The Hard Work of Faith
Jude 1:20-21
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
Eight years ago I constructed a brick patio and flowerbed beside our home. I love to do the work when the time is available. It is a left over passion from days of landscaping. This project took hard, long labor. The ground had to be leveled with a shovel. Sand was spread and leveled as well. The sand foundation has to be strong and hard to hand the weight of the brinks. If not done correctly the patio will move and crumble. It took days to firm the groundwork with a tamper and water. Then each brink was hand laid and locked into place with more sand and water. The finished product took weeks.
Tuesday afternoon my boys and I demolish the patio to make way for another project. I was expecting days of effort and energy. The destruction took only a few hours. What was meticulously put in to place was tore down with little struggle.
Life with Lord Jesus is hard work. Like all relationship it takes effort and energy to connect and grown with Him. We must meet with Him. Our focus on His gospel and eternal life should be a priority if He is our priority. When we do not build ourselves up in the faith, the relationship is easily torn away.
This building up takes personal, private commitments to seek God in pray and praise. You cannot be strong in the faith with only a few hours of spiritual labor a eek. It also means we participate in the worship and service to God as a church family. Battling covid quarantines and snowstorms can make it hard to be connected to other believers. As this weekend approaches, make honoring God as a church family your priority. If your situation does not allow you to be in personal, then build yourself up by praying and encouraging others in the faith.
Matt Emerson
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
Eight years ago I constructed a brick patio and flowerbed beside our home. I love to do the work when the time is available. It is a left over passion from days of landscaping. This project took hard, long labor. The ground had to be leveled with a shovel. Sand was spread and leveled as well. The sand foundation has to be strong and hard to hand the weight of the brinks. If not done correctly the patio will move and crumble. It took days to firm the groundwork with a tamper and water. Then each brink was hand laid and locked into place with more sand and water. The finished product took weeks.
Tuesday afternoon my boys and I demolish the patio to make way for another project. I was expecting days of effort and energy. The destruction took only a few hours. What was meticulously put in to place was tore down with little struggle.
Life with Lord Jesus is hard work. Like all relationship it takes effort and energy to connect and grown with Him. We must meet with Him. Our focus on His gospel and eternal life should be a priority if He is our priority. When we do not build ourselves up in the faith, the relationship is easily torn away.
This building up takes personal, private commitments to seek God in pray and praise. You cannot be strong in the faith with only a few hours of spiritual labor a eek. It also means we participate in the worship and service to God as a church family. Battling covid quarantines and snowstorms can make it hard to be connected to other believers. As this weekend approaches, make honoring God as a church family your priority. If your situation does not allow you to be in personal, then build yourself up by praying and encouraging others in the faith.
Matt Emerson