Perseverance: Part 1

I just read an article about Tiger Woods. A few weeks ago he was at the top of his game. He was the most sought after athlete in the world. Now because he did not persevere in his pursuit of his wife and purity, he is a broken man and has lost the respect of the world.

Proverbs 3:3-4 says, “Persevere in love and faithfulness. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and good reputation in the sight of God and man.”

Praying for Tiger to go back to the faithfulness he started with. Praying someone who knows Jesus can influence him during this time of brokeness. Praying he and his wife will reconcile.

Perseverance in righteousness matters. May the Lord strength us all today to keep our convictions…especially when we’re away from home.

What really makes us happy, what really matters?

In Romans 8 it’s refreshingly clear…to have the Spirit of Christ living in us, to be loved by God.

But do we believe this? Or have we not taken the time to examine what the death and resurrection of Christ has done for us? Romans 8 dives in and asks some hard questions.

Check this passage out: Romans 8:35-37

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^n]”>[n]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Is this true? Are we able to feel loved when we loose our job? When we feel destitute (though most of us are far from destitute when compared to our brothers and sisters living across the world).

If someone has Christ, but lacks even food…is suffering, is hurting, but has the Spirit of Christ, then they have the love & glory of God in them and that is enough.

We (I), American Christians, have put so many requirements on happiness and meaning. We have said Christ alone, but practiced Christ plus….house, money, marriage, kids, success, health, respect of men, entertainment, leisure, excess, pleasures, outward attractiveness & apparel, etc.

In fact, that message promoted by so many, even preachers, is that God wants us happy above all else. Their definition of happiness like that described above…healthy, successful, having a lot of material possessions.

But here we see that life/happiness comes from walking in the Spirit. It comes from saying no to the flesh (vs 6). It comes from knowing that we are no longer slaves of sin, but children of God who can call Him abba(daddy) (vs 15-16)! It comes from sharing in His suffering so that we might share in His glory (vs 17). It comes from resting in the sufficiency of His presence with us through the Holy Spirit (vs. 23). It comes as we focus not on how we feel right now, but on the new bodies and closeness we’ll have with Him when He delivers us from the death and decay of this world and we made new along with all creation (vs. 23)! It comes when we realize that He is watching our back and when we don’t even know how to pray or deal with circumstances, He intercedes for us to turn things for our ultimate good… which is to become more like Him (vs. 26-29). It comes when we realize that for His glory, He will give us victory over all who are against us (vs 31). It comes when we realize how committed He is to us. If He gave His only son for us, how much more will He freely give us everything else we need to really live life to the fullest for His glory (vs. 32).

We are happiest when we no longer question His love for us though we are in trouble, calamity, persecuted, hungry, destitute, in danger, threatened and or slaughtered for His name sake. No, peace is not found in stuff, but in the reality of His love demonstrated by His gift of life through Jesus. Happiness is not a new home, but a new heart secured by His suffering. Happiness is not good health, but a new body secured for us by His crucifixion. Happiness is not the applause of men, but the delight of God in us because of Christ giving us His righteousness. Happiness is believing that He always wins. Believing that we are overwhelming victors because of the sufficiency of His love for us.

Happiness is snuggling up in the palm of His hand completely at rest because nothing can even come close to separating us from His love that is revealed and sealed by Christ Jesus our Lord (vs. 35-39)!

So dive into His promises to you in Romans 8 and be happy that you are so loved…no matter what happens here (even though He will work “the here and now” stuff out for our good too).

Mark 10:23-30- What are we living for?
"And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, Then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God. Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life."

Can you see Peter jabbing Jesus and says, "Hey, what about us? We’ve given up everything to follow you!" Jesus doesn’t even let him say another word. He wanted them (us) to get this point. Eternity is so much bigger and better. Sacrifice for Jesus is so much more satisfying than what stuff or even the closest relationships can afford us. The only surprise as I read this is the phrase "with persecutions" woven into the hundredfold promise. Isn’t this suppose to be about a hundredfold blessing? Evidently being persecuted for Jesus’ sake is a blessing. A few verses later he seems to be telling James & John they would be privileged share in His baptism of suffering. I think the idea is that to drink His cup of suffering is to share in intimacy with Him. Loss of stuff and relationship with persecutions equal unimaginable gain both now and for eternity? It’s almost unimaginable. It’s off the charts to think this way. Religious leaders have almost always focused more on the material gains/blessings from God. But this is vintage Jesus! It’s out of this world’s logic. It can only be proven by those who follow.

