Week 3: Persevering in love and good works

Hi Ladies,

I hope you're seeing that the Bible has much to say about perseverance. We've looked at passages exhorting us to persevere 1) in prayer, and 2) in trials/struggles. This week, I'd like us to meditate on the repeated charge to persevere in love and good works. 

While the Greek word meaning “to continue under” isn’t specifically used except in one of these eight passages below, they are each connected, either by synonyms in word or thought. I’ll highlight those connections briefly as we look at each passage. Note that this is not an exhaustive list, but enough to prove that God cares about our continuing in love and good works!

1) “Love is patient…. Love bears all things…endures all things. Love never ends”
(1 Cor. 13:4, 7, 8) - In this familiar passage describing biblical love, four times we see the theme of love’s continuance. It is patient (bearing long), bearing all, bearing under (hypomeno!), and never-failing. We cannot love this way on our own. It must be sourced in the Spirit, which is the next passage…

2) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…patience, kindness, goodness” (Gal. 5:22) - Love and patience are both fruit of the Spirit. So are kindness and goodness! Apart from His indwelling presence and power, we cannot persevere in love and good works toward one another. But if you and I are alive by the Spirit (and I pray that you are!), then let us keep in step with Him! (v. 25). And not just toward people who are easy to love…

3) “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Rom. 15:1-2) - As with the passages last week, this kind of bearing assumes a burden. This passage depicts that burden as people. We are not here to please ourselves, but rather to live for our family’s good, to build up the body of Christ. Paul repeats this admonition to the church at Ephesus…

4) “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2) - Paul reminds them (and us) to continue persevering patiently in love with one another. We cannot do this if we see ourselves as better, so Paul says to do it with all humility and gentleness, remembering the gospel. This wasn’t an isolated message. The church at Rome got it. The church at Ephesus got it. And so did the church at Colossae…

5) “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:13-14) - As Paul anchored the previous passage in walking worthy of our calling (a present responsibility in light of past action), so here, Paul anchors the exhortation in our being chosen and forgiven. Once again, we cannot persevere simply by our own determination! Because of who we are in Christ, and what He has done and continues to do in us by the Spirit, we can persevere in love and good works. 

But Paul wasn’t the only apostle to exhort towards this perseverance…

6) “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly”  (1 Pet. 4:8) - Peter exhorted the same. This verse more literally reads, “keep fervent in your love for one another.” Love is not a one-time decision. We need to keep fervent in this Spirit-fueled command. But the final two passages don’t let us stop there…

7) “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another…. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more” (1 Th. 4:9-10) - Paul is complimentary, but not satisfied! He reminds the Thessalonian church (and now us) to love to even greater degrees. The more we are conformed to the image of Christ, and His love has captivated our hearts, the more we can love like Him. And the writer of Hebrews echoes this…

8) “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25) - Ladies, the day of Christ’s return is near! It was near two thousand years ago, and it’s even nearer now. As the culture grows more hostile to Christ, and to Christians, we must put effort into “stirring up” one another to love and good works… and not only from a distance, but especially in person, meeting together to encourage each other to persevere. 

God has given us all we need in Christ by the Spirit to persevere in love and good works. But part of that gift is the church family - (you… and me!), connected to our Head (Christ) and enlivened by the Spirit. Sometimes we lose sight of its “gift,” as personality differences and relational strains and sins can skew our perspective. But we are a gift to one another. And we can persevere in love and good works toward one another, for God’s glory and our good! 

Let’s pray for one another this week, that we would be freshly aware of all that we have to live this way, and then live it. 🙏🏼❤️

Anna 

Week 2: Persevering in the struggle

Hi Ladies,

Last week, I mentioned how I was thinking about perseverance in light of our theme of “Abide.” I want to take a few moments this week to show you just how powerful the connection is - literally and theologically! 

If you remember back to January or to our retreat, I shared that the most common word for “abide” in the original language of the New Testament (Greek) is the word meno (check out pronunciation and more by clicking on the word). It's a rich word that carries a complex meaning: to remain, to stay, to dwell, to continue. 

Well, the Greek word for “persevere” (or “endure”) is hypomeno. Do you see it?! This compound word literally means to remain under. And as you will see in the verses below, the contexts suggest remaining under difficult situations. We would expect this based on how we use the word today. You’d get raised eyebrows if you said to someone, “Keep persevering in your bliss!”  

But what hard things has God specifically called us to endure or to persevere in? 

Look at the following verses: 

- “And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 10:22).

- “Be patient in tribulation” (Rom. 12:12).

- “Remember Jesus Christ… for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:8-12).

- “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Heb. 12:1b-3).

- “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

- “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Pet. 2:20).

In this sampling of verses (use Blue Letter Bible to read them all!), we see interconnected themes. God is calling us to endure or to persevere…

- in our Christian walk and verbal witness, despite others’ hatred

- in dire circumstances (tribulations, trials)

- in our own fight against sin and the burdens that weigh us down

Struggles within…struggles around…struggles with others… They all require us to remain under the hardship. We don’t like this! Endurance training is hard, both physically and spiritually. It asks us to push beyond what we think we can push. But this is the very thing that strengthens us. God in His perfections has designed it this way. Just as a loving father disciplines or trains his children in order to mature them, so our loving Father trains us (Heb. 12:5-10). And we echo the writer of Hebrews by acknowledging that “for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).

The beautiful reality is that God has not simply called us to this and left us to figure out how to survive, but He has given us all we need to remain under the struggles. He’s not only given us Christ as our example - “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2) - but He's also given us His Spirit who abides within us, empowering us to persevere in the ongoing struggles. God never calls us to something that He does not provide for. And this is especially true of perseverance in this life! 

