Calvin Miller
Fruit of the Spirit
faithfulness
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© 2008 Calvin Miller All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotation in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.
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Typesetting by Gregory C. Benoit Publishing, Old Mystic, CT G B Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked nasb are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®. © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked nkjv are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked tlb are taken from The Living Bible. © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4185-2842-3 Printed in the United States of America 08 09 10 11 12 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Day 1: God’s Blessing on Faithfulness Read Genesis 12:1–4a We don’t know much about Abram and Sarai when God called them to originate the Jewish nation. We only know they were old and that they came from Ur, a pagan society. Many suggest that they were moon worshipers serving celestial gods and goddesses. Then suddenly a previously unheard voice broke into their world. It was the voice of a God much mightier than the gods they worshiped—it was “the” God. This unknown God spoke to them and said, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). And with this brief summons, Abram and Sarai, old in years—some would say too old to make such a pilgrimage— had the audacity to obey God. Judaism was born in this simple way. At the time, few people recognized the significance of Abram and Sarai’s trip. Yet this is the way God works. He often alters history by starting with the smallest instructions. A baby in a stable or an old couple doddering out of the moon temples of the Tigris valley are just two examples of God’s unique methodology. In such ordinary things comes the roar of God. The quaking world is reborn in the name of people who obey the extraordinary claim God holds on their lives. In their faithfulness, God’s blessings swallow them whole.
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Have you ever heard a simple, seemingly unimportant whisper? Did it fail to make perfect sense? Listen! God waits to bless you. He longs to bless you. All you have to do is say, “Yes, Lord, I will!” Then act. Open your heart and follow with faithfulness. Be obedient in simple matters and the angels will come to attention.
Questions for Personal Reflection 1. Have you ever felt that you were hearing a whisper from God? What did he say to you?
2. When hearing what you believe to be God, how do you know for sure it is God? What keeps you from acting in faith in response to God’s calling?
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Day 2: The Purpose of God in My Life Read Deuteronomy 10:20–22 Moses reminded the Israelites that God took them into Egypt as a group of only seventy souls. Four hundred years later, Israel emerged as a nation. It is not uncommon for God’s promises to not be completely fulfilled in our lifetime. God made the promise of nationhood to Abram and Sarai in Genesis 12, and even at the end of Abraham’s life, Israel was still only a very small nation of three. But in a day long after his death, the nation numbered in the millions. Faithfulness always serves God’s purposes, but often the mills of God grind slowly. Many times we only see God’s enduring intentions in hindsight. Even as Abraham died, he could not measure the extent of the promise that grew from his faithfulness. That finished vision was perhaps a score of lifetimes away. Still the promises of God never sleep. Faithfulness instructs us how to live with purpose, but even better, we can pass it to our children until—as Abraham discovered—the world is blessed because of that simple discipline called obedience. Faithfulness is a gift anyone can give God, and he responds with a purpose for every morning’s sunrise. Then at last we are free. We live and have great reasons to live.
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Questions for Personal Reflection 1. Faith is passed from generation to generation. What has been your life teaching about God?
2. Faithfulness produces obedience. What are some things you can do to nurture faithfulness in your life?
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Day 3: My Relationship with Christ Read Matthew 24:9–13 We Christians in the West have gotten used to cheap grace. To be a Christian is often to become a part of a prosperous, comfortable, and safe community. Our church attendance hardly suffers a threat. But in this passage Jesus taught that we should be openly faithful even when our witness puts us in danger. Jesus was about to become a martyr himself; he knew his faith would require his own life, and this was also a possibility for all followers. So he called us to be faithful even when our faithfulness will be very costly: When we are to be handed over to be persecuted and put to death ... (Matthew 24:9). When we are hated by all people in all nations ... (v. 9). When all people fall away from the faith and betray and hate each other ... (v. 10). When many false prophets appear and deceive many ... (v. 11). In all of these circumstances we are to be faithful in our relationship with Christ. But notice the reward: “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (v. 13). Here Jesus used the usual New Testament word for “saved,” but not in reference to the normal state of salvation. This is
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salvation with a capitol “s.” It is that state of final being, face to face with Christ for eternity. The word saved sometimes refers to initially meeting Christ. Saved sometimes indicates an ongoing relationship with Christ. But this use refers to that unending union when we, who have longed to see him without even a cloud between us, are at last standing in Jesus’ presence forever. This salvation indeed is the plum of our faithfulness to be picked from the tree of our obedience.
Questions for Personal Reflection 1. How is your salvation affecting the way you live your daily life?
