Stand Firm in Faith

 

    You do not know when your last day in the world will be.  You don't know the hour you will breath your last.  It may be sudden and quick or it could be long suffering, but you still do not know.  All you have control over is your choices.  You can chose God or you can reject God.  Everything else is what happens to you and around you.  All you can do is trust God or rely on yourself and go after life alone.  You can have peace and security about the that unknown day.

    Death is not something that anyone can escape.  It is a set point of life, but the soul is eternal.  There is no reason to enter the darkness of death.  You can enter the light of salvation post mortality.  That is why you need to be alert here and now.  You soul is the most valuable and unique thing about you.  It is what makes you so special as an individual human.  It is what gives you free will to make your own choices.  It is an unique gift from the creator.  To please God you will chose to live in a self-controlled manner that keep you ready for the unexpected. 

    Faith and love is your armor in life that is controlled by self-control.  This is not a superficial lovey dovey feeling kind of love.  This is making a choice to be transparent and vulnerable while trusting God to protect you.  Agape and Philadelphia love is loving no matter what you face.  It takes more strength to love than to hate.  When you are attacked it is natural to pull into yourself.  It takes so much strength to still love and strengthen that love when you want to react as a normal human.  However, Jesus did it, so we can do it.  This love is empowered by your salvation.

    The hope of salvation is your helmet.  It protects your mind.  Respect those that work hard or admonish you in love.  It is for your benefit.  They do it because they chose to love you when you may be acting unlovable.  To stand firm in your faith you need to chose to love them back and do all you can to live in peace.  It is something you have to fight for, even if it may only be on the spiritual realm.  It is that important.

    Warn the people in your life about the danger of idols.  Let them know that it strips away all that matters in life.  Show them how they can live by faith.  Encourage the timid to stand out and speak up in God's name.  Help the weak become strong.  Do all this with patience in your heart.  It can take years, even decades, for some people to see the truth.  Just don't give up on them even when it feels hopeless.

    Do not payback evil with evil.  You can stop it in it's tracks if you chose to display love.  It is not easy.  We do have to fight our human nature of wanting to be treated with some level of respect or with integrity.  You may not even be able to understand the evil you stand against, but you can trust and understand the love you have for God.  You know He will use that love for His glory, so chose to show kindness when the world is hateful around you.

    Decide to have joy no matter what.  If Satan can kill your joy, then he has won on some level.  Your joy is a gift from God, so don't let darkness distinguish it.  Instead strengthen your joy by giving God thanksgiving for all He is doing around and in you.  Allow the Holy Spirit flourish within you and you will see goodness in the world again.  

    Test what appears to be good to make sure that it comes from God and not Satan.  This will enable you to avoid evil and keep blameless.  You can trust the Holy Spirit to guide you without any missteps.  Pray for each other in love and it will be Holy prayers.  Never stop praying.  Do not live a lifeless life of just existing or for yourself alone.  Give it over to God and see how you can live an unimaginably full life through the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5