Endurance and Faithfulness

Scripture:

Revelation 13:10 "Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison.  Anyone who is destined to die by the sword will die by the sword.  This means that God's  holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful".

Observation:

Bad things happen to good people.  How we react to persecution and problems tells much about who we are.  In this verse, God's people are told they must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.  The persecution John is speaking about is in a whole new dimension from anything we have seen here is the United States, yet we are told to endure patiently and remain faithful.

Application:

A true walk with the Holy Spirit is the only way to remain faithful and endure persecution.  He will give us what we need at the  right time.  He will let us know how to respond and what to say to whom.  Remaining faithful and enduring also takes incredible amounts of discipline.  God's people must be people of discipline.  We must discipline our lives so that we can do the right thing, even when the right thing is hard.  I believe persecution is coming in a way we have not known before and that now is the time to prepare ourselves by living disciplined lives.

Prayer:

Father, help me prepare for what is to come.  Help me discipline my life more and more.  I want to be a person of endurance and faithfulness to all You ask me to do.  Help me to finish the course You have set out before me.

Yours,
Jeff