Issue 2010 #1
Table of Contents:
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Running the Race with Perseverance
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Hebrews 12:1 ". . .Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,. . ."
One way to develop perseverance is to follow the example of the godly men named in Hebrews chapter 11. These men had perseverance because they were men of great faith.
Another great example is in verses 2-3, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
We can't even imagine the terrible suffering Jesus endured on that cross to pay the penalty for our sins. The gift of salvation is now available - for all who will receive Him as Saviour and Lord.
Another good example is the Apostle Paul. Philippians 3:12b-14 ". . . I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul was in prison many times, and in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 he listed many other things he had suffered or endured for Christ's sake. Why did the Apostle Paul and all the godly men, the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 continue to have such a strong perseverance in spite of all their difficulties?
Perseverance or endurance means continuing to do something no matter what happens. As Christians we can do this because of God's marvelous grace. We know that we can depend on His promise in Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Let us continually pray for one another with words like Paul used in 1 Thess. 1:3, " . . .Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. . ."
Frank Eidse
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