Thursday, January 01, 2009

Persevere in the New Year

I am posting a daily email I receive from Summit Christian Center (Rick Godwin's church). Too great not to share. You can sign up to receive these too by visiting: www.summitsa.com.

“We will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIVThis year – persevere (1)Perseverance means: (1) Succeeding because you’re determined to, not because you’re entitled to. Achievers don’t sit back and wait for success because they think the world “owes them.” No, if you’re wise you’ll ask God for direction, stand firm on the Word He has given you, go forward and refuse to quit. You must adopt the attitude of the man who said, “We are determined to win. We’ll fight them until hell freezes over, and if we have to, we’ll fight them on ice.” Recalling the trials he’d faced, Paul said: “I started, and I’m going to finish. I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door…And that’s not the half of it” (2Co 11:23-28 TM). One word describes Paul – relentless.

(2) Recognizing that life is not one long race, but many short ones in succession. Each task has its own challenges and each day its own events. You have to get out of bed the next morning and run again, but it’s never exactly the same race. To be successful you must keep plugging away. It’s said that Columbus faced incredible difficulties while sailing west in search of a passage to Asia. He encountered storms, experienced hunger, deprivation and extreme discouragement. The crews of his three ships were near mutiny. But his account of the journey says the same thing over and over: “Today, we sailed on.” And his perseverance paid off. He didn’t discover a fast route to the spice-rich Indies; instead he found a new continent. The scriptural key to success is – running the race each day (See Heb 12:1-2).

So, this year – persevere.

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