Endure: Don't Give In or Give Up - Part 2

Endurance is, in truth, a test of values, especially where competing values cause conflict. A book called Values and Teaching, identifies most people as believing in prolonging life. However, place that ideal in a situation where someone is suffering from unbearable pain, caused by an incurable disease, and wishes to die…

Thank God most of us do not face that choice, but other situations where values collide make choosing unpleasant. You appreciate rules for driving safely, and although you need to be on time for work, you're late. You cherish being a patient, kind person, but someone is using you to their advantage. Your integrity depends on choosing your actions wisely.

A man explained he had a chance to reconcile with his ex-wife. He wanted to do right by his family and please God, but lack of trust blocked the pathway. God’s word teaches you to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, and he will guide your path." This is God’s choice for all believers. 

Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 3

When my granddaughter was four, she asked if we could take a walk around the neighborhood. About halfway around the block she asked, "Why is the sidewalk different? It's crumbling and I can see little shells in it." Her question caused me to question the values of the company who sold an inferior product.

The Roman Empire was among the first to use concrete for their structures, and some of those structures are still standing twenty centuries later. What gives personal values the sustaining power to withstand the trials and storms of life? Values must be firmly grounded in a clear sense of what is right and wrong.

God has given us Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit and his word to guide our walk through this world. The presence of God in our lives strengthens our values by telling us to strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love and the strength to endure. Whenever anything that is not pure, honest and true gets mixed into our lives, it must be identified and cleaned out. With God’s help, you can do it.