Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

Faithfulness is doing what needs to be done. If an announcement was made from the
pulpit that the church lawn needed mowing, the faithful man would do it.
Recently, a pastor phoned one of his deacons at 1:00 A.M. to make a hospital call with
him. When asked why the pastor called him, he said, "Because I knew I could count on you." He
was faithful.
When the Bible gives a standard for choosing a deacon, it indicates their wives must be
"faithful in all things" (I Tim. 3:11). Before a man can be a deacon, his wife must attend Sunday
School, church and evening service. She must be there on Wednesday night, at visitation and go
on visitation. She must read her Bible, pray and live a godly life. She must be "faithful in all
things."
Faithfulness is a mental attitude that you will never give up. The French Foreign Legion
are supposed to have said:
"If I falter in battle, push me forward.
If I stumble in battle, pick me up.
If I faint in battle, revive me.
If I retreat from battle, shoot me."
A county boy was hired to work on the railroad. He was told, "Take this steel pole and go
by and hit each wheel on every train that comes into the station." He was looking for trouble
spots. For 37 years, he took his pole and hit every wheel of every train that came into the yard.
When he was retiring they asked if he knew what he was doing.
"No, sir, " he responded.
Asked why he did what he did not understand, he replied, "I don't know why I did it, I just
did what they told me."
While we might not admire his intelligence, we can applaud his faithfulness.
You might question why God allows some of His people to go through hard times.
Sometimes God is testing their faith to make it grow. Other times He is trying to find out if any
is there.
A farmer had trouble with tourists stealing sweet apples near the road. Even warning
signs couldn't keep them out of his orchard. Finally, he planted sour apples next to the road and
the sweet ones were left alone. The sweet life is in the center of God's will. When you first start
living for Christ, there'll be a few sour apples, but it's worth it to keep going.
4. Faithfulness must add wisdom to determination. Bullheaded determination will
not make you faithful. The man who butts his head against the wall usually gets bloody. You are