Steadfast and Stout-hearted

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)

For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.  Hebrews 3:14 (NKJV)

Steadfast. Stout-hearted. Strong-willed. Stubborn. Stiff-necked — all such similar character traits that can set us at our best our worst. Which do we want to be today? Steadfast and Stout-hearted!

Sisters, if ever there was a time in history to stand firm, it is now. We want to be steadfast with our feet grounded in the Word of God. We want to be stout-hearted, going forth bravely for the cross of Christ. We want to be strong-willed, in line with God’s will, not giving in to the tyranny around us.

Imagine a gigantic boulder in the midst of a mountain river in spring time. The snow-melted water comes thundering down the mountain, but the boulder does not move. It stands fast through the summer sun and is stout-hearted in the fall as it heads into another winter. That is what we are to do today.

What is the trouble? Though many of us have felt a call to be Esther at various times in our lives, I don’t think we every thought it would be for the same reason that Esther faced. Vaccine mandates are being thrust upon us. I think Esther said it best:

For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Esther 7:4 (NKJV)

And what is our crime? We are Christians who will not allow the abortion-tainted death shot to be injected into our bodies. I exhort you to remain steadfast in your hope of Jesus coming. Do not give in to the evil around us. In Romans, we are told to present our bodies holy to the Lord. We can’t be holy if we have baby parts injected into us!

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

1 Corinthians tells us to not be deceived, that we should glorify God in our bodies, that we are His temple…

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived… But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God… Glorify God in Body and Spirit.. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!… Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:9-20.

Perhaps you want to ask God as Gideon did:

…O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles… Judges 6:13 (NKJV)

Ezekiel and Jeremiah answer the question, saying we are stiff-necked (2 Kings 17:14) and stubborn (the negative version of steadfast and stout-hearted):

…they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’  Ezekiel 2:4. (NKJV)

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.  Jeremiah 19:15 (NKJV)

So, what can we do? We can pray! We can confess our own sins and the sins of our nation:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10 (NKJV)

 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.” Exodus 34:9 (NKJV)

We can praise the Name of Jesus:

O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Psalm 108:1 (NKJV)

We can ask Jesus to keep us steadfast with these verses:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.Psalm 57:7 (NKJV)

We shall not fear when evil news comes:

He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.Psalm 112:7 (NKJV)

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?  Psalm 94:16 (NKJV)

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.  Psalm 121:3 (NKJV)

And if you are thinking we should mask up again, please read 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, because the veil is taken away in Christ!  And if you need a prayer, pray Psalm 60 with all your heart to the Lord, for through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies!!!

Today’s TEA CUPP:  Dear One, be steadfast. Be stout-hearted. Be in God’s will and Word always.  Do not be deceived. Do not give in to the tyranny.  Stand firm to the end, for at the end is Jesus and eternal life.  Pray through all the Psalms (Psalm 80 and 83 are good ones I prayed recently). Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight. (2 Samuel 10:12), 

Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.  Philippians 4:1 (NKJV)

 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men”  Acts 5:19 (NKJV)

…hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.  Hebrews 3:6 (NKJV)

Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  Psalm 125:1 (NKJV)

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13 (NKJV)

If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard… Colossians 1:23 (NKJV)

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.  Romans 12:12 (NKJV)

But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  Matthew 24:13

You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.  2 Peter 3:17 (NKJV)

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV)

Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 2 Chronicles 30:8 (NKJV)

P.S.  I hope you are keeping up with recent news. You might also like to read, https://www.myteacuppprayers.org/2021/07/the-only-antidote/

If you or someone you know got the vaccine, here is a powerful prayer you can pray to renounce its evil purposes:  https://www.freedomencounters.com/wp-content/uploads/PRAYER-and-Letter_Remove-Harmful-Vaccination-Elements.pdf

I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.Psalm 16:8 (NKJV)

Scripture from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. 

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011

 

 

What’s in your mug?

I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:13 (NKJV)

What are you sipping in your morning mug? Tea, coffee, espresso, orange juice, water, Gatorade?  We all have a favorite beverage.  I have a teacher friend who used to walk around school with a coffee mug filled with Mountain Dew because it was okay for teachers to drink coffee, but not soda pop, and she was the PE teacher! I love her sense of humor! Now she is a principal; that Mountain Dew must have worked!

My favorite morning beverage has changed over the years as my health has changed.  I used to just hold a mug of hot water in the mornings until I found out the benefits of various teas.  I also enjoyed a hot cocoa every day, but that doesn’t agree with my tummy anymore.  This summer green tea and Hammer sports drinks are my favorites as I train for a marathon, but that could all change by winter!

The important point today is not what’s in your morning mug…coffee, tea, etc…but what you are doing with your first hour of the day.  Fill up your cup and sit down with your Bible and Jesus.  You can have coffee time with Jesus while saying your TEA CUPP Prayers, it’s okay! The TEA CUPP is just an acronym for things you can talk about while you are together.  Using God’s Word we can pray: Thanking, Exalting, Admitting, Calling, Understanding, claiming God’s Promises, and Petitioning.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up. Psalm 5:3 (NKJV)

As you sip your favorite drink, emptying your mug, let Jesus refill your cup with His Word, joy, peace, and love.  Jesus is all we ever need.  He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him.  Let Jesus fill your heart and life and cup today and every day!!!

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV)

Today’s TEA CUPP: Fill your cup with Jesus!  Plan to start every day in His Word. Set your alarm early, pour your favorite beverage, and sit down with your Bible (before even checking your phone for messages).  Let Jesus speak to you and fill you with His Word.  The chorus of a hymn by Richard Blanchard says:

Fill my cup, Lord;
I lift it up, Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole. 

Let this be our prayer today. Enjoy this precious version by Hope Montana. 

Scripture from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.