Perseverance

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

It is not our nature to enjoy pain. Both physical and emotional pain can be unbearable at times, so I have heard but thankfully never really experienced. Sometimes I try to put myself into the shoes of someone else, because there is no way to know what the next hour, day, or year has in store for us. I think about families in Haiti and what it must be like to lose parents, children and friends in the blink of an eye. The world we live in can change instantly. Some of you might be in the midst of trials right now. On the outside you may look fine, but deep down there is pain and suffering.

Happiness is fleeting, but joy is rooted deeper. Thankfully we do not have to pretend to be happy when we are experiencing unbearable trials. However, we are told to find genuine, enduring joy that is found only in Jesus.

Last week we learned together that someday we will “reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).” It is encouraging to know that we will be rewarded for our genuine obedience. The trials that we face, both big and small, will only last a short time. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 it says, “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith… may be found.” When we are faced with trials, our faith is what we fall back on. If anyone is going through a trial, I pray that joy will carry them through. If now is not a time of trial, than let us search our hearts for what we have put our faith in. The question is not whether we will be tested, but rather is our faith rooted in a God strong enough to persevere when we are tested.

- Matt Simmonds

Perseverance

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

The next five weeks we get to study perseverance. Athletes understand the benefits of hard work and consistent training. All athletes understand the value of practice because we experience the benefits when it is time to perform. If we work out, study, and improve on our weaknesses, we become a better performer. Training of course is hard. There are times when all we can think about is giving up and ending the temporary discomfort that accompanies training. It’s when we don’t give up that we are most rewarded in the end.

Think back to some of the hardest practices or training sessions you have ever been through. What kept you focused and what motivated you to persevere? One of the most helpful things for me was encouragement from teammates that were going through those practices with me.

In Galatians we are given encouragement to “not grow weary of doing good.” This week I want us to encourage someone else to persevere through a struggle. We all know someone that is hurting. The list of hurt can often become long this time of year, when hope seems to be snuffed out by bills, sickness, and cold/cloudy days. Many of you are probably reaching out to someone already, but maybe there is just one more phone call to make or love donation to give.

Finally, if we believe in Jesus and trust him with our lives, we can be certain that heaven is waiting for us. Let us never lose sight of where we are going, and if any of us are unsure of our final destination, now is the time to find out and ask. Take care this week!

Matt Simmonds

Servant

^“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

John 13:3-5 (ESV)

The following is written by John Bloom, Executive Director of Desiring God.

Peter had grown used to Jesus doing and saying unpredictable things. But what Jesus was doing now was wrong. He was the last person in the room who should be washing feet.

All of Peter's life he had been taught that feet were dishonorable members of the body. They were usually dirty, frequently smelly, and among the most likely members to come in contact with things that the Law declared unclean.

Outside of immediate family, feet were washed by slaves and servants - ideally non-Jews so as not to subject any of the Covenant People to such humiliation.

And one certainly was never to insult an honored person by pointing one's feet at them.

But here was the Messiah, the most honored Jew to ever walk the earth, stripped like a common slave with a towel around his waist willingly handling the unclean feet of his disciples. This was backwards. If anything, Peter should be down there washing Jesus' feet.

John Bloom explains to us what washing feet meant in the Jewish culture that Jesus lived in. We see just a glimpse of what Jesus was willing to do for the twelve disciples that night. Jesus was still yet to complete his final act of service however. Jesus life of service would soon culminate at the cross.

How can we be servants in our day to day lives? C.S. Lewis once said “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” I think C.S. Lewis knew the key to being a servant. Let us think this week about how we can look past ourselves and serve others.

- Matt Simmonds

Servant

SERVANT

“…whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 20: 26-28 (ESV)

During my undergrad studies, I took several business classes that explained the structure of businesses both large and small. We looked at companies that have complex levels of hierarchy and others that have a much simpler structures. Our world is organized by leaders that have worked for years in order to gain power and responsibility to make decisions that affect the large majority of employees. Those at the very top seem to rarely interact with those at the bottom. In large corporations, the decision makers do not spend the majority of their time mingling with the lowest level of employees.

Jesus ran things different than our world does today. He was the leader and decision maker in his ministry, but he still took the time to be visible to his followers. Instead of being served by his following, he came to serve the people.

Our attitude should also be to serve first. God promises that by being a servant we will be “great” and placed “first” in his eyes. I encourage all of us to look for new ways to serve the world around us in this New Year. What a great opportunity it is to refocus and let God change and work in our hearts like we have never allowed him to do before.

- Matt Simmonds