God Is Faithful
By Mike Rule

God continues to be faithful, even when I am faithful in so little. As He moves and works I am continually amazed at His faithfulness. Yet, somehow I still think if I just said the right prayer, read the right scripture, or did the right devotional, I could have a deeper level of intimacy with Him. I believe that if I preached the right sermon, taught the right lesson, set the right example, or were totally tuned in to Him I could make a difference. We all are guilty of that to some degree. It creeps in subtly and is all based upon what we are doing. It is self-righteousness. We all want to believe that self-righteous people are "those others"... whoever "they" are. One day I looked in the mirror and recognized that the face staring back at me was the most hypocritical, self-righteous person on the face of the earth.

I have been very guilty of telling people what they must do for God and have spent so little time telling people what He has done and is doing for them! Phrases like, "Get close," "Get Right," "Do this," or "Do that" come to my lips so easily. I have often said, "If you do the right thing, you can have a closer relationship with Him." What goes unsaid is: "...like me!"

Christians don't have to "get right" with God; we are right! We belong to Christ and God the Father accepts us because of Him. If I preach that the Christian needs to get right, I am telling them to be self-righteous! We are to encourage that no matter what they do, they still are right in His sight! The challenge is no longer overcoming sin, but allowing Christ to become the focal center of life. He will do the thing that I cannot do. The conviction of the Spirit goes much further than any outward manipulation I can ever hope to bring on a person. When we understand that we are right because of Christ - no matter what we do - then we see Jesus in us motivating us to live in a way that is pleasing to the Father. God's word is no longer a "to do" list, but a gauge to reveal where we are in the process of being conformed into the image of His son. When we see or lives being conformed into His likeness, it is a revelation of what He is doing. As Hannah Smith said in her book The Christians Secret of a Happy Life, "Our part is to trust, His part is to do the work." God is faithful!