Perseverance

1 Timothy 4:7b-8, “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; ⁸ for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (NASB)

Our Adult Discipleship Class has been focusing on the spiritual directives that are shared with us in 1 Timothy 4. This portion of the Apostle Paul's letter to a young Pastor named Timothy is filled with some wonderful principles that have the ability to make an eternal difference in our lives. BUT I must be willing to apply these principles to my life on a consistent, persistent basis regardless of the attempts of satan to dissuade or discourage me. Let's be realistic for a moment; serving God in the 21st Century is going to require sincere perseverance on our part. We will not be able to just go through the motions of religious actions or the acceptance of the spiritual status quo in our lives. Each of us needs to maintain a passionate pursuit of a deeper, stronger relationship with Jesus Christ.

Each of us may nod our heads in agreement and even say a silent Amen to what we just read in the previous paragraph. The real proof of our belief will be demonstrated as we begin to apply and live out those Biblical principles that will produce transformation in our lives. Is it possible that the modern day church has settled for "temporary relief" from the struggles of life while God's intended goal is "spiritual transformation" for our lives? We are looking for an immediate victory in our lives and trust me they do come for us at various times in our walk of life. But God is looking for you and me to build an-ongoing, developing, life-changing relationship with Him. We have settled for such more less than God has planned for us.

There are believers whose spiritual lives are stuck in a rut of despair, hopelessness and even despair. Could this be due to the fact that we have settled into a zone of spiritual contentment and we have lost the urgency of the moment to draw closer to God? Each of us must realize that the enemy is always seeking ways, means and strategies to derail the process and development of our relationship with Christ. The quicker that we realize that truth the more likely we will be to respond to those attempts to satan. We must reject and resist the attempts of satan to "calm down" and "slow down" our pursuit of more of God. 

The sin of complacency, lethargy and unconcern is capturing the heart of far too many believers. These are the days in which we need to respond aggressively to these attempts of satan. Just as we would respond appropriately to an intruder in our home we need to respond appropriately to this "spiritual intruder" who is seeking the demise of our relationship with Christ. Pick up the weapons of warfare and let the enemy know that he is in for a fight. 

This is not the time to capitulate or surrender to the tactics of the enemy but this is the time to counter attack the enemy with obedience to our Savior!!!