Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting…

Isaiah 27 is the last chapter in the section commonly known as “The Apocalypse of Isaiah” (Isaiah 24-27). What can we learn from Isaiah 27? The monster of death has been destroyed through Jesus Christ (Isaiah 27:1). Those of us in Christ are part of His fruitful vineyard and He watches over us and guards…

Luke 18:1 Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Jesus’ parable about the persistent widow in Luke 18 is clear. God wants us to continue in prayer, not to weary us, but to exercise us. Like we talked about last week, the more persistently…

To be persistent means to do something unceasingly and continuously. Persistence is a character trait of a faithful Christian. Last week we looked at the power of prayer, particularly group or congregational prayer. And while congregational prayer is extremely important we also must remember that individual prayer is just as important and effective. The bottom…

Isaiah 26 is a song of praise. After redemption there should always be praise. Not only did God come in judgment upon the wicked, but He faithfully redeemed the righteous. For this reason God is worthy of praise. He is the creator and the judge of the entire universe. God is worthy of praise for…

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we are to “pray continually”. Last week we looked at what makes up an authentic Christian Community: unity, responsibility for one another, and boldly proclaiming God’s Word. A recurring ingredient that enabled the early Christians to do all of those things was prayer. First-century Christians prayed with passion and persistence. Congregational…

The Bible is full of imagery and rich with metaphor. The biblical writers, inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and led by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) used familiar, everyday objects to symbolize spiritual truth. Symbols are quite common in the poetic and prophetic portions of the Bible and much of the book of…

Last week we talked about endeavoring to persevere. The first century church was all about perseverance and that stemmed from a cooperative spirit. Without a group of other Christians to sharpen and challenge on a consistent basis, the individual is prone to drift. The Book of Acts paints a portrait of the early church and…

Isaiah 25:6-8 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The…

James 1:3 tells us “the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” 2020 has certainly been a year where the faith of many a faithful Christian has been tested but what should our attitude be? We should endeavor to persevere. To endeavor is to “make every effort”. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:3 to “Make every…