Persevere in these things

1.        In righteousness (doing good)
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." – Galatians 6:9
"To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." – Romans 2:7

2.        In pursuit of God
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." – 1 Chronicles 16:11

3.        In showing love
"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." – 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

4.        In sound doctrine
"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." – 1 Timothy 4:16
"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." – Hebrews 2:1

5.        In pursuit of purpose
"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." – Hebrews 12:1

6.        In the hope of the resurrection
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." – Hebrews 10:23

7.        In prayer
"Pray without ceasing." – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
   

God equips us for ministry way ahead of time

"All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"
- Romans 8:28, New King James

God equips us for ministry way ahead of time.  Part of the things we learn and go through up to the time we get to know and follow the call of God upon our lives is part of the training that we need in order to be able to fulfill this call. This truth is revealed in the bible time and again:

n        As a religious enthusiast Paul acquired extensive knowledge in the Law, including Jewish customs and traditions, which he used to build a case for Christ throughout his ministry.  

n        As he looked after his father's sheep, David developed a shepherd's heart, which made him a leader with great compassion for his followers.  

n        Being knowledgeable in the royal etiquettes of Egypt, Moses was the best person to send to Pharaoh when it was time for God to deliver the house of Israel out of many years of Egyptian bondage.

n        Joseph used the administrative skills that he had acquired in Potiphar's house to run the largest food distribution scheme in Egypt.

Each of the bible characters that I have mentioned above acquired the knowledge and experience that they needed for ministry way ahead of time. Part of the things you are learning and going through right now is part of the training that you need in order to be able to fulfill the call of God that is upon your life. Are you aware of this?

Victorious Christians move from Suffering to Hope…

… is what Paul says!

In Romans 5:3-4, Paul writes:

"…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Victorious Christians progressively move from suffering to hope, Paul says.  When victorious Christians bear pain, loss, distress, injury or grief, they persevere.

According to Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, perseverance is:

"a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, excetera, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement."

Through perseverance, the victorious Christian's character is formed.  

In everyday language, the term character is used to mean a number of things; in this instance, however, it refers to strength of mind or resolution.  The resultant strength of mind or resolution is a determination or strong will to see the suffering end.  

Being more than an attitude of the mind, character drives the victorious Christian to decisive action towards bringing his sufferings to an end and in due process give him or her hope.

According to Webster's Dictionary, hope is:

(1) a desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable

(2) an expectation of something which is thought to be desirable

(3) confidence

(4) pleasing expectancy.

Suffering weighs most people down, but some individuals have become better persons from the pain, loss, distress, injury or grief of suffering.  Paul says that victorious Christians progressively move from suffering to hope.  Are you a victorious Christian?  Can you move from suffering to hope?

Harness the Power Within You – of Vision and Faith

What is a vision?  What is faith?  How much inner strength can you derive from your vision and faith?

• Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29:18

A vision is a clear picture of the future.  A great vision will give you the strength to persevere in and through every situation and reassure you that there are brighter days ahead.

• Faith

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." – Hebrews 11:1

Faith is activated when you look at things as you believe they ought to be, not as they are, and act in line with that.  Faith reassures you that you are in charge, not the situation. 

There is so much strength that each of us can derive from within ourselves.  Two of the ways we can do this is by creating a clear vision and activating our faith.  Spend some time on your vision and faith this week.

Harnessing the Power Within You - of Faith, Purpose and Vision

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does
bathing – that's why we recommend it daily." – Zig Ziglar (American
motivational Speaker and Author)

Like the air that we breathe, inspiration is a necessity in our lives:
it is the power that gets us out of bed every morning; the source of
our lives, work and creativity; and the force that drives us forward
even when things don’t go our way.

Without inspiration, it is easy for us to live wimpy lives and to
throw in the towel the minute things get tough or take an unexpected
turn.  On the other hand, inspiration energises us and gives us the
power to persevere in and through every situation.

We need inspiration in our lives – and we need it daily!

Daily inspiration is not always there.  Sometimes we have to invoke it.

Invoking inspiration is a discipline that successful people use to
stay motivated, even under precarious conditions.  There are many ways
of invoking inspiration, but this article only looks at harnessing the
power within you.

Faith

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen." – Hebrews 11:1

Faith is activated when you look at things as you believe they ought
to be, not as they are, and act in line with that. Inspiration is
invoked by your actions that reassure you that you are in charge, not
the situation.  You have the power to create, maintain or change any
situation.

