 What is a faithful person? Faithfulness is revealed in three dimensions: Loyalty, Submission, and Constancy. First, loyalty doesn’t mean we always agree in every issue, but it does mean we share a common goal that we are working toward. It is a dimension of a truly faithful person. Many times, the favor of God is released upon our lives when we are loyal. Secondly, a faithful person will be submissive to authority. It has a lot to do about coming under a common mission. And there is power in the unity that submission produces. A faithful person willingly submits to those in authority over him so the mission can be accomplished. And finally, a faithful person is constant in attitude, actions, words, conduct, and integrity. This gives security, stability, and peace to those around us. Trust, definitely is built because of constancy. The more predictable a person is, because of constancy, the more stable and trustworthy his character is. It is great to know that our God is faithful and it is so important for God’s children to mirror Him. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 to teach what he had learned to other faithful men who, in turn, would find other faithful men to teach. It is now time to be busy being faithful!! Love you!!
 It takes a long time to fill a glass with drops of water. Even when the glass seems full, it can still take one, two, three, four, or five more additional drops. But if you will keep at it, there is at last that one drop that makes the glass overflow. The same analogy can apply to deeds of kindness. In a series of kindnesses there is at last one that makes the heart run over.
Kindness has its own law: “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:27). A person guided by the law of kindness will speak encouragingly. He will have a bright attitude. He will smile a lot. He will put out positive vibes. I have found, personally, that one of the most difficult things to give away is kindness, for it, like a boomerang, returns. Yeah, I know there are people all around us who are like a raging bull and no matter how they are treated will snort. But the general consensus is if we give kindness away it will come back to us. The law of kindness declares: “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). A friendly person is kind and does not have a problem treating people with respect. A kind person is delightful, considerate, honest, and a joy to be with. “You can accomplish by kindness,” wrote Publius Syrus, “what you cannot by force.” William B. McKinley, President of the United States from 1897-1901, was a man who understood this principle. During one of his campaigns, a reporter from an opposition newspaper followed him constantly and just as persistently misrepresented McKinley’s views. Eventually, during the campaign, the weather became extremely cold and even though the reporter didn’t have sufficiently warm clothing, he still followed McKinley. One bitter cold evening, the president-to-be was riding in his closed carriage and the young reporter sat shivering on the driver’s seat outside. McKinley stopped the carriage and invited the reporter to put on his coat and ride with him inside the warm carriage. The young man, astonished, protested that McKinley knew that he was opposition and that he wasn’t going to stop opposing McKinley during the campaign. He knew that, but was not out to seek revenge. In the remaining days of the campaign the reporter continued to oppose McKinley but never again did he write anything unfair or biased about the future president. God’s law says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21). So in essence, a sharp and piercing tongue can kill a person’s spirit, where a kind tongue will give hope and encouragement. I would have to say that a kind tongue will never be wrong and a toxic tongue will always be deadly. So, may your tongue be always oozing with sweet kindness. Just think of all the awesome results that will be produced just by having a sweet and kind tongue.  The Civil War had just ended and the opportunistic scalawags were busy oppressing their fellow Southerners. A hot-blooded contingency of die-hard former rebels gained an audience with President Lincoln. His gentle and friendly manner soon thawed the ice and the Southerners left with a new respect for their old foe. A northern congressman approached the president and criticized him for “befriending the enemy” suggesting that instead of befriending them he should have had them shot for the traitors they were. Lincoln smiled and replied: “Am I not destroying my enemies by making them my friends?”
Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatsoever a person wants, but freedom is the ability to do what is right when pressured to do wrong. By making our enemy our friend we show the strength to take control of a tense situation. I like what King Solomon said: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). When we are able to control our attitude and emotions we are stronger than our enemy. We are free from guilt and anger. This is total freedom. While still a young boy a certain Christian formed the habit of praying beside his bed before he went to sleep. Later when he joined the army he kept up the practice. He became the object of mockery and ridicule in the barracks. One night as he knelt to pray after a long weary march, one of his tormentors took off his muddy boots and threw them at him, one at a time, hitting him on each side of his head. The Christian said nothing, took the persecutor’s boots, put them beside the bed and continued to pray. The next morning when the other soldier woke up he found his polished and shined boots beside his bed. It so affected him that he asked for forgiveness and after a short time he became a Christian. The Christian young man was free to react but he chose to do what was right and his enemy became his friend. He remained free. He proved to be stronger than his enemy. Take a look at Jesus Christ. He was totally free even when surrounded by His enemies. And He had a lot of them. They were constantly trying to get at Him hoping to get some kind of reaction, but He never fell prey to their twisted schemes. He stayed in control. He could not be manipulated. He lived by His own creed: “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The reason being, we keep the control. We have peace. We remain free and happy and whole. Our enemy can’t get a handle on us and this can be very frustrating for him. He can’t manipulate our emotions which puts him to shame. If we can control our emotions and our tongue we are the strong one, and even better, by doing something good for our enemy he might just become our best friend. J. C. is pastor of Joy Christian Ministries W. Sac. |
Pastor J.C. Myers, III
Pastor J.C. founded Joy Christian Ministries in 1992. He was Sr. Pastor at Joy Christian Ministries in West Sacramento, California from 1992-2016. He was succeeded by his 2nd son, Pastor Brandon Myers who had been under his father's ministry and teaching for 39 years. Archives
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Joy Church is a Jesus loving, Spirit filled, non-denominational, Christian church in West Sacramento, California. We exist to 'Lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.' We are a church that honors the Holy Spirit, a church that wins souls, a church that makes no apologies and feels no guilt for believing the Bible, and a church that is a blessing to your family and to this nation.
Joy Church is a Jesus loving, Spirit filled, non-denominational, Christian church in West Sacramento, California. We exist to 'Lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.' We are a church that honors the Holy Spirit, a church that wins souls, a church that makes no apologies and feels no guilt for believing the Bible, and a church that is a blessing to your family and to this nation.
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825 Sunset Ave. West Sacramento, CA 95605
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