Notes From the Pastor's Desk

October 20, 2024

A Continuing People

It seems that too many of God's people do not continue on steadfastly. Our work for God is about like a muscle spasm. We make little twitches of effort for the Lord and after a while they stop. To be “steadfast” has the idea of “fixed in direction, firm in purpose, unwavering, firmly established, or firmly fixed in a place or position.”

I. Continue In Faith

Read Acts 14:22. The Bible says those early Christians continued in the faith. "The faith" does not so much refer to personal faith as it does creed or doctrine. We should be so grounded in the fundamentals of the faith that no one can get us off track when it comes to the cardinal doctrines in the Word of God. Cults will one day face God with their unbelief and false doctrines.

II. Continue In Prayer

Look at Col. 4:2. There are so many things that try to detour us from the right kind of praying. Satan fights our prayer lives. The last thing the devil wants us to do is pray. Prayer tears down the strongholds of the devil and puts him on the run. Others often fight our prayer lives and do not know it. They try to take our time that ought to be spent in prayer for more menial tasks.

III. Continue In Devotion

Read 2 Tim. 4:10. Everyone thought Demas was a follower of the Lord. Demas looked dedicated, but his heart was not with the Lord Jesus. His heart was in the world (or the world system). As a result he went his own way instead of God's.

IV. Continue In Watchfulness

See Matt. 26:41. Christ told us to watch and pray. There are so many things around us that would deceive and destroy us if we let it happen. We must watch; we must be on our guard; we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

V. Continue In Thanksgiving

Look at 1 Thess. 1:2. Thanksgiving is to be a “present tense” “ongoing matter” in our lives. When we are “God centered” we are thankful, but when we are “self centered” it is entirely a different story. When we are self centered we murmur and complain more than we do to thank God for what is ours.

VI. Continue In Love

In John 15:9 Jesus said, “Continue ye in my love.” To what does Christ refer in this verse? We are to be motivated by His divine love and to be captivated with His divine love. If a person is saved, the love of God is at work in that individual's heart. If we continue in His love, we are dependent upon and obedient to Him.