a duty to meet and adhere to those qualifications of the election to that role that was bestowed on us as a family of God.

What things are you maybe less than faithful? Are you finding yourself in the position where you are looking for your qualifications? What if you were to take on the qualifications and directions of deacons in your life to begin your faithfulness in ALL THINGS?

Imagine having a guard that is with you all the time. I know that I see all the time that those of importance have guards around them all the time. Politicians, celebrities, the rich. All of them seem to be important enough to have someone or group that watches over them and protects them from evil and other things that are around them.

“³But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” — 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (ESV)

I have God who watches over me. He is my protector. He is my guard against evil and other things around me. I am important enough to have a guard around me all the time.

What a comfort it is to know that when I leave home and go into the world, I have one to go before and come behind me. I have God who is and will be with me always. I have a guard who is up before I am and goes to bed after me. I have that one who wants nothing but the best and safety for me.

The thing is that to the world, I may not be important. I may not be the one that everyone looks to. I may not have millions of “followers”. I may not have a select few that wish me harm. I may not have those that are envious of my position in this world. BUT, I AM IMPORTANT. I am precious to God. He guards me and protects me and His faith in doing so does not waiver nor will He walk away.

I have to remember that the world may not see me, but God sees me as precious and worthy of the greatest protection. I am worthy of His faithful guarding.

What is it that you wish you had that you could rely? Are you looking into the world and comparing yourself to those that seem to have it? What if you did not worry about anything as you were already protected and faithfully guarded against evil?

God’s word is filled with His blessings and as I was reminded this morning, instructions. I am continuing to study the word “faithful” and I was led to 1 Thessalonians where I read the passage titled “Final Instructions and Benediction” in my ESV Bible. Here I found instructions for me as a Christian. I found how I am to act, and how I am be with and around others. This passage is a great list of those things that we as Christians are to take on each day in our walk with Christ and our carrying out of His will.

I am reminded that God will carry out His part for sure in His faithful love of us and our well being.

“²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (ESV)

I am given a list of instructions on how I am to act and go about my life in service of God. Respect others, be at peace, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient, help others to not be evil, seek to do good, rejoice, pray, give thanks, do not “quench” the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, test everything, and abstain from evil. These are the instructions given in the passage. As I read in verse 24 above, God will be faithful to me and it is my duty to be faithful in my actions and with God.

I am sitting here this morning and looking at how I can and should be active in all of those instructions in my life and wondering how I have to this point. The thing for me to really know is that now is the time to look forward. I have to be sure to take what I read and know that I have to move forward and that I am not able to “change” anything that has gone on in the past, only that I can repent for my actions and move forward to not do again.

God is faithful to me regardless of the time or circumstance. I owe it to Him to repay His faithfulness with my faithful obedience to Him. I am bound by these instructions as a child of God. My past is just that, the past and I have to be looking to the now and into tomorrow where to go from here. I have been given the instructions and now I have to use those instructions to move forward and spread the gospel to all of those I am in contact with. I have to remember what I have been tasked with from God and know that He will use me to further His kingdom. These instructions are the “how to act and perform” while I am using the talents that He has given me to use for His glory.

What instructions are you working from in your life? Are you looking at and using those that bring glory to you? What if you were to put your own selfish gains aside and seek that which brings glory to God and use those to guide your actions?

God will allow temptation in our lives and He allows us to make decisions freely as to those temptations. I have heard folks ask, if God is so good, why would He allow evil to happen, and to those I will say that which is in my first sentence. Evil is in the world whether we like it or want it to be. Temptation is in the world when we like it or want it to be. When those come together, there are the choices to be made freely.

Just because there is evil and temptation in the world, does not mean that God is not with me. The Israelite people were God’s chosen and yet idolatry and temptation wast there. God did not abandon them, He dealt harshly with those that made those choices and participated. He allowed the people to choose and they did not choose wisely.

“¹³No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

And in the first part of the above verse, God gives us the answer. He will not allow for temptation or evil in my life that I cannot overcome. I will have the strength to make the right decisions, I only need act.

Even in times when I will not make the right decision, I will not be alone. I will have the strength provided by God to deal with the consequences, and you can see that He will give me the way to overcome and endure that poor decision. I need only trust in His faithful execution of His plan for me and there I will have the way to deal with the temptation and consequences of the poor decision made.

I am a sinner and will continue to be tempted with evil. I will continue to make poor decisions related to those temptations and the evil that is part of them. I will have to deal with the consequences and that may even be for some time. But, God in His faithfulness to me and His love for me will not let me endure on my own. I will be provided the way out, although, maybe not the way I want though. I will endure. I will have help. I will be able to rely on Him to get me through it. I will have still have to endure the difficulty and the consequences to my decisions, but I will have the help and helper needed to get me through all my decisions.

What decisions in life have you made that you are still trying to tackle on your own? Are you looking for the way to get through them? What if you just put your head down and allowed God to help you with the decision and faithfully provide your endurance?