Persevere
Fight
Be diligentHold fast
Pursue
Do not waver
Stand firm
These are the words I read in the pages of the Bible--very different from the image of a "hippie Jesus picking daisies." This life is a battle--a battle for truth. We live in a world that entices the passions to stray from the truth of God--believe me, I have been an active part of this world in my past. A world which calls good evil and evil good. A world that sells people, kills babies, prostitutes sex, demands rights, numbs the senses, worships wealth, and mocks the name of Christ. This is the world in which we live.
Yet God is gracious. I was reminded last night through a sermon of John Piper (visit his archives at http://www.desiringgod.org/) that God still makes the sun rise and the rain fall on His enemies--those who reject His love. He pursued me even when I opposed Him. He is a gracious God.
He has given us all this life--one chance to choose our heart's devotion. Are we going to spend our days lazily consuming more to appease our cravings, focused on my needs, my desires, my wants? Or are we going to make these brief moments count for something greater?
"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest (the rest found only in Christ), lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:11-13)
If you and I call ourselves children of God--living under the great love of the Father--then we must be diligent to enter His rest. But in a deceptive, self-focused world, how do we persevere? We get into the word and meditate on His promises. Soak in His truths. He has chosen us in spite of ourselves. Keep at it, friend.
Endure
Persevere
Fight
Be diligentHold fast
Pursue
Do not waverStand firm
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