August 8 Thought for the day...faithfulness, a trait of the devoted

I think if you asked most people, "Are you a faithful person?" They would say, "yes." I think most people don't understand what it means to be faithful. Here is why Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, included it in the list of the fruit of the Spirit.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness...."Galatians 5:22

The Greek word used for faithfulness means, "reliable, trustworthy, loyal, dependable, dedicated, constant, unwavering, and devoted." In our culture, to find a handful of people in your life that are like this is a gift, but Paul is challenging the entire church to do this!

When Paul's young disciple Timothy was in need of leadership to help him grow his church, Paul instructed him to look for leaders that have these qualities; reliable, trustworthy, loyal, dependable, dedicated, constant, unwavering, and devoted, 2 Timothy 2:2. The Holy Spirit requires this type of attitude from anyone considering to be a leader!

Faithfulness is part of the very nature of God. 1 Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful." God is unwavering, devoted, and as Numbers 23:19 tells us, He does not change. If His Spirit is in us, then we should reflect this part of his nature.

Think about this regarding your family, your work, your church. Can you be counted on to keep your word, to always arrive on time, can you be counted on to follow through on your responsibilities. Psalm 15:4 tells us that a man (woman) of God keeps his word even if it hurts. Now that's being faithful.

Please consider this, as a pastor, I know one of our greatest struggles in our church is getting volunteers. Every church depends upon volunteers to minister effectively to the people. Every job in every church is important for touching someone's life. Wherever you attend church, ask those in charge of, children's church, nursery, worship, av, and even your pastoral leadership where they need help.  You have a gift, and as God has been faithful to you, he expects you to be faithful to Him!