4-14-2016

Good Morning All!! 

         Revelation 2:10; “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

    I always enjoyed when I got the opportunity to coach kids.  I loved coaching baseball.  I wasn’t that good at it.  My coaching advice was limited to about 5 sayings, “Head down”, “Elbow in”, “shoulders level”, “swing through the ball” and the one I probably used the most, “hang in there”.  That was pretty much it.  I once told one of the mothers that she could do just as good a job as I did.  I told her, when in doubt, tell the player to “hang in there.”

    For many of us that pretty much sums up life, “hang in there.”  It means that what you are facing may seem like an impossible challenge but you can get through it.  I remember when I was coaching; it was not uncommon to have a ten or eleven year old trying to bat against a much bigger thirteen year old pitcher.  It seemed like that ball was coming in at 200 miles an hour and it always looked like it was coming at your head.  Sometimes, those young players would stare at me with an incredulous look on their face.  “Hang in there” they thought I was crazy.  But I knew something that they didn’t.  A major part of batting is fear; if you overcome the fear you can hit the ball.  You have to overcome the fear of failure, of missing the ball, and of being hit.  Once you can control those fears, you can relax a little and get more comfort with what you are trying to do.  I also knew that as they grew; they would have greater success as they matured and developed.

    This is really the message of our verse and all of the Revelation to St. John is basically that, “hang in there”.  Even though it looks like the world and the devil is winning; they are not.  Jesus has already defeated them and given the victory to us.  We are the victors and the victory cannot and will not be taken away from us so we are to remain faithful, “hang in there” until Jesus returns.  It might look really scary; it might look like we haven’t got a chance but God knows that as we mature in our faith that our fears will lessen and as they do we will become more confident in God’s grace.  We will recognize that the noise of the world is just that: noise.  We will continue to cling to God’s Word and rely on the truth that Jesus has defeated everything and given this victory to us through faith.  We do not have to make any changes or additions to this victory; it is complete.  We just need to be ready when Jesu returns.  We just need to “hang in there.”

    This may sound simplistic but our faith is simple.  Believe that Jesus died for you and that in this death and resurrection he gives you the victory over sin, death, and the devil.  Hold onto this truth; no matter what lies are told to you.  Trust that Jesus is the king and victor and through Him you are saved.  “Hang in there!”

Father, give me the courage and wisdom to trust your great promise.  Keep us faithful to Your Word.  Lead me to bring hope to this world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret