Daily Devotional for Friday January 18, 2008
Being Faithful
(Luke 19:17; Revelation 2:10; 1 Samuel 12:24, 26:23; 2 Chronicles 19:9; 1 Peter 4:10 )
Between the news, what happens in my life on any given day, the issues I read about in the lives of those we minister to, a "to do" folder with hundreds of Devotional topics and always 30-40 Devotionals that are in various stages of completion, I could continue to write the Daily Devotional every day as long as God gives me breath or until Jesus returns. However, today I want to share with you what is perhaps the most important thing a follower of Jesus Christ can do each day, and that is being faithful.
I had been serving the Lord full time for over 9 years before Liveprayer began. As I look back over these last 8+ years, without a doubt the most important lesson I have learned is to be faithful. Now, that may sound very basic to you, and it is. However, knowing to be faithful and BEING FAITHFUL are two different things. During those first 9 years I KNEW to be faithful and believe in my heart for the most part I was. These last 8+ years I HAVE been faithful, largely because it was the one thing that I had control over and was able to do. I have learned the hard lesson that if nothing else, no matter what life may throw at us, we can be faithful to the Lord.
This word today is perhaps one of the most profound things I will ever teach you so please, open your heart and receive this. It doesn't matter where you are in your journey with Christ, whether you got saved 5 minutes ago or you have been walking with the Lord for 80 years, whether you are still looking for some way to serve God or have been faithfully serving the Lord for many decades, this message is applicable and relevant to YOUR LIFE TODAY!
You see, every child of God, every person who has accepted Christ into their hearts and lives by faith, has the same general purpose of serving and glorifying God with their life. Everyone has been called to do that in different ways, but all of God's children have the same general purpose. We are here to serve Him and bring glory to His name through our daily lives. The greatest way we can accomplish that is by being faithful to whatever it is God has called us to do that day.
I get people asking me every day what great things they can do for God and I tell them that the greatest thing they can do for God is to be faithful to whatever it is God has called them to do that day. Nothing impresses God more than our faithfulness. We can talk about loving God, but we prove we love God by being faithful. As the old saying goes, "talk is cheap, actions speak louder than words." God is not interested in our words as much as He is in our ACTIONS!
Again, I believe in my heart that those first 9 years in the ministry I was being faithful, but during these past 8+ years I KNOW I have been faithful. Like most things, I learned how to be faithful by being in the fire. Prior to Liveprayer, I never owned a computer, never sent an email, and to be honest never wanted to either! I was one generation above the computer age and was very happy to not have that as part of my life. Looking back, it is no wonder why God called me into this ministry since anyone who knew about computers would have thought it was impossible to do what Liveprayer has done. In the natural it was, I was just too ignorant to know it at the time and allowed God to be glorified since we know NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH HIM!
I have kept fairly comprehensive notes on the 8+ years of Liveprayer. Other than God and my wife, nobody would ever believe what has happened or what goes on behind the scenes that people never see to make Liveprayer possible each and every day for so many lost and hurting people all over the world. I thought I had faith, but I didn't know what faith was until Liveprayer. I thought I was being faithful to God, but I learned how to really be faithful during these years of Liveprayer.
Between the technical challenges to do live-streaming video 24/7, something at the time and still today is really only done by the pornographers, sending out a few Daily Devotionals by email that is now over 2.4 million daily, the free LPeMail service, the daily hack attempts by people trying to shut Liveprayer down, and all that goes into keeping this massive technical system up and operational 24/7, to the ministry challenges of writing a theologically sound, interesting, challenging, and inspirational "word" every day that will minister to the reader, sending personal answers to over 40,000 incoming prayer requests daily, encouraging the lost to come to faith in Christ and those who know the Lord to live a committed life, doing a "live" TV program 5 nights a week and all that entails, to the never-ending challenges of raising the finances without falling into the traps, games, merchandising, and manipulation so many use to survive....Liveprayer has been and still is literally a 24/7 walk of faith so far above my ability to comprehend or control.
The one thing that I could understand and the one thing I could control was being faithful! That starts with getting up. Yes, I said getting up. How many days did I want to simply stay in bed, forget whatever the problems were and just sleep. Being faithful starts with something as basic as getting out of bed! I can't tell you how many days over these past 8+ years I have shown up at my office, put the key in the door, and prayed as I turned that key that God would give me the strength to do what I was I supposed to do that day and surrendered all the rest to Him. After that, it was simply a matter of being faithful and doing the things that I needed to get done that day.
I love you and care about you so much. I know many of you are struggling today with the problems of life. My word for you is to BE FAITHFUL. As you are faithful in being about the Father's business, He will be faithful in being about your business. God knows your hurts, and your pains, and your needs. He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. Be faithful in doing the things that you have been called to do and know that the Lord will take care of the rest. Don't allow the enemy to distract you and paralyze you over things you can't control, since that keeps you from doing the things that you can control.
I will be praying for you today. I will be praying for you and your family and the needs you have in your life today. However, I will be praying especially for you to hear this message today about being faithful. No matter what is going on in your life, the one thing that you CAN do, is be faithful. Be faithful to pray. Be faithful to trust the Lord for whatever your needs are. Be faithful to live your life in a way that is pleasing and acceptable to God. Be faithful to serve the Lord in whatever way you have been called to serve. God loves you so much and you can show how much you love Him by being faithful.
When your life is over and you stand before God, there is only one thing the child of God should desire to hear, and that is "well done thou good and FAITHFUL servant!"