It’s like trying to tell someone who needs heart surgery how amazing it is to have your arteries cleaned or a pace-maker put in before they have had it. They can only know just how great it is after doing it. That’s why so few really go for it. We want to taste it a little first. We want to stay in the crowd where it’s safe. Where we can remain unchanged and unchallenged. But to step out and give it all up like the rich young ruler was challenged to do…wow! What if he had given up everything, given it to the poor and followed Jesus. What an amazing story. It’s almost like Jesus doesn’t tell us that story so that we don’t compare ourselves and feel less important. The widow and her 2 mites tells us it’s not the amount we give that matters, it’s the percentage of what we have…only 100% counts. She gave all that she had to live on, which is the same whether you are rich or poor. All is still all. Having nothing but Jesus is still all you need. But you don’t know that till you do it.

PRAYER:
Lord, please help me to do it! Please help me to give it all and not hold back. My flesh is so tricky. It’s so weak. In a moment I go from wanting to give it all away to wanting to keep it all and even get more! Show me how it looks practically to be 100% yours! Show me how to give it away day to day. It almost seems easier to give everything away at once. But giving it all to You each day…that takes Holy Spirit empowerment! I love You. I really love You. I owe everything to You. I truly have nothing. Without You it’s like I"m in a nasty prison with an un-repayable debt to pay and no hope of getting out or being with my family and free ever again. Without You I’m separated from all that has meaning, surrounded by others who are in the same hopeless state and bitter. But that’s not where I am now that I have You! Thank You so much for saving me completely and eternally! Make me willing to use my freedom to serve You with all that I am and have!

Hope is found in Jesus. How can I prove it?

When I was without a job because of the economy after 911, it wasn’t the government that took care of me, although God could have used them. It was God! In fact, a friend of mine I hadn’t talked to for a long time called me just a few weeks before I got laid off to say that God had put me on his mind. He had just received a nice bonus from work and felt I needed to be given part of it. He gave me $5000 for my personal needs! What he didn’t know was that I had just gotten engaged and was about to be laid off. CHRIST takes care of us so we can take care of others! My prayer during this current recession is that we will all put more trust/hope in Christ to meet our needs and that He will even give us more than we need so we can help others! 

In Philippians 4:12-13 Christ-follower Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Paul’s HOPE is in… government? His own abilities? Social Security? No! His confidence is in HIM who gives us strength. Who gives you strength? Does your prayer life reflect who you depend on? How about your giving? Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

When Your hope is in Christ, His words are your guide. You look to His principles when deciding how to live, no matter what circumstances may be surrounding you.

MY BELIEF- HOPE IS IN JESUS, period! Man will let you down, but Jesus will never fail You if you are a child of God!

I’ll leave you with this thought. When your tempted to question God’s faithfulness or love for you because of circumstances, outside voices, your own self-dislike, remember Romans 8:31-32,38-39 “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You can take that to the bank! The Peace of Christ to you!

PS. If you need prayer, please email us at prayer@passion4people.org

God is doing BIG things in Honduras! He is calling His people to join the fight, resist the enemy, and share the gospel. Right this very minute He is raising up future generations to reach out to lost and forgotten street boys who survive on one or two meals a week. Addicted to shoe glue they roam and stumble through the muck and sludge of the Honduran underworld.

Like zombies they emerge from the hustle of the streets, clinging to the shoulders of me and the other team members, “Do you have shirts?” they ask, looking at the bag of clothing I am carrying, “I am hungry, do you have food?”

It is the third consecutive day our team has gone deep into the streets of the open markets to meet with them. Each day we brought a warm meal and supplies to wash their feet. They smile when they see us, some murmur, some laugh. They’re existence is in permanent flight or flight mode, I feel their suffering and addictions beseech my heart.



So small and frail, their ages surprise me. What looks like a crippled eight-year-old is really a teenager; signs of malnourishment and physical weakness mark them from head to toe. It is a desperate sight. Where is God? I ask myself. What can I possibly do here, Lord? I feel useless.

