Keep Persevering

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:1-7 ESV)

We who are called of God to serve him with our lives are still human beings. We bleed. We cry. We get hurt. We mourn. We grieve. We go through trials and tribulations to test our faith. And we need encouragement. For we aren’t always strong. We get tired. We get discouraged and disheartened. We feel lonely. We have days when we have no strength or energy, especially the older that we get. We get forgetful. And we have enemies. We have people who are against us and what we do, even among those professing faith in Jesus Christ. And so it helps to know that there are people praying for us.

I never knew either of my grandmothers. My father’s mother died when he was only 4 years old in the flu epidemic of 1918. My mother’s mother died in 1952 when I was only 2 years old, so I have no memory of her. But in 2004 I came into possession of my grandmother’s (my mother’s mother’s) journals, and that was God sent. As soon as I began reading her journals I immediately connected with her in ways I never connected with any of my other family members. I really felt as though I belonged to her.

She wrote so much like I write, and she expressed herself in many of the same ways in which I express myself. She said the same phrases that I say, and she had the same heart for the Lord as I have. And we had many of the same favorite Bible verses that we quoted. But she was much more of a prayer warrior than I am, and she visited people in their homes and prayed with them, and I think she even took food to them sometimes. But we shared the same passion for God and for his word and for ministry.

Even back then she was seeing the condition of the church as in great need of revival and she was burdened for the spiritual condition of the church, as was A.W. Tozer who wrote back in the 1940’s about some of the things that a lot of us were not even aware of until the past 10-20 years, some of which many people are still not aware. And there was this one thing that my grandmother kept quoting that I was not familiar with, and so I finally looked it up, and it turned out that it was a passage of Scripture:

“Then the Lord replied: ’Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NIV’84)

Then this passage of Scripture kept showing up in other places and I knew that God had a message for me through it. And eventually that became God’s calling on my life to write down what he teaches me from his word each day on a tablet (my computer) and to place these writings on the internet (the herald) so that the herald could “Run With It” (the name of my blog). But the Lord took me through so many trials and tribulations in my life to prepare me for this moment so that I would answer his call.

And I understand why the apostle Paul wrote to encourage Timothy and to remind him to fan into flame the gift of God within him, and why he told him that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. And that is because when we answer God’s call on our lives with “Yes, Lord!”, that is when the enemy begins to fiercely attack and to try to discourage us and to make us afraid in hopes that we will back down and run away. But the Lord had prepared me for this moment all my life. 

I knew there was no turning back, not anymore. This was it! For this very purpose I was created of God for this moment in history to share with people what the Lord was teaching me from his word each day for their encouragement and instruction and spiritual growth and wisdom and discernment. For these are very trying times in which we now live, and there is so much confusion and lies and distortions of truth and things being altered, and liars and lies and tricks and deceptions now abound!

So I was to fan into flame the gift of God within me unlike any other time in my life. And I was to stay the course no matter what – no matter what others said about me or did to me or said to me. For this is a critical time in our history when people need to hear the truth and they need to be made aware of the many lies which are spreading in the name of truth. And so I am committed to the Lord and to his calling upon my life no matter what happens to me or how many hate or reject me or want nothing to do with me. And if they think me odd, that’s ok. People need to hear the truth.

And the truth, with regard to the gospel of our salvation, is that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and now live to him and to his righteousness, in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, and in holy living, to the glory and praise of God. But if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to the Lord, we will die in our sins and we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what our lips profess. So please take this to heart.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387