God’s Faithfulness
“If some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar” Romans 2:3-4a csb
In the past, a person's word meant something. A handshake could seal a deal. But over time, that trust has faded. Now, we rely on contracts, lawyers, and courts to hold people accountable. Why? Because men are liars—every one of us. God's Word makes it clear: we are not improving but growing worse. We break our word, go back on promises, and prove ourselves unfaithful.
But Numbers 23:19 reminds us: “God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?”
Unlike us, when God makes a promise, He keeps it. When He declares something, He will bring it to pass. Even in our unfaithfulness, God remains faithful. Why? Because, as Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” Faithfulness is part of His very nature.
What a faithful God we serve! What peace it brings to know that when I fail, God doesn’t abandon me. When I sin, He forgives me.
The flesh and the devil will try to convince me otherwise—that God hasn’t forgiven me, that He won’t receive me, that He has abandoned me because of my failures. But that’s a lie. God’s Word declares He will never forsake me. His promises can be trusted because He is faithful—always.
Agape, Frank
Putting Sin Out Of Business
“Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. You see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.”
Acts 19:25b-26 csb
The U.S. president under whom the most businesses closed during their term is a debated topic, but one strong contender Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) due to the Great Depression.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 triggered massive economic turmoil.
Between 1929 and 1933, nearly half of U.S. banks failed, and thousands of businesses collapsed. Unemployment skyrocketed to 25%, and the GDP shrank by over 30%—a devastating loss.
Another major contender is George W. Bush (2001–2009) during the 2008 financial crisis. Millions of businesses, both small and large, struggled or shut down for good. (I still miss Borders bookstores!) But if you asked the business owners in Ephesus, they might put the Apostle Paul right up there with Hoover and Bush!
As Paul traveled on his missionary journey through Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), there was an explosion of growth—not in the economy, but in the Kingdom of God. Lives were transformed, churches were booming, and as a direct result, businesses were closing. But these weren’t just your run-of-the-mill grocers, blacksmiths, tailors, or cobblers. These were idol shops. In Asia Minor, for the right price, you could have a custom-made god to proudly display in your home. But as men and women encountered Jesus Christ through the Gospel, they abandoned idolatry, and the shopkeepers of these grotesque idol-making businesses went belly up!
That’s what happens when the Gospel enters a life—sin goes out of business. Light exposes the darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it (John 1:5). God is still in the business of putting your sin out of business. There is no struggle too great, no sin too big that Jesus Christ cannot overcome. When the Word goes in, sin comes out, because a new tenant has taken up residence in our hearts—the Holy Spirit. But sin tries to linger, always looking for an illegal entry into our lives, seeking to make a deal to compromise with you. The way to keep it out? Bankrupt it.
Don’t invest in its desires, and you’ll find that sin cannot stay active in your life—just like the idol shopkeepers in Ephesus, your sin will be bankrupt. Galatians 5:16 (CSB)
"I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Invest in the Spirit and the flesh will close shop!
Agape, Frank