don’t quit

Perseverance

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“Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5 NIV

When the world knocks you down, don’t stay down.  Get up, stand up for your faith.  God has told us we will be persecuted for following Jesus.  We should expect it…don’t quit praying, don’t quit sharing and trusting in the Lord.  He is working even when we can’t see it.  Be strong and courageous and push on…we know that Jesus Christ has already won victory for us.  Perseverance is about letting your faith be greater than your fear!

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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4 NIV

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 standing on one of the Bridges of Madison County near Winterset, Iowa)

Keep Going

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Don’t give up…keep doing good things.  Persistence is powerful.  God did not promise life would be easy.  Keep praying, walk closely with God.  Do not give into the sinful nature and the temptations of this world.  I have struggled just like you, we all do…turn towards the Lord, trust in Him and you will make it through whatever trouble or sadness or struggle you are facing.  God is with you.  Amen.

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“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

Doing Good

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It makes a difference…even when you don’t get to see it or know how it made a difference.  Do your best to offer what you can, to whoever you can, wherever you are.  Don’t start with trying to change the whole world…make it your goal to do good for at least one other person every day and let God take it from there.  Our job is to Love the Lord and Love our neighbor as ourselves.  Do good things, offer your best and let God take care of the rest.  Amen.

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“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:9-10

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior near Ashland, Wisconsin)

Persistence

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As of last night our area in the upper Midwest has received 16 inches of snow in the last week.  Last night, another 4-5 inches fell and it will continue to snow until this afternoon, we may get more on Thrusday.  We are not the only area with weather affecting every day life.  I thought I heard the Seattle area received as much snow from one strom that it usually receives the entire winter.  The pattern for us has been snow, then cold, then snow, then cold…repeat, repeat.  The persistence of it can put some people under pressure while some people have big smiles on their faces…I tend to be more in the latter group.  It is all about how we choose to respond.  If you want to understand more about yourself and how you handle things that cannot be controlled…observe your reaction in relation to the weather.  The same is true when it comes to doing good things we need to be persistent and not give up.  Things will go wrong, the problems will seem to big, we will read and see terrible things in this world, we need to focus on Jesus Christ, we need to be persistent in our faith…that is the answer to all that we cannot control.  Amen.

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“And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is right.”

2 Thessalonians 3:13

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Surrender but Don’t Give Up

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In my opinion in our society and our world today…to surrender, by definition is to yield to the power of another, however, to give up is to quit.  Depending on your context one is a transition and the other carries a negative connotation or a defeated and deflated feeling.  When we listen to the news on TV or read about events online it is easy to feel defeated and deflated by how people in this world choose to treat each other.

Don’t give up…..we live in a fallen world and it is very easy at times to believe that all is lost.  The Good News is…that is not true.  We practice surrender and don’t give up more often than we realize.

For example, you are sitting at your computer doing the things you love (like reading blogs) and something happens…the computer stops responding and then starts popping up boxes and then the “blue screen”.  What happened?  You begin to “troubleshoot” with your vast PC knowledge…you are spending hours trying everything to recover what has been lost…a working computer.  Alas, you have exhausted your abilities and still nothing.  So what do you do?  Do you give up?  Never use that computer again?  No.  You surrender to others who have worked on and repaired computers for living, they often work for companies that create and develop new computer technology.

Now back to our fallen world…there we are living our lives doing the things we love when out of nowhere the world seems to stop responding to us and events keep popping up that trouble us and then we lay down in defeat looking up at the “blue SKY”……wow isn’t this a beautiful day!

Don’t give up on this world.  Surrender to the Creator…he knows what is troubling you.  The best part about faith is it comes with a guide book…the bible.  On this blog I have a Favorite Bible Verses page that I will change from time to time.  The guide book that has been provided us tells us not to give up but trust in God.  Here are two verses I look to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

                                                                                                                     Proverbs 3:5-6

“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

                                                                                                                     Psalm 27:13-14

So take all your problems, all your concerns and lift them up and surrender them to God.  He knows you better than you know him and he loves you unconditionally no matter what.

Find your guide book and open it.