Church family,
February has begun, the Super Bowl hype is over, and we find ourselves just past the middle of winter. For many, New Year’s resolutions have been hard, and many have fallen ‘off the tracks’. Let me encourage you to persevere! Lift your eyes to Jesus!
Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
From the moment of our salvation to the moment of our death, we are running a race.
The challenge here is to endure – to finish the race. Do not give up! Look to Jesus! I believe that our endurance is directly connected to our ‘abiding in Him.’ If you have trusted Him as your Savior, you have a relationship with Him. The barrier of sin and death was removed by His death and resurrection! We are united with Him. We are in Him and He is in us!
Let me encourage you to abide in Him. Read His word to know Him. Pray to know Him. Worship Him! This ‘communing’ is where the confidence and strength to endure to the end comes from. The Spirit deepens your relationship with God as you abide in Him.
Let me recommend some resources if you are needing something to encourage or develop communion with your Father.
Book –Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face by Daniel Henderson
Book – With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani
App – Mission 119 – Your Personal, Guided Tour Through the Bible
Running with you!
Pastor Brian