“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58; NKJV). To be steadfast is to be constant, immoveable, unwavering. God the Father never changes (Mal 3:6a), nor does Jesus (Heb 13:8) and God’s plans and purposes stand firm across all generations (Ps 33:11). I am always impressed with the prophet, Daniel; he was constant in his relationship to God, praying always even though he faced the penalty of death for doing so (Dan 6:10). In the New Testament we are told to stand firm in our relationship with God (Phil 1:4) and not to get discouraged or weary in doing good (Gal 6:9). James, the brother of Jesus, exhorted us to “Let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no” (James 5:12b). The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23; NKJV).

As Christians, we are to be consistent, constant in our walk with God, with no contradictions in our lifestyle. We often hear people say, “it’s not how you start but how you finish the race that counts.” Jesus asked His disciples whether He would find faith at His second coming (Luke 18:8b) but when He returns will He also find a church consistent with the early church of Acts? How can we assure this will be so? Joshua 1:8 would be a good starting point. Joshua advises us to meditate God’s word both day and night and live lives consistent with what we read. Do I hear an Amen?

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26; NIV). This was the blessing that the Lord told Moses to speak over the children of Israel; this blessing is timeless and still applicable today. The Hebrew word for bless is barach and means to “increase in prosperity.” Prosperity doesn’t just apply to our finances but to every area of our lives. We learn more about being blessed in Deuteronomy chapter 28 where it says that, “blessings will overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deut 28:2; NKJV). Read Deut 28:1-14 and see how blessed you are! In Psalm 1 we read about the blessing that comes on those that delight in God and His word. Verse 3 says that person will be like a vibrant tree and “whatever he does shall prosper” (Ps 1:3; NKJV).

In the New Testament, Matt 5:1-11 we have the Beatitudes which means supreme blessedness. In each beatitude we have to behave a certain way in order to be supremely blessed. We are also told by the apostle Paul that we are, “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3; NKJV). It doesn’t get much better than that! Of course, there is so much more in the Bible with regard to being blessed but I close with this verse, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29; NKJV). That’s us!

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptations to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor 10:13; NLT). As Christians we are still tempted to sin (James 1:1:4). When we became a Christian only our spirit was made new (John 3:3, 5-8), our souls and bodies (1 Thess 5:23) were not renewed. Temptation does not come from God (James 1:13). Our unrenewed soul can respond to its own evil desires and be tempted to sin (James 1:14-15) and satan will tempt us as well (Matt 4:1-10; Gen 3:1-5). We need to renew our minds (Rom 12:2) and discipline our bodies (1 Cor 9:27). The apostle Paul described the struggle both he and we face between our renewed inner man or spirit and our flesh, our body and soul (Rom 7:15-25). However, he follows that discussion with the marvelous victory statement in Romans 8:2 (NLT), “And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” The power of the Holy Spirit within us brings life to our spirits that were dead in sin, power to enable us to walk in victory (Acts 1:8), direction to recognize and counter sin (Rom 8:16; 9:1) and power to change and become more like Christ (Rom 8:11; Gal 5:22-23)! We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Let’s get in the word and see how God can keep us from temptation and lead us in victory. Finally, Jesus through His sacrifice and victory won forgiveness for us (Col 1:14), never forget that.