Tag: Perseverance

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29 NIV) I was probably in the fifth grade when Dad brought a basketball hoop and attached it to the roof on the backside of our house.  Most of the time I played alone.  However, there was a young man who lived around the corner who carried papers for the newspaper station that my father managed, and he would...

“Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble.” (Proverbs 24:10 Contemporary English Version) By the time Ludwig van Beethoven completed his 9th Symphony, he was totally deaf.  His hearing started to decline decades before completing what is considered by many to be his greatest work.  He represents an example of perseverance for not only musicians, but for people of various fields...

“Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.”  And he said, “Look, the fire, and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7 NASB) At some time in life, I’m sure that you have heard the adage, “If you don’t get it right, try and try again.”  I thought one “try” would be sufficient, but this...

“We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken.” (2 Corinthians 4:8b-9 The Message Bible) You load up your cart as you check out at the grocery store.  You gently and carefully place...

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13...

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV) Paul is a good example of perseverance. In Second Corinthians he gives an accounting,...

“What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives.  This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.  Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it?  It’s different in this life.  God...