This week's devotional comes to you from synesi , a valued brother in the faith and friend.
Jesus Christ didn’t promise His followers an easy life. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”
John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
It is easy for us to fall into a state of passivity, to get so caught up in the daily grind that we either forget, or don’t notice, the spiritual warfare being waged around us every day. This is a very dangerous trap for a believer to fall into, and part of its danger lies in how easy it is to become ensnared.
Paul cautions us to “Be on guard”, to remain alert to the those around us who may be struggling, to keep an eye on our own hearts and minds to ensure that we aren’t being dragged down a path of sin and despair.
“Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be Strong” When we move passively through life, we can often forget to see God working in our lives, and in those moments, it’s easy to assume that He isn’t. Pray, read scriptures, study, and grow, so that you might stand firm in your faith in the moments of peril. Without courage, we cannot hope to stand in the face of sin and despair. Without strength, our courage will fail and our faith will be blown away like chaff in the wind.
The next verse, 1 Corinthians 16:14, “And do everything with love” reminds us of what shape our courage is supposed to take. We are to love all, as we were first loved by God. Even when we’re persecuted, when we’re struck down, we get back up, and we continue to forgive as we have been forgiven. We continue to love and serve, as Christ loved and served us.
Remain strong, brothers and sisters. Even when things are tough, God is there for us. He loves us, He cares for us, and His promises for us still remain. We were not meant for this life, but for the next. We are but sojourners passing through. Be on Guard, Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.
Jesus Christ didn’t promise His followers an easy life. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”
John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
It is easy for us to fall into a state of passivity, to get so caught up in the daily grind that we either forget, or don’t notice, the spiritual warfare being waged around us every day. This is a very dangerous trap for a believer to fall into, and part of its danger lies in how easy it is to become ensnared.
Paul cautions us to “Be on guard”, to remain alert to the those around us who may be struggling, to keep an eye on our own hearts and minds to ensure that we aren’t being dragged down a path of sin and despair.
“Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be Strong” When we move passively through life, we can often forget to see God working in our lives, and in those moments, it’s easy to assume that He isn’t. Pray, read scriptures, study, and grow, so that you might stand firm in your faith in the moments of peril. Without courage, we cannot hope to stand in the face of sin and despair. Without strength, our courage will fail and our faith will be blown away like chaff in the wind.
The next verse, 1 Corinthians 16:14, “And do everything with love” reminds us of what shape our courage is supposed to take. We are to love all, as we were first loved by God. Even when we’re persecuted, when we’re struck down, we get back up, and we continue to forgive as we have been forgiven. We continue to love and serve, as Christ loved and served us.
Remain strong, brothers and sisters. Even when things are tough, God is there for us. He loves us, He cares for us, and His promises for us still remain. We were not meant for this life, but for the next. We are but sojourners passing through. Be on Guard, Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.
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Remember, everyone - you don't need a construct of faith to love the people around you. Do it because you want to be kind, not because you think any kind of faith or god would like you to. :)
Still loving these weekly verses! Thank you for the reminder to stay in the Word ^^
I add to the thanks. These are nice to see pop up on my list and provoke some good thinking. Thanks and God bless! Stubat
This verse hits hard since I went to a private school that also followed the Religion of Christ. Every year we had a different verse that we would go by and I think it was Junior or Sophomore year that this exact verse was our yearly verse. Maybe it was even Senior year which is why I perhaps remember it so well.
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