1 Corinthians 15:57-58 “Thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Continuing Michael’s message
on Christian Steadfastness, he writes that sometimes men and women can seek
knowledge, but according to 1 Corinthians, Knowledge
puffs up but charity edifies. Charity , meaning love, benevolence, good
will; that disposition of heart which inclines people to think favorably of
their fellow man or woman, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it
includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. Knowledge
inflates person's egos, but the love of God builds up others. Many
religions keep knowledge to themselves, to that others can be subjugated to
their masters who hold secret knowledge.
In Genesis 39 Joseph was put
in a position of trust in Potiphar's household. When Potiphar's wife tempted
him to sin, he said, "how can I do
this since my master has entrusted me over everything he has?" Jesus
said figuratively, "if your right
hand offends you, cut it off." Joseph said in resistance to
temptation, "How can I do this great
evil and sin against my God?" Joseph literally followed the
command, "flee fornication."
Potiphar's wife grabbed his coat and pulled it off as he escaped her grasp and
ran away.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Courage is learned under
fire. Courage is learned in the crucible of life. Jesus said, “If my word abides in you, you will be
faithful to stand.” According to Psalm 1, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day
and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters.
His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he does shall prosper."
When Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego were threatened for not bowing down to the golden statue, they said,
"our God will deliver us, and even
if he does not deliver us, we will not bow down the image of gold."
They were steadfast and immovable. They wouldn't bend, they wouldn't bow,
they wouldn't burn. God sent His angel, the "fourth man in the
fire" and delivered them from the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Decisions are either fear-based
or faith-based. In whom do you trust? If you lead with a guilty conscious,
it will profit you nothing. Confidence is in the love of God. Galatians
5 says that “Believing faith” works by love. Our Confidence is in Him
and for Him. God has called us to be practitioners of His word. Oswald
Chambers said, When the crisis comes and courage is required, God expects us to
have such confidence in Him that we will be the reliable ones. In the midst of
the trials of life, we'll do what we've practiced ... what we've been trained
to do.
Peter was called to be the
rock. However, he had to be crushed by harsh reality to understand that his
power was only in the Lord. Through the trials of life, God will crush the
“self” out of us. Peter could not understand who he was called to be until he
understood that his true foundation was the rock of Ages ... Jesus Christ
himself. In our own power we are nothing. He who builds his house on the
Rock will stand when the storms of life rage. Therefore, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
May we ever steadfastly live to the
praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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