Keep the faith in Jesus! It pleases the Father that we accept His free gift which cost Him so very much.
Holy Spirit will take the teachings of Jesus and make them come alive in Scripture giving us the understanding and guidance that only He can give.
2 Timothy 1:13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The New King James Version
Paul considered his life and teaching worthy of imitation. Faithlife Study Bible
Hold fast is a command to Timothy to persist in the sound words of healthy teaching. Many who say they speak for Christ proclaim false doctrine. Like Timothy, we need to pursue sound teaching and avoid all teaching that does not conform to the Scriptures, no matter how good certain teachers might sound or how large their following might be. The NKJV Study Bible
Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:11 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
Peter was writing to the dispersed Jews. The Spirit of Christ made him aware of the tribulation to come. They would need to soberly await the return of Christ. We need to be careful what we say and do doing our best to emulate Jesus. We were redeemed with His precious blood. From the beginning of mankind’s existence God, knowing that we would fail, already had His plan of redemption. As children of God we need to walk holy as He is holy walking out our faith realizing we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Jesus ordained before the foundation of the earth knew His Kingdom would have no end. Our faith and hope is in Him. We are born again not of corruptible flesh but of the seed of Christ. All flesh will wither and die but the Spirit of God in us, who raised Jesus from the grave, will also raise us up.
Luke 4:16
And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus in the synagogue reading from the scripture recalled the prophet Isaiah and the acceptable year of the Lord. He closed the book and sat down. On that day the scripture was fulfilled.
Isaiah 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
When the house of Israel rejected their King the Gospel of Grace was given to the Gentiles they were brought into “the Body of Christ”.
Matthew 9:35 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Jesus Christ came to His own and they did not recognize Him.
Jesus went about preaching in the synagogue the Gospel of the Kingdom. He preached not to the Gentiles but to the lost sheep of Israel telling them that the Kingdom had come they only needed to accept Him as their redeemer King.
Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
Peter spoke of Jesus and His crucifixtion and of His return. Showing from the psalms that He would suffer many things for our redemption. Peter had witnessed His rising from the dead. He realized the Jesus now resides at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool. He let them know that He who they had crucified was their King sent to the 12 tribes of Israel. there is no denying that God hardening their hearts allowed us entry into His Kingdom. He will never desert Israel and one day they will look upon Him as their King and Lord. Carla
We may or may not be facing physical persecution; however, we all face fiery trials in life. In funeral homes and hospital beds, in broken marriages and within prison walls … With Christ, we are never alone. First5
There is no denying the fact that we live in a world where we don't breathe all that well. It is too easy to opt for, or be tempted by, distraction; to create a life filled (suffocated) with encumbrances and cares. And especially urgent meetings. It is something about an inherent need to justify our time as well spent. Even if it involves our passion. As if our passions (and even our hobbies) must be justified to be valid. I picked up a book the other day with the title, "What you are really meant to do." (I honestly couldn't wait to find out.) A well-meaning in title (because we all have a place where our passions do come to life), but it ends up creating an itch exacerbating some internal clock that tells us we find meaning only when or after we arrive at our dream job. There is something dispiriting about believing that now—this present moment—now, can only be an interim life where we tread water. Sabbath Moments
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