Endurance

Matthew 24:7,9-10,12-13 - For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 

How does one endure? It is only through the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. We cannot save ourselves from the ugliness of this world or death. We cannot truly endure without Him. When push comes to shove I want to know that my strength comes from the Lord. Government can't save, my spouse can't save, friends can't save. In trials no one can endure without the Lord Jesus Christ by one's side. Only He has been through the most difficult of trials. Only He can save. 

War, illness, diseases, persecution. All these things can come upon us. But we do not need to fear these if we know the Lord. We can know how to endure because He tells us throughout His Word. We see bits and pieces of these things occurring and even though they may not be that severe in our lives doesn't mean it can't happen. Terrorism is enlarging, persecution of Christians abounding, pride, power and destruction happen daily, and many other issues that God deems as sin run rampant. 

I personally would not want to go through a severe illness without, no matter whether I live or die because of it, His being by my side strengthening me throughout. I know person after person who, in their last days, were able to worship God in the midst of illness because they knew He would either see them through or take them to be with Him. Hands raised in worship! I want that. I like the idea of having the One who created me greet me in the end. 

That's why I write these blogs. I hope that in some way I am able to show Christ to others or to use His Word as encouragement. His Word alone speaks volumes. It's the living Word. It's the truth, the living water. It's the bread that sustains. Taste and see that the Lord is good! His Word also endures forever. And he who grasps this enduring Word, who will learn the truth, will also endure to the end.

1Peter 1:24-25 - ...because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.