The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

PERSEVERANCE

Newton’s third law states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” When an object is pushed, there will always be movement of some sort. In a similar way, the Christian life is full of pressures that God allows to happen in order to push his people into deeper dependence on him.

One of the reasons that God gave his church the book of Hebrews is to encourage his people to endure in the midst of persecution. The Christian life will have moments, perhaps even seasons, of opposition. This should not surprise followers of Christ. Jesus himself even warned his disciples that they would experience hardships (Mt 24:9 – 10). Yet, this warning is followed by an encouragement: some people will continue to believe, all people will have an opportunity to believe and Jesus will come back to save his people (Mt 24:11 – 14).

The author of Hebrews twice told his audience to hang on and endure, and in between those exhortations he highlights Jesus as the hope for people who are in the midst of difficult situations. When the pressure increases, Christians are encouraged to remember those who endured faithfully. Among those who lived lives worthy of imitation, Jesus is the greatest example. Jesus won victory through suffering and lives to give strength in every moment.

Jesus, I pray for those brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for your sake right now. I ask you to wrap your loving arms around them and fill them with your supernatural peace. Amen.