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T-Shirt Perseverence

Perseverance is an important virtue, 
requires confidence in God, 
and is your means to overcome!
And it looks good on a T-Shirt!

What is one thing you feel like you are “persevering” right now? I have three projects I am working on at our house: an upstairs closet for my wife, a wall behind the fridge has come loose, and a small, stairwell window needs to be made bigger so we can move bedroom furniture upstairs (finally). I say three projects, but you and I know projects are never ending (I am also simultaneously working on painting the back patio and resealing our driveway and maybe ...). I think I am persevering a lot!

James wanted us to know something about persevering. He wrote from a Christ-like perspective to inform us that perseverance is not a natural outcome unless faith is involved: the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (or perseverance). The faith he is speaking about is in Jesus specifically. When we have made it through the trials that have come into our life and it tests our faith in Jesus--and we hold on to Jesus and keep on believing in him just as strong as we were before. Perseverance is that ability to continue on without falling or giving in!

Paul also wrote to young Timothy that for him, being a minister of God, that he should "flee evil things"--we take away one thing and replace it with another--then to PURSUE righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness (perseverance again), gentleness (6:11).

And the writer of Revelation records the words of the Lord Jesus saying to the Church, "I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance (aka. perseverance), and that your latter works exceed the first."

When I think of perseverance the moment that comes to mind is my wrestling coach my senior year of high school. We were running our daily 3.5 miles and he joined us. I wasn't used to running so every now and then i would stop running and jog. Then i would stop jogging and walk. It was in these moments of walking I heard my coach behind me, "Don't stop!" Funny thing. Every time then after I when i was tempted to make my jog into a walk I would remember his voice and it would make me keep jogging, but i would never stop and walk again.  

Other words to perseverance are: steadfastness, patience, endurance, dependable, steady, persistence. 
Some ideas in helping you pursue perseverance are: have goals, keep record of progress, make reminder notes, hang out with people doing the same, find a coach who gives you a "don’t give up!" voice for memory recall!

One more thing: Jesus told his people in the Church (Revelation 2) that he sees and knows all about their “patient endurance”—YOUR PERSEVERANCE is something that does not go unrecognized by Him. What are the implications of this? What is noticeable to him should matter to us!

We all have areas in our lives where is it essential to be steady and persevere: job, parenting, and faith. When it comes to relationships, there definitely are benefits of enduring and persistent: ease, rewards, benefits, peace, marital faithfulness. There are also consequences of not being enduring and persevering: loss, grief, worry, sickness, divorce. If you read Romans 10:17, faith comes from hearing the word of God. SO if the trying of our faith [what we hear from God’s Word and how well it is gotten in our hearts (read Matthew 13:18f)] does NOT produces perseverance, what will? 

Trials should be no big surprise; but instead anticipated!

What are things you as a Christians need to persevere today? 

Does knowing that Jesus sees what you are enduring for his sake encourage you in any way?

Pause for a moment and listen to these words as I say them as if they were from Jesus,
“I know how well you are persevering for me…”
What immediately goes through your mind?
Is Jesus seeing you enduring much for him these days, or is he seeing you enduring only a little?
-We listed some ideas on how to pursue being steadfast. What is a least one idea you can take away today to pursue this week?
Have goals, keep record of progress, make reminder notes, hang out with people doing the same, don’t give up, make a list of benefits, sing songs about it, journal about it every day, pray about it, have others pray for you, memorize a Bible verses about it [try Galatians 6:9], rewrite verses in your own words, etc.

Which T-Shirt idea would you most want to wear?
1.       My faith is worth more than gold! (1 Peter 1:7)
2.       Trials are temporary. I will prevail! (2 Corinthians 4:17)
3.       I won’t be on the defensive, but on the offensive in these trials and I will persevere! (James 1:3)
4.       Jesus knows all about me—nothing I do for Christ goes unnoticed. (Revelation 2:19)

Do you have your own T-Shirt idea today? What is it?


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