The Simplicity of Faithfulness
“Come near to Me, listen to this:
(The Book of Isaiah 48: 16-17a NASB)
From the first I have not spoken in secret,
For the time it took place, I was there.
And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,”
When—
- We offer ourselves, our whole selves & the entirety of our lives to God as a living sacrifice—
- Our faith grows & matures as the LORD leads—
- We surrender ourselves daily—
Then our FAITH grows.
It really IS that simple!
The 2024 Summer Olympics closed last night. I watched as the IOC president extinguished the Olympic flame. Every night after a day of work, my husband and I would share time together watching the Olympics. We enjoyed watching:
- Gymnastics
- Track & Field
- Swimming & Diving
In reality, we could have watched even more, but we only have so much viewing time each evening. Also true is that we could have turned the television channel, choosing to watch other broadcasts, choosing to stay completely segregated from the athletes straining toward the prize of a GOLD—SILVER—or BRONZE medal.
Now, today, the 2024 Summer Olympics are complete.
- I saw the final medal count.
- I remembered the way the athletes performed.
- I saw the photos taken of the many competitions.
- I saw the procession of the athletes from the participating countries during the closing ceremony.
- I saw the Olympic flag with its significant five rings taken from France and brought to America, to the place where the next Summer Olympics will occur in 2028.
& then in a quite sad moment—
- I watched as the Olympic flame was extinguished.
Today, I am compelled to compare—
The Christian’s life lived in faithfulness to the LORD who gave Himself to redeem those who believe in Jesus.
&
The Christian who has been saved but who does NOT study God’s Word, who does NOT walk in boldness sharing his testimony & who does NOT serve others as Jesus commanded.
The LORD’S prophet Isaiah was sent to the children of Israel, to proclaim the TRUTH of GOD. In reading, in seeing Isaiah’s faithfulness, we also see the TRUTH—the way God’s children disobeyed the LORD’S commands.
“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
(The Book of Isaiah 48: 17-19 NASB)
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Your descendants would have been like the sand,
And your offspring like its grains;
Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”
The Simplicity of Faithfulness really IS quite simple!
- When a person first believes in Jesus, that He died upon the cross for our sins, that He was buried and arose again, & that He ascended back to heaven and reigns on high—
- The LORD ‘plants’ HIS seed of salvation within that person.
- Then, as the seed takes root, it begins to grow.
- Over time & as the person follows Christ Jesus, the root grows deeper, continually securing the person to God.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians living in Rome, he writes to remind them of the ‘living sacrifice’ they are to be for Jesus in the world.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 12: 2 NASB)
- Unlike the Summer Olympic flame, the Christians eternal flame has NOT been extinguished, for we shine the light of Christ into the world.
- Unlike the Summer Olympic medals that have all been received, the Christians “strain toward the prize that only God gives.”
Truly, the Simplicity of Faithfulness really IS quite simple!
- Love GOD more than self.
- Love GOD more than earthly ambition.
- Love GOD more than our earthly life.
- Love GOD so much that HIS love compels us to tell the world about JESUS.
- Love GOD & take HIS Gospel message into the world.
“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
(The Book of Isaiah 48: 17 NASB)
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.”