When I googled that question, I saw that Wikihow told me 5 steps on how to be a faithful Christian: read the Bible, pray, ask myself in the situations of life what Jesus would do, avoid temptation and tempting situations, and go to church. That's not such a bad list.
Promise Seed Ministries had some interesting thoughts on faithfulness as well. This site had some Bible verses referred to as the author made his points:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 - These verses talk about giving dignity to your body and avoiding sexual sin. They also talk about caring for the concerns of other people.
1 Thessalonians 5:23- This verse talks about how it is God who will make us blameless.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 - This is the verses where we are reminded that our bodies are God's temple and that He lives in us,
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 - In these verses we are being urged to purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit. We're urged to separate ourselves from evil things and told to not be yoked with unbelievers.
2 Timothy 2:14-21- These verses talk about how we need to turn away from evil so we can be more useful to God. We are to do our best to present ourselves to God as people who are able to utilize His Word and do His work.
The writer over at Promise Seeds put it this way:
"The characteristic of faithfulness is an outgrowth of walking in the experience of this separation. Moreover, faithfulness concerns maturing in our relationship with God. The presence of the Lord produces the state of being called sainthood. Nonetheless each saint must learn to live as a reliable, dependable follower of Christ Jesus."
There's always this balance between having a relationship with God and Him working these desired qualities into our character, and doing what we need to do to grow in these character qualities.
So what do I, today, believe God is telling me to do as a response to these verses and thoughts?
- Continue spending time each morning in His Word
- Be faithful to continue in this study in Ephesians
- Talk with God more, grow this relationship. Specifically: * During my work day make a time for a meal break and spend a bit of time reflecting on the day so far, talking with God about it. * Spend some times in the evenings praying for each of my sons, my DOR, and my trust account receptionist. Maybe even write out some of these prayers.
