Hang in there

Authentic Christianity is an endurance race that requires perseverance and patience. No one understood this better than members of the first-century church at Philadelphia, one of seven churches in Asia Minor profiled in the book of Revelation. Yeshua (Jesus), speaking through the apostle John, commends it for three expressions of faith:

1) You have a little strength;
 2) You have kept My word
; 3) You have not denied My name.

The Greek word for “little” implies less or least. God’s response: No problem. His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Empowered by God’s Spirit, the righteous in Philadelphia persevered in a pagan society. They kept God’s Word. They kept the faith.

Today we live in perilous times. Evil is called good, and good evil. Sin is celebrated openly. But God has kept a remnant, a body of believers who, like those in Philadelphia, would not quit or compromise. Even if your strength is waning, don’t relent. As we near the finish line, hear the urgency in Yeshua’s voice in Rev. 3:11, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

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