"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will receive all that He has promised."
This is a great example of surrender and dying to self. Patient endurance in this world and confident trust in eternal life because of Jesus and His surrender to the Father. As we call ourselves "Christian" we should resemble what that means; and that is Christ-like. Are we being Christ-like and putting God first in our lives? In verse 23 it says, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise." Jesus is the way, and that will never change. He is the truth, and we do not need any other thing to make us believe. And He is the life, the thing we need to live forever and extend our life past these bodies to receive our heavenly bodies. Once we accept the free gift we should "work hard" to show the fruit of our salvation. This is important because once we receive the Holy Spirit, He will show us what is right and wrong and He will guide us how to live our lives so people see Christ in us. Hence the word "Christian", something we should be proud of and not have to talk about, but we just live it out.
Pastor Kevin Goff, The Rock Church, Goodyear, Az. shared this in his sermon this past weekend: 1. Faith demands an action. 2. We must give faith a voice. 3. Faith's response is obedience not emotionalism. As we continue to grow and learn from the Word of God and follow the Holy Spirit in us, we will see and act the way that is pleasing to the Father. We all know Jesus is coming again and I love what we are told in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 28 which says, "So also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him." Eagerly means we are ready, anxious and excited for His return. This eagerness so make us want to live out what we believe, not just sit back and do nothing. I want to end with this prayer. Thank you Lord for making this clear and filling us with the perfect guide, the Holy Spirit, let us always be eager and shine your light as we live for other to see you in us. I pray this all in Jesus name, Amen.