A question came up to me this morning if I could stand the test of integrity after I had read Everyday Light by Selwyn Hughes. The question brought many instances in which I failed this test. One made me lose a very good friend and no matter what I say or do, that friend may never trust me. But I confessed to the friend and to the Lord and was forgiven. My friend, can you pass this test of integrity? One of the greatest Kings in the Bible failed this test but he cofessed and repented and God forgave him. His confession is recorded in Psalms 51. I now cut and paste todays readi8ng for you to read and reflect: The ultimate test of character Psalms 51 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ... (v.6) We examine now the seventh fruit of the Spirit -- faithfulness or fidelity. Faithfulness (Greek: pistis) is the quality of reliability or trust-worthiness which makes a person someone on whom we can utterly rely and whose word we can utterly accept. It has been said that the ultimate test of a persons character is: Are there any circumstances in which that person will lie? If so, then that persons character is blemished. I know a Christian worker who puts in hours of service and who would work his fingers to the bone for anyone in need but, sadly, he cannot always speak the truth. That basic falsity cancels out much of the value of his accomplishments. In a Third World country, where the leaders of churches are obliged to declare their property on their tax returns, one church owned a valuable gold cross. So that they would not have to pay so much tax, they decided to devalue the cross on their tax return and place its value at only a fraction of its real worth. One day the cross was stolen and cut up into small pieces. When the pieces were eventually recovered by the police, the church leaders went to court to prove they belonged to them. The judge called for a valuation of the gold and when told it was of very high value, he judged that the cross did not belong to the church as the stolen cross was of much higher value than the one listed on the churchs tax return. So the gold was confiscated by the police. Those church leaders lost not only a cross -- they lost their character. youtube/watch?v=rwLl5nY5WPI&list=RDO6k8DFb8fWs&index=14 Prayer: Father, impress upon me that not only do You desire truth in my inner parts but You have designed my being to function on truth. Unless I live in the truth and by the truth, I violate the structure of my being. Help me, dear Lord. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 01:22:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015