Let’s pray for one another this week, that we will persevere in the struggles within, around and even with each other, knowing that God is using these things to mature us and ready us for Christ’s return. ❤️🙏🏼

Anna

Week 1: The Call to Persevere - Prayer

Hi Ladies,

This week, I am writing this as much for myself as I am for you. May is here! And whether you are a teacher, a student, a parent, or you are connected to any one of these, you know that May represents busyness. Perhaps more than that, it reveals our need for perseverance. When we get so close to the end of something, it can be easy to wish it here faster, to get careless or calloused, or simply to grow weary of putting in the work. I understand these feelings! 

I’ve been thinking about perseverance as it relates to our theme of “Abide” this year. If we are not persevering from a Source that is unending, we will certainly crash. Yet it’s easy to say “keep abiding!” and still lose sight of how to live this out practically in the various areas of our lives, especially those that demand perseverance. So, as I have prayed this week about what to have us meditate and focus our prayers on, I believe we are to take this month of May and look at the specific areas in which Scripture tells us to persevere, and how we are to do that. 

We’re going to start with the most powerful, but perhaps the hardest and most neglected:

Persevering in prayer. 

As someone has said, prayer is not the only work, but it is the greatest work. And it is not simply a one-time work. Soak in the passages below:

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).

“Be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily….’” (Luke 18:1-8a).

The above passages are prescriptive; they tell us what to do. But there are a number of descriptive passages as well, showing us believers who persisted in prayer:

In chapter ten of his book, Daniel tells of receiving a terrifying vision, and his praying and mourning for three weeks. (Before you say, “Well, that’s not long compared to what I’m experiencing!”, read the whole book and put yourself in his shoes 🙂). After three weeks of semi-fasting, an angelic messenger arrives and says, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words” (Dan. 10:12).

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah tells Ahab that it’s finally going to rain after years of drought. He prays, and tells his servant to go look for the rain clouds. The servant comes back and reports nothing. He tells him to go look again. Scripture doesn’t specifically say that Elijah went back to praying, but it is certainly implied. This exchange happens seven times! And after the seventh trip up the mountain, he finally sees the rain coming (1 Kings 18:41-46). 

Paul prays “three times” for God to take away his thorn. And God responds, just not with what Paul is wanting in the moment. But as he persists in prayer, God realigns Paul’s heart with His so that by the end, Paul is boasting in his thorn! (2 Cor. 12:7-9). 

We could look at more examples, but I hope the point is clear. God calls us to persist in prayer! 

But. Why? 

Scripture doesn’t give us a mathematical equation kind of answer. But here is what is clear:

It’s not because there is a magical number of times to pray. 

It’s not because we have to prove our sincerity to God.

It is because God has designed us to communicate constantly with Him. (Think daily bread! Mt: 6:11)

It is because we are fully dependent on Him, for everything. 

It is because our prayers are the means by which He does His perfect work.

It is because He works through our prayers, not only to bring about the prayer, but more importantly to transform our hearts in the process. 

This is His good and perfect design, that we persevere in prayer.

But. How? 

That little frustration that seems too small to bring to Him? Do it. Every time. 

That “impossible” situation that you’ve given up praying for? Bring it to Him. Again. 

That long-term illness? Don’t resign yourself to despair. Pray, and trust for proportional grace each day. 

That painful relationship? Pray like a little child who has no inhibitions coming to his father, and trust that your Heavenly Father has infinite experience in the business of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

And don’t grow weary of praying. He loves to hear from you.

Let’s pray for one another this week, that we would always pray - big and small - and not lose heart. And let’s pray that our trust in Him would grow, believing that He is constantly at work whether we see it or not. He is! ❤️🙏🏼

Anna

The Fuel of Gospel Partnerships (Phil. 1:6-8)

Hi Ladies,

A few weeks ago, we looked at Philippians 1:3-5 and focused our prayer on strong gospel partnerships within our church family. This week, I’d like to look at Paul’s encouragement that follows…

He goes on to say, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Ph. 1:6-8).

Strong partners are consistently learning and growing together, aren’t they? This is the heartbeat of discipleship! The wonderful (and sometimes challenging) thing about these relationships is that they are dynamic:

None of us has arrived. 

None of us is beyond our need for them.

None of us is too old or young (physically or spiritually) or too unworthy or too… whatever you might be thinking. 🙂

And the beautiful promise found in the passage above is that God, who began the good work of sanctification in those who are in Christ, will continue it until we are fully glorified in His presence. What a comforting and motivating assurance! 

If God has promised to do this in each of us, then we can be - should be - patient and persistent with one another in the growth. But this growth process doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There is a reason the Lord commanded us to disciple one another and partner together! Indwelt by His Spirit, we are His instruments through whom He is accomplishing His work. 

We should be both humbled and encouraged. And we should not lose heart in the length or difficulty of this process. The above passage makes it clear that God’s work does not ultimately rise or fall on our shoulders. We are not tasked to fuel this work ourselves (praise God!). Yet, we are called to be obedient channels of His truth and grace. And we can trust His promise to work in and through (and sometimes even in spite of) us. 

He who promised is faithful. He will surely do it! (See 1 Thess. 5:23-24)

Lastly, notice Paul’s deep and humble love for these brothers and sisters. He held them in his heart. He shared with them in God’s amazing grace, demonstrated both in their solidarity in his imprisonment and in their passion and commitment to spread the truth of the risen and living Christ. He loved all of them with sincere, familial love. This love was not because they were all easy and likable people. He said it was the very affection of Christ Jesus, made possible by His Spirit that united them. May the Spirit fuel this kind of love for one another among our church family!

So, let’s pray for one another this week, that we might pursue one another with patience and persistence, and with a love that flows from the very heart of Christ. 

The Lord continues to increase my love for His church - this church - which means you. And may He do so more and more, in me and in you. ❤️🙏🏼

Anna