CONTINUE
ON - THE BLESSING OF FAITHFUL PERSEVERANCE
BREAD
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through
whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And
we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not
only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And
hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be
known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He
chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of
greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his
reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger;
he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27 (NIV)
1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run
with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let
us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the
joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful
men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight
the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were
called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1
Timothy 6:11-12 (NIV)
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and
have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and
how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when
he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28 (NIV)
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and
Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV)
BUTTER
“The
word ‘persevere’ comes from the prefix ‘per’ meaning ‘through’ and ‘severe’ -
to press by faith through severe circumstances.” Robert J. Morgan
“What
is needed is not mere present professions, but perseverance to the end in the
power of faith.” Ignatius of Antioch
“You decide whether
you’re going to be a world changer or whether the world is going to change you.
World changers don’t march lockstep with current culture. World changers follow
Christ and affect their surroundings more than their surroundings affect them.
World changers are thermostats, not thermometers. They control the temperature.
They set the pace. They think for themselves.
Show me someone who reads the Bible, does what God tells him or her to
do, and follows Jesus, and I’ll show you a rebel in today’s culture. That is
what a world changer is. If you have
fallen, if you have stumbled, get up and start running again. God gives second
chances. You can still finish the race.”
Greg Laurie
“Kara Tippetts finished well
because she lived well. She joins that great cloud of Faithful witnesses that
encourages us to run our own race well; to fix our eyes on Jesus; to throw off
anything that hinders or the sin which so easily entangles, and to
finish faithfully. Kara's question ‘What will you do in these days of
mundane faithfulness?’ is one we all must answer. May each of us respond as
those faithful who have gone before us.” Donna Evans
“Tomorrow we
get to wake up and be faithful. Whatever each step brings, and whatever hard
comes...tomorrow we get to be faithful in that moment.” Jason Tippetts
HEART SAVOR
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Perseverance produces character and character hope and
hope does not disappoint.
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Fight the good fight of faith and finish well.
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Every day we get to choose to be faithful or not – to
live for Christ or self – to invest in the eternal or the temporal. Life is but a vapor. It is not repeatable and every minute is a
miracle. Live with an eternal
perspective – don’t waste your life, it is precious. Remember, Jesus died to save it.
