It means the breaking the husk of my individual independence of God, and the emancipating of my personality into oneness with Himself, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Jesus.
Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ - For My sake.
Never water down the word of God, preach it in its undiluted sternness; there must be unflinching loyalty to the word of God; but when you come to personal dealing with your fellow men, remember who you are - not a special being made up in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
Christian Growth
The Lord Jesus does not give the charge, “Be a shepherd to My lambs … to My sheep,” on hearing Peter’s self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty.
to My sheep,' on hearing Peter's self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty, but He gives it after he has utterly failed to keep his vows, and has wept bitterly in the streets of Jerusalem. -J.C.M.
Supreme Test
What is the supreme test in the life of a believer? What does God desire of each one of us? Loyalty : Faithfulness.
Loyalty to God and loyalty to His children.
Not loyalty when the going is good or because it suits for the time being, but faithful, devoted, steadfast loyalty right up to the very moment of death.
Joab stood a great test of loyalty and shunned the worldly promises in many areas.
Faith and Loyalty
“Watch : Stand fast in the faith : Be brave : Be strong.” It takes faith to wait and trust. It takes loyalty to trust to the end.
Why Our Lord is apparently so severe regarding every human relationship is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to Himself will end in disaster.
Altered Attitudes
We live in a world where men forget us and alter their attitudes towards us. Affections are transferred as more ‘interesting’ company is courted. Friends we consider so stable forget loyalty as private interest dictates. Oh yes, change and decay in all around I see..
Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of Redemption wrought in me by the Holy Ghost Who sheds abroad the love of God in my heart, and that love works efficaciously through me in contact with everyone I meet.
The loyalty of a missionary is to keep his soul concentratedly open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to maintain this friendship and loyalty to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful of our moral and vital relationship to Him than of any other thing, even of obedience.
Servant of God
As God’s children, servants and bond-slaves we should commit to loyalty of service. This service should be without reserve, without restraints and without regret.
These saints remained constant in their love and loyalty towards the Lord, and were those who were maturing in the faith, growing in grace and aware of their privileged position in Him.
How gracious it was of Jesus to single out the blustery self-confident Peter, who had just proclaimed his undying loyalty to his Lord and yet he was soon to face the greatest sorrow of his entire life - when he deserted His Lord and denied the Lord he loved, three times.
Loyalty in friendship is a grace that becomes all the more precious when despite intensifying hardships a friend is there to comfort and help... and the scriptures remind us never to abandon a friend - nor even to forsake the friends of your father or mother.
Wise counsel and spiritual encouragement is the calling-card of the friend that loves at all times and loyalty, sensitivity and a genuine interest in the other are the qualities of the brother that travels through adversity with us.
Conflict of interest enters-in when there are two opposing loyalties - and the inevitable result is that greater allegiance, love, loyalty and devotion is given to one party, which takes far greater precedence over the other..
The Bible advises virtuous living and prudent planning for we read those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness, and, plans are made by seeking wise and godly advice from others.
The characteristics that the natural man so values are things like intellect, wealth, position, power and success, but the attributes that God looks for in His servants is faithfulness to the cause of the gospel, fidelity towards the Lord Jesus, loyalty and devotion to those they serve and steadfastness in the work, with which we have been entrusted.
In the former we are instructed that in order to have friends, we need show friendship towards other people, while in the latter we are informed that having a lot of fair-weather friends can make us vulnerable, because their loyalty towards us may fluctuate with feelings or change with circumstances, and we would be wise to heed the sound advice contained in each of these translations of the text of Scripture, and apply them to our own lives and the friendship choices we make.
But all translations agree that there is a friend that sticks closer that a brother - there is a friend who displays such loyalty towards us that no matter what we say or do they will remain loyal to us.
Solomon gives specific warning against the oily allurement of the prostitute or adulteress, and delineates the enormous price of infidelity, while commending the delights of monogamous matrimony and loving loyalty between a husband and his wife - who pledge to love, honour, respect and cherish one another - until death separates this God-ordained union.
Job was unaware of the heavenly wager that had been allowed in heaven, and that Satan, that crooked serpent who deceived Eve and caused Adam to bring death and disease upon his fallen race... was being permitted to test Job's loyalty to the Lord God, by robbing this unsuspecting man of all that he had - whilst sparing his life.
For centuries, they were challenged to turn from their evil deeds and to give God their complete loyalty and obedience. The whole nation was called to repent of their sin and behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world..
This passage gives important instruction to believers on the responsibilities we have within our marriages, the unequalled intimacy that exists in a marriage relationship, and the higher loyalty that is expected of every married couple.
Removing their Hebrew names, which honoured the Lord their God, was designed to disconnect their memory, and loyalty, from their former belief system, and replaced them with names that honoured different Babylonian deities.
The result of Satan's dialogue with the Lord, and his accusations against Job, was that the Lord permitted the devil to test Job's loyalty and his faith in the Lord God of Creation, Whom he served with reverent fear.