2. If you died today, where would you spend eternity? How do you know?
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Day 4: My Service to Others Read Matthew 25:31–40 At first glance, this passage in the book of Matthew appears to conflict with grace. Jesus discussed how faith in practice compels us to serve others. Grace is God’s free gift—no strings attached. But grace should call forth from us one grand response: service! You can’t earn salvation, but the parable suggests that those who know they are heaven-bound should be so delighted that they reply with obedient living. There was a sweet naiveté among the disciples. They seemed surprised at this wholehearted and overwhelming commendation. “When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” (Matthew 25:37–39). Jesus made it clear: ministry to any human needs writes the name of Jesus on the very forehead of the person we help. Being in Calcutta at the time of Mother Teresa’s death, I was among those westerners allowed to visit as she lay in state. I will never forget seeing her bare feet protrude from underneath the flag of India. Seeing the calloused feet of this tiny woman reminded me that for years she walked the ghettos of a dismal place and managed to turn some of Calcutta into a “city of joy.” I remember she taught that when anyone attended a dying parishioner, he attended the body of Christ himself.
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When we meet anyone vile and diseased, we shouldn’t think, Poor thing—how horrible. We must think, Jesus, I see you. I will help because you gave me a future in you, and in the meantime, no one will endure this human hell without my ministry.
Questions for Personal Reflection 1. What is your first response when you encounter someone in need?
2. What should be your reaction to the needy you encounter?
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Day 5: My Personal Worship Read Hebrews 11:8–12 Here the New Testament recorded Abraham’s final celebration of God’s reward for his faithfulness. How do sincere believers react when overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness? They worship. Abraham’s greatness wasn’t born from celebrating God only once his dreams came true. Abraham was great because he celebrated God before he saw those dreams fulfilled. Abraham first received God’s promise in Genesis 12. Time is quite compact in this passage—a scant five verses later he entered the land, and, “He built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him” (v. 7). Abraham built this altar at Bethel, which means “house of the Lord.” These words suggest that the altar would be a place to return to again and again as he trusted God’s faithfulness. It isn’t hard to worship God for the promises he has already fulfilled. It is a mark of real faith to worship while we wait for God’s promises. Hebrews 11 says Abraham worshiped while he looked for a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (v. 10). Have you learned the art of worshiping the Christ who has promised he will come? It hasn’t happened yet, but be faithful and worship him. Somewhere in time, all will be done exactly as he has said. He is the promise keeper. He saved you to worship him with no cloud against your confidence in his promises.
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Sing to your Lord each morning, “Jesus, if I do not see your promises fulfilled today, I will praise you while I wait for tomorrow.�
Questions for Personal Reflection 1. Is your faith response to God proactive in that you trust God before He does something? Why or why not?
2. How should the promises of God affect the way you live today?
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Day 6: Abraham—Unwavering Fidelity Read Genesis 15:1–6; 22:1–18 Faithfulness trusts when the final form of our circumstances cannot be seen. God promised Abraham that he would father a great nation. But Abraham was an old man whose wife was well past her childbearing years. The child God promised was to be born far from the land Abraham called home. Faithfulness meant Abraham was confident that all God promised would occur, even when his age and circumstances made it look impossible. Hebrews 11:8–19 lists nine qualities of Abraham’s life of faithfulness: 1. He followed God even though he did not know where God was leading (v. 8). Faith follows God through the mists of uncertain circumstances. 2. He lived in tents as a foreigner (v. 9). Being a foreigner is hard work, for it seeks a home among the unfamiliar. 3. He was looking for a city (v. 10), a kingdom that would rise silhouetted against an unborn horizon. Little did he know that the city would be called Zion, and his own children would build it in the generations to come. God’s greatest dreams are only owned by those who can see beyond the frail years of their lifetime.
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4. He counted on God’s promise that even as an old man he would become a father (v. 11). 5. Abraham considered God faithful (v. 11), one who did not make idle promises. 6. Abraham saw that God would be faithful in time beyond his own (v. 13). All that God said would come to pass. 7. Abraham longed for the coming of a wonderful kingdom (v. 16). Good people of faith believe that wonder—the glorious wonder of God—is on the way. 8. Abraham was so faithful that he did not refuse to give God his only beloved son when God asked him for the most precious thing in his life (v. 17). In this matter of faithfulness, Abraham approached the faithfulness of God who gave his only begotten Son to redeem the world. 9. Abraham’s faith was so great that he knew that even if he killed his own son at God’s request, God could raise him from the dead (v. 19). Faithfulness always sees that nothing is impossible for God. Abraham remains the Bible’s epitome of faithfulness, and from such faithfulness the Hebrew nation came to be.
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Questions for Personal Reflection 1. How does your faithfulness to God compare to that of Abraham?
2. What might happen in your life if you trusted God the way Abraham trusted him?
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Day 7: Group Discussion The following questions should take about forty-five minutes to answer and discuss. Each member should answer the first question, leaving the remaining questions open-ended. Everyone need not answer, but be sure all members participate. 1. Which of God’s promises are most meaningful or comforting to you?
2. What are some of the ways God speaks to us?
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3. In what areas of life do we need to be more faithful to God?
4. How is salvation a past, present, and future event?
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5. How can you become a person who puts faith into action?
6. What seemingly impossible situation do you trust God to overcome? What is the nature of your prayer regarding this matter?
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