-October 20, 2024-
Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day,
“For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 3:8).
It was Paul’s desire for the saints in Thessalonica to stand fast in the Lord. This is also what the Lord wants from us on a daily basis. To stand fast is to cling to the Lord in the midst of trials, troubles, and testings.
Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
The early church faced many perils, such as hardships, persecutions, false teachers, and fears of many kinds. We experience much the same today along with other new things as well, such as what we see on TV, in movies, and on the internet.
As believers in an unbelieving world, we face pressure on a daily basis to compromise our beliefs, to be silent when we need to speak up, to give in when we should stand firm.
Standing fast in the Lord is like a ship held by an anchor—Jesus is our anchor. He holds us fast so that we can stand fast in Him. Six times Paul uses this expression, “stand fast” in the epistles: He says in 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave strong.” He also wrote in Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conduct be worthy of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
The other references for further study are found in Galatians 5:1; Philippians 4:1; and 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Paul also uses the expression, “stand firm in the faith” which is another way on stating this same truth.
May the Lord help us to stand fast in the Lord against all the attacks of the evil one and all the pressures of life. The saints, the angels, and the Lord Jesus Himself are cheering us on to victory.
Have a blessed day standing fast. It is not easy; Let us therefore pray for each other. Stay safe and healthy.
Standing firm and standing fast, from the first until the last.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 