Tag Archives: faithfulness

March 17
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“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you?  He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.  And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”  (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, NLT)

God’s expectations of His people are not obscure. They are stated plainly and repeatedly.

God’s expectations of His people are not difficult.  It does not require one to be a “super saint” to reverence (fear) our God; to live in a way that pleases Him; to love Him; and to serve Him with all our being.

All that God requires of us is well within our grasp.  – Luther

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November 3
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“Women received back their dead, raised to life again.  There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.”  (Hebrews 11:35, NIV)

Every follower of Jesus should read the entirety of chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews to grasp the fact that current-day faithfulness does not guarantee current-day success.

While it is true that God blesses His faithful ones, we err when we begin to think that these “rewards” all come in this life; or at times when we think we would derive the most benefit from them.  Some rewards — like some punishments, for reasons known only to God — are reserved for life after life.

To be a true person of faith requires that we continue to believe (and act in accordance with that belief) although we have yet to receive that for which we hope.  It is not always an easy day.

However, as the writer of Hebrews assures us in verse 1: This is what the ancients were commended for by God.  – Luther

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August 12
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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”  (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)

Prophecy and miracle-working in the name of Jesus — though impressive — will not get us through the “pearly gates.”  Jesus makes a clear distinction between (for lack of a better term) “exceptional religious performance” and righteous living in the day-to-day.

The Lord doesn’t care whether you or I ever perform miracles, prophesy like an Old Testament seer, or put demons to flight.  (Any of that is 100 percent God and 0 percent us, anyway.)  What impresses God is our obedience to Him in even the smallest and most ordinary of things.

God is not seeking rock stars, but He is seeking men and women who are “rock solid” in their commitment and in their obedience to His will.  – Luther

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