Press on to reach the end of the race

I really mean it.

Press on to reach the end of the race.

The half-way point of this year was just a few days ago (June 30^th) and I know that most of us are relentlessly pursuing our goals.   I also know that a number of us are weary from pursuing our goals and need encouragement.   Well, this is post to encourage everyone that has goals to achieve and to give you a strategy for effectively pursuing these goals.

In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul revealed a strategy for effectively pursuing goals. He wrote, "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

The strategy has five steps:

1.  Articulate Your Goal
The first step to coming up with a strategy for effectively pursuing your goal is to clearly articulate what your goal is.  I know a lot of people that are pursuing goals but cannot clearly articulate what these goals are.

Although it is stated at the end of the passage, Paul knew what his goal was and could clearly articulate it: to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, had called him.  

Do you know what your goal is and can you clearly articulate it?  

2.  Establish and Accept Your Current Position
After articulating your goal, you need to establish and accept your current position. Your current position will most likely be some distance away from your goal. When this is the case, the best way forward will be to acknowledge that you are some distance away from your goal. It is sometimes difficult to accept that you are some distance away from your goal, but a prerequisite to developing a strategy for effectively pursuing your goals.

Paul easily stated his current position and acknowledged that it was some distance away from his goal: "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it [yet]" he wrote.  

How far are you from your goal?  Have you achieved it yet?  Is it hard or easy to acknowledge that you are some distance away from your goal?

3.  Forget the Past
The past includes your victories and your failures.  Victories have a tendency of boosting your expectations of victory, leading to complacency.  Failures have a tendency of dampening your expectations of victory, leading to intimidation. Complacency and intimidation both stall your progress towards your goals.

Because Paul did not want complacency and intimidation to stall his progress towards his goal, he resolved to forget the past. Forgetting the past is letting go of past victories and failures. When you let go of past victories and failures, you release yourself to move on with a clearer vision of what lies ahead.

How are the victories and failures affecting your progress towards your goals?  Are your victories making you complacent?  Are your failures making you intimidation? Have you allowed complacency and intimidation to stall your progress? Will you let go of past victories and failures and release yourself to move on with a clearer vision of what lies ahead?

4.  Look Forward to What Lies Ahead
After letting go of the past, shift your focus to the course that leads to the completion of your goal.  You will find that there are opportunities as well as obstacles ahead of you. To achieve your goal, you need to maximize on the opportunities and to overcome the obstacles. Your chances of maximizing on the opportunities and overcoming the obstacles are increased by having a good look at the course that leads to the completion of your goal.  

Paul had his mind set on the course that would lead to the completion of his goal: "looking forward to what lies ahead" he said.

Are your eyes set on the course that leads to the completion of your goal? Do you see how you are going to maximize on the opportunities and to overcome the obstacles that are along the course?

5.  Press on to Reach the End of the Race
Finally, press on. To press on is to persevere.  Perseverance is "a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etcetera, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement" (Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary).  

The final thing you need to do in effectively pursuing your goals is to persistently follow the course that leads to the completion of your goals in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.  This is what Paul meant he was doing, and going to continue doing, when he said, "I press on to reach the end of the race."

Are you geared up to reach the end of your race?  Are you ready to persistently follow the course that leads to the completion of your goals in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement?

This is one thing that you must do and continue doing in order for you to achieve your goals.

Although we are past the half-way point of the year, there is still enough time for you to achieve your goals.  All you need is to developing a strategy for effectively pursuing your goals – articulate your goal, establish and accept your current position, forget your past, look forward to what lies ahead and press on to reach the end of the race.  

Unto whom shall we look?

If the farmer refuses to sow
If the fields lie bare, untilled
Unto whom shall we look?

If the rains refuse to fall
If the shoot withers and die, thirsty
Unto whom shall we look?

If the reapers refuse to reap
If the harvest withers and rots
Unto whom shall we look?

If the miller refuses to grind
If the grain is unground
Unto whom shall we look?

If the cook refuses to make bread
If the meal is not mixed
Unto whom shall we look?

Unto whom shall I look?
Unto whom shall you look?
Unto whom shall we look?

Unto God shall we look!
Unto the creator of the heavens and the earth
Unto the Lord Our Provider, Jehovah Jireh