ENDURE IT

The beginning of a new year often helps remind us of our goals and our personal ambitions. It gives us a fresh start and a renewed perspective to reflect back over the past year as we embrace fresh opportunities to start over. Let us be reminded of the command that Christ has set before us to take up our cross daily and follow after Him. 

Hebrews 3:13 tells us how beneficial it is for the body of Christ to encourage one another as long as it is called today. Encouragement is defined as "the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope."  May we not grow weary in well doing!

One day... and one day soon, it will all come full circle. We will be made complete. 

The scriptures do a very good job of letting us know that trials and tribulations will come. It is not a matter of if but when. He assures us that we will be hated by all nations for His name's sake. Yikes. Hard words to hear. Jesus lovingly prepares us for hard times by taking the surprise element out of trials and suffering by warning us ahead of time.  

A branch apart from a vine can't produce anything. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. Jesus teaches us in John chapter 15 that He is the one true all sustaining vine. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. NOTHING! It is crucial as "branches" that we abide in Him. Abide=fruit. Simple equation. Abide means to keep in fellowship with Christ so that His life can work in and through us in order to produce fruit! Let's produce fruit so that others can eat. 

Like sand through the hourglass, our lives are only poured out once in this life. Training ourselves to focus on the here and now as well as placing value on every moment produces beautiful fruit over time. Finding peace in the fact that Jesus does indeed see us and care for us should empower our hearts to love well while we remain hopeful as we anticipate the afterlife. 

We have all kinds of earthly longings. We long to see the highest mountain peaks. We long to explore the ocean depths. We long for beautiful relationships. We long for great food. We are made to have these longings. These earthly longings are but foreshadows pointing to the the greatest of all, our heavenly home. 

The power of rest is often highly underestimated. Just like batteries, our bodies need time to recover and recharge. We will find ourselves feeling overwhelmed and exhausted throughout the seasons of this life. It is necessary to find rest physically and spiritually within the hope of the scriptures.

This world is full of uncertainty and always changing. There is only one thing that is constant and that is our God. He is the foundation under our ever shifting feet. He is the sustainer of the cosmos. He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Surely, He is more than able to hold us together in the midst of an ever changing planet. 

South Dakota adventures, car wrecks, covid, and job loss. Let's catch up! No matter what we may face in this life, we will always have the assurance that our prayers are most definitely heard by God. And, not just heard, but preserved.