Do You Have Loyalty in the Duffel Bag of Your Character?

Paul L. Staack

Description

This book is a mirror that reflects a life of loyalty. Its purpose is to remove the virtue of loyalty from the endangered species list.

Loyalty is a character trait that should be indigenous to the church. Yet the atmosphere of loyalty is becoming “rare air” in this world. There are many in the church who practice “bandwagon loyalty.” They are following the fashionable trends and the latest fads of Christianity. In this book, you will see loyalty put on display. It has been written with the hope that you will add loyalty to the contents of your character. There are many who speak the vocabulary of loyalty. There are few who function in the vocation of loyalty. This book exposes the current trend of the “free agent” mentality and the “grass is greener syndrome.”

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Loyalty

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 06 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664269040
• Langue: English

Extrait

Do You Have Loyalty in the Duffel Bag of Your Character ?
 
 
[REVELATORS]
 

 
PAUL L. STAACK
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Paul L. Staack.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6903-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6905-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6904-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022911074
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 6/21/2022
 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
 
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.
 
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
 
Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission.
 
Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture is taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.
 
Scripture quotations marked (Wuest) are taken from The New Testament: An Expanded Translation, copyright ©1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
 
 
 
 
Other books by Paul L. Staack
Available through paullstaackbooks.com
Pillars: The Invisible Support Team of the Local Ch urch
( Local Church Series)
Rejected: But Not Reje cted
( Books for the Human Race )
“Do This in Remembrance o f Me”:
One-Year Communion Devoti onal
( Paul’s Devotio nals )
 
I dedicate this book to my dear friend Jay Hesby. Jay is one of the original members of our church, and he is still here after forty-five years. Through the years, he has dished out words of encouragement to me when it seemed as though my plate was clean and the cupboards bare. He had a witness about my calling when others overlooked me. He is my partner in prayer and my friend. It is only fitting that I dedicate a book about loyalty to Jay. He has been a prime specimen of the trait of loyalty—a character trait that seems to be on the endangered species list in this world. So Jay, my friend, I dedicate this to you. I trust that it will represent the quality that you have modeled for me since May 1980.
CONTENTS
Preface: Revelators
Introduction
Chapter 1 What Is Loyalty?
Chapter 2 Loyalty to God First
Chapter 3 What Does God Consider Good?
Chapter 4 Loyalty: A Hand-Under-Thigh Relationship
Chapter 5 Loyalty as Displayed by David and His Men
Chapter 6 The Behavior of Loyalty
Chapter 7 The Loyalty Clinic
PREFACE REVELATORS

On January 2, 2008, we conducted a Wednesday night service at church. At the end of the service, we prayed for everyone in attendance. We do this at the beginning of the New Year to set good things in motion for the coming year and to acknowledge that our year will be lived in vain without God’s involvement.
My pastor prayed for me that night. He didn’t pray or say much. However, there was one thing he did say that was branded into my consciousness. He referred to me as a “revelator.” This term has been brought back to my remembrance as I prepare to write this book. You are holding in your hands, one book in a series of expeditious adventures called Revelators. An expedition is a voyage or a journey. An expedition is also characterized by promptness and efficiency. These thoughts are built into the vision for this series of books.
Revelators will be an intense but condensed study of one of life’s subjects. Each book will lift a vein of thought from the Word of God to draw the life of God from that vein to administer a transfusion of truth to every reader.
My pastor also said that there would be light associated with my assignment as a revelator. I trust that God will use these books to illuminate your way.
By Your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. (Psalm 119:105 MSG)
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines revelator as “one that reveals—especially: one who reveals the will of God.” My prayer for you as you read this book is that you will be filled with a clear knowledge of His will along with wisdom and discernment according to Colossians 1:9–10.
My goal for each book in the Revelators series is to reveal God’s point of view to elevate you to see the path of your life more clearly and accurately. The truth that you know will make you free.
INTRODUCTION
This book is set against the backdrop of the trenches of war. Soldiers carried duffel bags that contained all the essentials they needed for life in the field of battle. In fact, a duffel bag is used for transporting personal belongings.
Trenches were bases of operation for the military engaged in the heat of battle. A trench is a long, narrow excavation used for military defense. Those who reside in the trenches experience the sights, the sounds, the agonies, and the suffering of warfare. Those who fight from the trenches do so with this solace: There are soldiers fighting next to them in the same battle. There is strength and courage to be derived from people working and fighting together against a common enemy. Soldiers in the trenches should be dependable people surrounded by dependable people.
Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 NKJV)
Companions are people who are knit together. The church is also comprised of soldiers who are knit together. We are engaged in the ultimate war with an invisible and wily enemy. We are in the trenches with each other, and we derive courage and comfort from the support and camaraderie of men and women on either side. Camaraderie means that we share the same sleeping quarters . In other words, we are in this together. We share a life in common with fellow believers, and we should all be willing to lay down our lives for each other. We should be in the trenches with people who have our backs.
Sadly, there are more duffel bags than soldiers in the trenches. There are duffel bags with no corresponding soldiers because men and women have deserted the trenches and left their duffel bags behind. What is the explanation for this condition? The answer lies in the contents of the duffel bags of the missing soldiers. If you turn the duffel bag of a missing soldier upside down, shake out its contents on the ground of that trench, and scratch through those contents, your question will be answered. The mystery will be solved.
The soldier did not have loyalty in the duffel bag of his or her character.
Loyalty is a character trait that should be indigenous to the church. However, the atmosphere of loyalty is becoming rare air in the body of Christ. There are many who are deserting the trenches and leaving their duffel bags behind.
Those who are on the front lines of battle—the leaders and those who are elevated in rank in the church—are targets in this battle. The enemy has them on his radar.
Unfortunately, many are fighting with little support. Some soldiers who should have their backs have left their duffel bags in the trenches and defected to fire the artillery of the enemy. They probably don’t realize they are fighting with the enemy. However, if they are targeting the leaders with their words and their actions, they are, in essence, fighting in the infantry of the enemy.
This book is dedicated to the understanding of loyalty. I am writing this book to aid in the restoration of loyalty to the church. I want to teach you about loyalty with the