November 30, 2022

Hello Advent Family,

I can remember as a child playing a game at the beach.  We would send about shin to knee deep in the water and bury or secure our feet under the sand then we would try to see who could stay standing in that one place without moving the longest.  The waves would come and beat against us and eventually knock us down or move us but the better our feet were buried the longer we would stand.  Paul talks about a similar concept in our faith life.  Let’s look at it together in 2 Thessalonians 2.

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Paul is reminding the church to stand firm, to hold fast to what they have been taught.  This is such an important concept in our rapidly changing world.  We have truth from God’s word that we are told to stand firm and hold fast to.  The “waves” of life will certainly beat against us time and again.  It seems that the more firmly we are planted in God’s word, the more closely we are following the example of Jesus’ life the better chance we will have to stand firm.  The other advantage we have is others who stand firm with us to help hold us up.  Another standing with us helps us even more to stand up to the “waves” of life.  I pray that we would all be firmly rooted and stand firm on the teachings of our God.

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave


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