Tag Archives: endurance

The Light of Christ

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This is a faithful saying:  For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.  If we endure, We shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him, He also will deny us.  If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.  NKJV 2 Timothy 2:11-14

Isn’t it great that no matter how well rested, prepared or talented I am I always eventually reach the limits of my own capacity to provide or execute?  If I were limitless in my own abilities I would never tap into the infinite authority, provision and endless strength of the Lord God.  Additionally, each time I do become empty, weary, negative or deflated, I am reminded not to reside in my own authority and resources.  I am also brought into immediately reflection regarding my motivations, whether self or God’s glory.  Again, God has designed his beloved in such a manner that we will naturally become dependent upon Him.  This brings me faith and peace, for even as I tire, I know that if I am pursuing His ends then He will “ALWAYS” provide the path and the means toward completion.  For thanks be the God, the world does not depend upon my righteousness, faith or endurance, but on that of the Rock of Ages.

So many people are tough on Peter for his failings and speaking blunders.  A lot of this was justified, but we owe to Peter’s failure the pain and reminder to never make that horrible mistake ourselves.  Peter’s thrice denial of Christ solidified the horror in our own hearts when confronted with our own disaffiliation.  Peter was passionate, and he may have been foolish, but he also went to his death, martyred for the name of God in Christ Jesus.  When next someone makes fun of Peter remind them of the faith he eventually demonstrated for the Lord.  The Lord warns us to be diligent and mindful less each of us fall when we think that we cannot.  Caution is fear tempered by wisdom.

I will endure because I want that more than anything, and I pray that God sustains me in the hour of my trial so that I remain a good steward of my blessings and challenges.  I will reign with Christ because that is what He promised, blessed to be an emissary of God.  I will endeavor to not be ashamed before God by reading, meditating, practicing and spreading the Righteous Word of Almighty God as He has commanded.  After all it is His authority, His life, His patience, His faithfulness, His truth and His sacrifice that governs my thinking and my actions.  Praise God at the top of my lungs to all in hearing’s distance.  Jesus is King of Kings.

The oil of gladness

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Let your heart be filled with overflowing joy, let fear dissolve, your countenance chastened and restored.  Have you had the grand opportunity to sit down and read the Word of God.  Not just studying it or using it as an attempt to secure some understanding, but honestly sitting down and relaxing into its grandeur.  For example, the book of Hebrews, such a short book it simply astounds.  I can read it over and over and be edified each time, delving into God’s love for Jesus and how that love became the greatest gift from a loving Father to all the Earth.  It is a Holy Spirit inspired road map of how God’s grace frees believers from the prisons of law, sin and death.  Hebrews is a reassuring manual on what to expect as a believer, resolving misunderstanding, building appropriate expectation and securing hope.  This book is the quintessential guide to Divine and Christian relationship, explaining the need and benefits of enduring relationship, even explaining the positive effects of chastisement and testing.

There is great joy of maintenance in the Word of God.  Just as in Hebrews, the other epistles provide sufficient detailed explanation on church life, family, kingdom works, reputation, gifts, healing, protection, preparedness and warnings against enemies, complacency and backsliding.  Reading them builds confidence, courage, faith, strength and thorough understanding and logical reliance upon the Truth of Christian Hope.  We are of the same family, sharing in the riches of righteousness and glory, not due to worldly qualifiers of fitness, survival or class but because we believed.  That is something which cannot be taken from us, even by death.  Did you hear that, even through death we cannot be stripped of our heritage, or lineage or kinship to Christ Jesus?  What a gift, but lest we fall prey to worldly weakness, remember to heed this word not just read it.  Obedience is love for God, verified in faith.

Be glad, be of good courage and know that the Lord is our God for now and forever, Amen.  Jesus, may I make full use of the gifts I have been given to Your greatest Glory.