Tag: Perseverance

Digging in Deeper: 1 Peter 5:10

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“The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in an impatient culture. We like getting the rewards without going through the labor. We want get-rich-quick schemes and fast result diets and exercise programs. If there is any discomfort to be had, we want to do everything possible to shorten its duration as much as we can. Better than that is to avoid it entirely in the first place. Yet this isn’t how the world actually works. If we want to experience something truly good, we have to follow the path to get there. All of it. As he is concluding his powerful little letter, the apostle Peter offers his readers the assurance of God’s incredible intervention in their lives. Yet this blessing does not come without first walking the road to get to it. Let’s talk about that road this morning.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 10:35-39

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“So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a ‘very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.’ ‘But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.’ But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever missed your chance? If you have, think about that moment for a bit. What was the opportunity, and why did you miss it? Were you late for it? Did someone else snatch it from you? Or was the loss a matter of patience? There are not a few opportunities lost to a lack of patience. We want things on our timetable, but that’s not always or even often the timetable on which they operate. If we demand ours anyway, we’re setting ourselves up to miss out on a lot. As chapter 10 comes to a close, the author calls us to stick with following Jesus, even when it gets long and hard, so we don’t miss out on the best part. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 10:32-34

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“Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things Jesus made clear over the course of His ministry is that following Him was not going to be easy. In fact, it was going to be hard…really hard. When we give our lives to God’s kingdom, the authorities of the kingdom of this world aren’t going to take the loss of their power over us lightly. To the extent they are able, they are going to make our lives as difficult and miserable as they can. The obvious question here is why anyone would sign up for this. Because there’s more to life than this life. Let’s talk about it.

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Pressing On

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This week finds us between sermon series. We just finished one last week and will start a new one next week (on how to study the Bible, so don’t miss that!). That means this week was a freebie. Well, given that last week was Easter, and given our great tendency to settle back into our old ruts after we make it past a major spiritual milestone like that, this week we’re talking about what to do when Easter has come and gone. With the help of the author of Hebrews, we are talking about pressing on when things get long. Come for the encouragement, stay for the challenges at the end which although specific to my church, can probably be adapted and applied to every church. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Pressing On

Do we have any runners in here? Do we have anyone who used to be a runner? How about anyone who once entertained the notion of being a runner (just before settling in for another doughnut while laughing hysterically at the idea)? Although I dare not claim that title any longer, there was a time when I was a runner. I was okay; not great. But I did enjoy it. I think what I enjoyed most was not the actual team cross country practices, but the weeks I spent running on my own after school once the season ended—especially when it was cold. Those were the days I felt like I could run forever without getting tired. I remember the summer I put in 500 miles so I could get a patch on my letterman jacket. Eight miles was typically about the most I ever ran. I did a few longer runs of eleven miles, but that was about it. 

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Morning Musing: Mark 3:20-21

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“Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, ‘He’s out of his mind.’”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Doing something new and different can be tough. It’s hard to find support. No one is really sure if it will succeed, and they don’t want to throw much of an investment of time, talent, or treasure behind a bet that just isn’t very sure. When we go to enter this kind of territory, it is good to know that we at least have a home base of support somewhere. This can often come by way of loving parents. I’ve always had this. Perhaps you have too. You know who didn’t? Jesus.

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