Continue on - the Blessing of Faithful Perseverance

Bread

The Lion Loosed

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, loveurance 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 Lesson Learned

“That is life. It’s composed of a million choices. And most of those choices seem insignificant, unimportant, unimpressive, and uninteresting. But character is developed when we continue to make the next, right choice. And character creates influence. And influence creates legacy. So if you want to leave an amazing legacy, just keep doing the next right thing. Four generations from now, people probably won’t remember your name. But someone you love will be different because of you.” Laura Black

“Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.” Charles H. Spurgeon

“The word ‘persevere’ comes from the prefix ‘per’ meaning ‘through’ and ‘severe’ - to press by faith through severe circumstances.” Robert J. Morgan

“The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“What is needed is not mere present professions, but perseverance to the end in the power of faith.” Ignatius of Antioch

“Failure is not fatal nor success final. What matters for the believer in sweet Jesus is the perseverance to end in the power of the Spirit. That is indeed finishing well.” BHY

“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

“There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing to the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.” Francis Drake

“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

The Lion Roars

  • We are never to be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor serving the Lord.
  • We are to be zealous for the Lord’s great Name – through His power for His glory.
  • Create in me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit Oh Lord.