We try to bring order to the chaos, lining up the boys into a crescent shape and pleading with them to sit down. There are maybe 15 at first, all covered in dirt and scars, most toting an empty soda bottle around their neck. It contains a dollop of shoe glue—the fruits of their begging and the chains that enslave them.

“We are going to hand out the hot plates of food, but first we need to pray,” says Marvin, our friend and translator; he is a resident at the Micah Project in Tegucigalpa. They bow their heads and close their eyes… I am shocked. They know how to pray? With horror I realize that I am guilty of judging these poor boys as lesser humans. God reveals to me that He loves them like He loves me and all His children. His heart aches for their plight. Where I saw filth, I now see hope. Forgive me, father, help me to remember that Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are not my ways.

Their eyes still closed they reverently thank Jesus for their food and we begin to pass out the plates. They fight, they beg for more, they make gestures, they yell. We wash their feet anyways and we share the gospel. More arrive, we hand out t-shirts. Some grab and try to steal extras, but others share theirs and one even thanked us, saying that no one has ever brought them food and washed their feet for three days in a row.

We told them that God loves them and sent us here to serve them. We brought them living water and the hope of salvation. God told me “seeds.” The word of God is like water to the earth; it brings forth seed and bread; it doesn’t return to Him void but will accomplish His purpose.

I feel like God used me in Honduras in many ways. Some huge and some small, and in some ways that I may not even know about. If I can share a thought with all of you reading this, its to be encouraged that the Lord is in control, no matter where you go. I felt called to join this team and I am now filled with ineffable joy, hope, and love because I followed Him in blind faith, submissive to His will and He didn’t let me down!

I learned that God can use short-term mission trips to help accomplish long-term goals, such as those of the Micah Project (www.micahcentral.org), where young boys are taken off the streets and brought into a home of safety, love, and education. They learn about Jesus, conquer their addictions, and many go on to become Christian leaders.



Marvin, the translator on our street excursion, is one of these boys. He has a bright future because of the Micah Project and is helping further their ministry to the street boys. God can do anything. He can move mountains. He is mighty to save! I had no idea of what I had to offer until God showed me… in the midst of chaos, sin, and filth; He is steadfast, true, and great. Be led with peace and God will use you like He did me.

-Amy Neilson

One home has a huge medical facility where they have a general doctor, pediatrician and pediatrician surgeon on staff. But that’s not all. They are building a school with international accreditation that will take the kids up through the first 2 years of college! This is a major work! Another home also has a new school for the local children, but their focus is giving these kids a vocation they can use as they do mission work in limited-access countries around the world! A third home takes in only kids who have been abused physically or sexually. What a challenge! These kids they raise on a farm setting to give them healthy daily routines where they can heal over time. AMAZING WORKS OF GOD!

But how do they do it? I feel good about taking a few weeks to serve those Jesus loves in difficult places, but these people are committed for life to these orphans and their communities! Not only this, but they are asking those who get involved with them to commit to at least 16 years with each child. What’s cool…one orphanage has a waiting list of sponsors who want to be a part of what they are doing! Maybe God is changing hearts to go from shallow to solid!

But how do they do it? What I heard from all three people is this:
1. God gave them a clear call to this mission of helping orphans and widows (James 1:21 suggests that it’s a call we all have a part in.)
2. They all had past experiences of being orphaned or alone that filled their heart with compassion for kids going through the same things.
3. They all had encountered the power of the living Christ to heal and restore them. With this hope they moved boldly to help others encounter Him too! He can heal and redeem these kids!
4. They mentioned that the incarnation of Christ from heaven to earth for us was their inspiration! He gave up so much more than we could ever give up. We were in desperate need of Him and He didn’t wait for us to peg Him to help us. He found us! That’s the message these people want these kids to get…to get how much Christ loves them and pass it on! He didn’t just drop tracks from the sky telling us He loves us! He came and gave His entire life to redeem us!

Lord, please make me willing to go all out! Please help me look like I’m following You! The real You. Lord, strengthen my faith to trust that going all out for You will never disappoint me. Teach me to trust that You will fully provide for what You guide me to do! Help my life make room for faith to be required!

How about you? Need to pray the same prayer?

PS- Click here for more photos of these children’s homes in Honduras.