E36 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - Faith-fulness
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #36
Title: Faith-fulness
Date: January 10, 2022
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s):
Galatians 5:22 – ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…’ In the KJV the word is faith and is defined in part as fidelity. As fidelity faith is certainly faithfulness, but the word faith carries more of the quality that I believe GOD appreciates, and more so – that which He requires of us.
Luke 7:50 – ‘Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."’
Rom 5:1 – ‘Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…’
Faith - from G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
A primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty): - agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) content, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.
Intro: If my count was correct the word faith is mentioned 34 times in the book of Romans, alone. It is mentioned 229 according to a word count in the e-sword Bible program.
Going back to the definition once more faith on our part is more than faithfulness. While we are to have faithfulness to GOD and to our beliefs, faith accomplishes far more.
Devotion focus: GOD requires faith in Himself and His Word.
If you keep in mind the Fruit of the Spirit is GOD’s nature and that faith is listed as 1 of the 9 aspects of GOD’s nature, this will help bring faith into clear understanding of what it is in practice.
· Faith in GOD is more than an intellectual agreement that GOD exists. If I had a terminal illness I can believe/have faith that medicine exists to save me. That belief doesn’t do me any good if I stop there. I must place my faith in the power of that medicine to save me by taking it and applying it.
In a spiritual way, I have a terminal illness that is killing my body. It is called sin and we’re all dying from the effects of sin. Like a virus and no one escapes.
GOD provided a cure for this virus. It is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for sin. If I believe this and apply this cure to my life by faith, then and only then do I live, not only eternally – we all have eternal life lived in either Heaven or Hell, but I live spiritually connected to the very life of GOD.
Placing faith in Jesus’s death on the cross as the complete and only payment for sin accepted by GOD saves my life from eternal death. At the moment I pray confessing I am a sinner under the curse of death and ask Jesus to save me, my spirit is born, my name is written in the Book of Life in Heaven, and my destiny is changed from eternal hell to eternal Heaven.
Beyond saving faith, we need faith to accomplish our work for GOD with lasting effects. The following account helps with understanding this principle, although I am not advocating trying to cast out demons. Not without knowing what you are doing. And since I don’t know how or I lack sufficient faith I can’t help anyone with demon possession, either.
In Matthew 17:17, Mark 9:19, and Luke 9:41 is the account of Jesus’s disciples failing to cast out a demon.
In Matthew 17:17 – ‘Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me."
Mark 9:19 – ‘He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
Luke 9:41 – ‘Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here."
This event happened as Jesus descended from the mountain after being transfigured. While Jesus was on the mountain the father of a young boy brought his demon-possessed son to have the demon cast out.
Apparently, Jesus’s reputation of having power over the demonic realm reached the father and he headed out to find Jesus. But Jesus at the time was up on the mountain and so the disciples tried but failed to cast out the demon.
Of course Jesus when Jesus hears the account, He commands the demon to come out of the boy. Before it leaves the demon throws the boy to the ground, then leaves.
When the disciples asked later why they couldn’t cast out the demon Jesus tells them because of their unbelief, their lack of faith.
· Now, faith as faithfulness is also desirable to GOD.
So let me ask you: do you want the people in your life to be faithful to you? Are you faithful to them?
How can we recognize faithfulness in ourselves or others?
In others, I want to know they will stand by me regardless of my circumstances, regardless of my social standing, regardless of my financial status.
When I’m in trouble I need family and friends to remain faithful to the love and duty of their positions in relationship to me.
This begs the question ‘Am I faithful to them?’ Will I stand by them regardless of the cost?
There was a pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in Germany during the years leading up to WWII. He was faithful to the Gospel message and spoke out against the crimes committed by his nation at the time.
Even though threatened with arrest, not only his arrest but also his family’s, Dietrich refused to back down. His faith in GOD was strong enough that he remained faithful even after being arrested and put in a concentration camp.
While imprisoned Bonhoeffer served his fellow prisoners, preaching, teaching, encouraging, and comforting them. His faithfulness to living as Christ lived earned the respect of the guards. When he was executed during the last days of the war, he went to his death with calm courage, faithful to the end.
So what about you? Will you tell about a time you were faithful and stood by your family or your friend? You can email me at info@hopesharbor.net if you want to. I’ll keep the story to myself. And why do I ask this? Because hearing of others being faithful is encouraging and inspiring.
Summary: In countries around the world today Christians are being beaten, imprisoned, and killed for their beliefs. These have faith and remain faithful to what they claim to believe.
If you want to read about Christian martyrs of the past, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is an excellent source to help with making a determination of whether to have faith and stand by it.
Action to consider: Here’s a verse to ponder: Luke 18:8 – “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
One other consideration is to read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs – it is available at:
ps… One other book to read if you want to: The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Next week’s devotion: Gentleness – Is it a weakness?