“Always Faithful.” The touchstone of the Marines. Have you noticed most Marines will even have “Semper Fi” as their last words to each other?
Webster defines touchstone as “a fundamental or quintessential part or feature.” Synonyms listed in Roget’s Thesaurus are “standard, gauge, yardstick.”
To me, if there is one attribute or characteristic of God which stands head and shoulders above the others it is this one: His Faithfulness. I’m not a hymn person but there are two which still speak volumes to me. One is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, especially at Communion time; and the other is Great is Thy Faithfulness (I even “put up with” the King James English). 🙂 The latter hymn finds its basis in Lamentations 3:22-24. The faithfulness of God is a touchstone, a cornerstone, upon which our faith is built. If God is not faithful, then what we are doing is a waste of time. If I can expect Him to dump me at first glitch, then I’m in deep trouble.
The ancient patriarchs- Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Noah, and others-all expected God to keep His promises, especially the one of His Faithfulness to them. No matter the circumstance, God was faithful.
My Sunday message is on the fruit of the Spirit: faithfulness. In my next post I plan to show the traits of faithfulness as found in the life of Daniel. Until then, I’d appreciate your prayers.
I will be praying for you tomorrow morning in my devotionals. As for the fruit of the Spirit, I have always been kind of worried that I rarely sense those as listed in Galatians 5:22. It worries me that if I cannot mark myself by these qualities any more than I could before I became a Christian, then something is wrong. Either God exists and he does not know me or God does not exist or I am misunderstanding what Galatians 5:22 is trying to say.
I wouldn’t worry about it Daniel. I know plenty of people that have those things and are not Christian. It’s just an old saying that doesn’t really mean anything.
I think they are qualities which manifest themselves in different ways, especially as we become closer to Jesus and allow the Spirit to work. I would disagree with Jeff in that the fruit of the Spirit as seen in Galatians is much more than man-made. It is from the Spirit’s influence within us.
The fruit of the Spirit. What I have come to reize is that I have the fruit, now I need to use it.
True.
So thankful that even when we are faithless, He remains faithful! Great reflection and reminder, Bill. Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.
If He isn’t faithful then we are wasting our time. Thanks Jason. Hope you had a great weekend also.
HI Bill! You are in my prayers my friend. What a beautiful touchstone it is to be faithful. That’s to be like God, as He is faithful! And so are you…
Sunday blessings,
Ceil
Thanks for the prayers Ceil. I definitely “felt” His presence today- during the worship (singing, communion, offering) and even during the sermon. 🙂