Hebrews 10:35
Hold onto, and maintain your confidence, your assurance, for it holds a great reward.
HOLDING ONTO OUR FAITH
Holding onto our faith and maintaining our faith are two separate actions.
To hold onto something is to hold it close to our chest with both arms and hands supporting whatever we are carrying in front of us. But it also requires us to have strong backs in order to carry it in an upright position.
Our legs may get wobbly beneath the weight of whatever it is we are carrying, but even if we stumble, we cannot allow ourselves to fall, for then it is possible that whatever we are carrying could drop out of its holding position.
To hold onto our faith in Christ is to keep it in our hearts and our thoughts at all times. It is to reject anything, however seemingly minor, that would cause us to drop our faith in Christ, cause us to doubt or even disavow our faith in Christ. We must hold onto our faith in Christ Jesus even when everyone is against us, or seems to be against us.
To hold onto something is to hold it close to our chest with both arms and hands supporting whatever we are carrying in front of us. But it also requires us to have strong backs in order to carry it in an upright position.
Our legs may get wobbly beneath the weight of whatever it is we are carrying, but even if we stumble, we cannot allow ourselves to fall, for then it is possible that whatever we are carrying could drop out of its holding position.
To hold onto our faith in Christ is to keep it in our hearts and our thoughts at all times. It is to reject anything, however seemingly minor, that would cause us to drop our faith in Christ, cause us to doubt or even disavow our faith in Christ. We must hold onto our faith in Christ Jesus even when everyone is against us, or seems to be against us.
MAINTAINING OUR FAITH
To maintain our faith in Christ Jesus is to continue to believe that God's Word is Faithful and True. It is to know that you know that you know this fact. Fear has no place in faith. Doubt has no place in faith in Christ. Even death has no place in faith.
To maintain our faith in Jesus Christ is to be obedient to The Word of God and the Voice of The Holy Spirit. It is to seek God daily in prayer and in reading His Word for ourselves. It is also to hear God's Word being spoken by God's anointed ministers.
Jesus tells us to "love one another as I have loved you". How does Jesus love us? Amazingly. With a neverending Love. Unconditionally. It is God's nature to love. We know this because we know that "God is Love".
And then Jesus tells us to "Love your neighbor as yourself". How do we love ourselves? Well, we make sure we are fed and clothed and housed and healthy. Are our neighbors? And just who is my neighbor? Anyone I meet on this road of life is my neighbor. How can I love them like I love myself? I can pray for them. I'm praying to a powerful, loving God, Who can meet the needs I cannot.
To maintain our faith in Christ Jesus is to continue to believe that God's Word is Faithful and True. It is to know that you know that you know this fact. Fear has no place in faith. Doubt has no place in faith in Christ. Even death has no place in faith.
To maintain our faith in Jesus Christ is to be obedient to The Word of God and the Voice of The Holy Spirit. It is to seek God daily in prayer and in reading His Word for ourselves. It is also to hear God's Word being spoken by God's anointed ministers.
Jesus tells us to "love one another as I have loved you". How does Jesus love us? Amazingly. With a neverending Love. Unconditionally. It is God's nature to love. We know this because we know that "God is Love".
And then Jesus tells us to "Love your neighbor as yourself". How do we love ourselves? Well, we make sure we are fed and clothed and housed and healthy. Are our neighbors? And just who is my neighbor? Anyone I meet on this road of life is my neighbor. How can I love them like I love myself? I can pray for them. I'm praying to a powerful, loving God, Who can meet the needs I cannot.
PRAYER OF FAITH FOR OUR NEIGHBORS
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for this day and everything in it. Thank You for the many blessings You have given me today. Thank You for clean water, good food, clothes to wear, shoes on my feet. Thank You for Jesus in my heart, a Bible to read, and The Holy Spirit in my life.
Father, bless those who have none of my benefits, that their needs would be met according to Your Word, Your Will and Your Spirit.
Strengthen Your people where we stand, Lord, in prison and out. Bind our wounds, heal our diseases and raise our dead to the astonishment, frustration, salvation and deliverance of those who persecute and kill us for Your Name's sake, that Your kingdom would increase and Your Name be glorified.
In Jesus' Wonderful Name, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for this day and everything in it. Thank You for the many blessings You have given me today. Thank You for clean water, good food, clothes to wear, shoes on my feet. Thank You for Jesus in my heart, a Bible to read, and The Holy Spirit in my life.
Father, bless those who have none of my benefits, that their needs would be met according to Your Word, Your Will and Your Spirit.
Strengthen Your people where we stand, Lord, in prison and out. Bind our wounds, heal our diseases and raise our dead to the astonishment, frustration, salvation and deliverance of those who persecute and kill us for Your Name's sake, that Your kingdom would increase and Your Name be glorified.
In Jesus' Wonderful Name, Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY
BLESSED ASSURANCE
(Fanny Crosby - ca. 1873)
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with His goodness, lost in His love. [Refrain]
(Fanny Crosby - ca. 1873)
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with His goodness, lost in His love. [Refrain]
OUR HOPE OF SALVATION
Our confidence, our assurance, our faith in Jesus Christ as our Hope of Salvation is a major stepping stone in receiving a great reward at the end of our journey.
Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life now, and living in His Name now, is the preemptive basis of my life in eternity. It is living a life filled with wonder and awe, even when I navigate unexpected events, with the full knowledge that God still loves me and is with me through it all.
Having this kind of faith in Christ is the most important decision any person will ever make in their entire life. It is more important than choosing a mate. More important than finding the right place to live in. More important than whether or not to have children. More important than a job, or even a job promotion. It is even more important than familial ties and who our friends are.
The best thing that can come from believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior is the knowledge that when this life is over, and I cross death's threshold, I will be face to face with my Lord and Savior forevermore.
But the second best thing that can happen because of what I believe and refuse to stop doing? The people in my family will give their hearts to Christ Jesus, too.
Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life now, and living in His Name now, is the preemptive basis of my life in eternity. It is living a life filled with wonder and awe, even when I navigate unexpected events, with the full knowledge that God still loves me and is with me through it all.
Having this kind of faith in Christ is the most important decision any person will ever make in their entire life. It is more important than choosing a mate. More important than finding the right place to live in. More important than whether or not to have children. More important than a job, or even a job promotion. It is even more important than familial ties and who our friends are.
The best thing that can come from believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior is the knowledge that when this life is over, and I cross death's threshold, I will be face to face with my Lord and Savior forevermore.
But the second best thing that can happen because of what I believe and refuse to stop doing? The people in my family will give their hearts to Christ Jesus, too.
