Hardships

Scripture:

Acts 14:22  "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many  hardships to enter the kingdom of God', they said".

Observation:

This is the message Paul and Barnabus brought when they returned to strengthen and encourage early believers in cities they had preached in.  They were preaching and letting people know that they were going to have to stay strong and true to the faith they had received.  In their preaching, they told them, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God".

Application:

We try to make the Gospel so easy and make great promises of how wonderful life will be when you make Jesus Lord.  We tend to focus on how beautiful life with Christ is going to be, but the early disciples taught that people were going to have to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.  They taught that what they were receiving in the future was worth any hardship in the present.

Prayer:

Father, help me to have a focus on eternity that causes me to be willing to do anything for you here with joy.  Paul and Barnabus were willing to be beaten, stoned, and run out of town on Your behalf and were willing to endure anything because they knew they were inheriting a kingdom that was coming.  Help me face hardships well.

Yours,
Jeff