North Crestview Campus eLetter
Stand Firm
This is the charge the apostle Paul gives at the end of his letter to the Ephesians:
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm. – Ephesians 6:13 (NRSV)
I don’t know about you, but I need this encouragement daily. Life is not easy. Every day is a battle (and a spiritual one at that!). We live in a broken world and there are forces working to lead us away from God and what is truly good. It’s difficult to keep standing through discouragement, trials, and temptations. But we are called to stand firm.
When we are filled with self-doubt – we must brace ourselves.
When we are tempted to walk away – we must hold our ground.
When we receive news that cuts us to the core – we must persevere.
The good news is we don’t stand alone or in our own strength. We stand alongside each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We stand with God himself who promises to fight for us and WILL be victorious. We stand the power of Jesus who defeated sin and death.
To stand firm, we must put on the armor of God. We must equip ourselves with Christian virtues which are able to hold us up in times of trial.
I hope to see you this Sunday as we continue with our sermon series, “Battle Ready,” examining each piece of the armor God and how we can apply it to our daily lives. We worship to remind ourselves of God’s victory and who we are in Christ.
Here is my prayer for you, and for all of us those who are working to “stand firm” today:
God of all glory and power, we come to you now in times of trial. We ask that you hold us up when our strength fails. We ask that you breathe new life into us when our endurance wains. Our trust is not in our abilities, but in the glorious riches of Christ. Holy Spirit, guide us into all truth. Equip us with your armor today as we remember the victory of Jesus now and forever. Amen.
Sincerely,
Taylor Nixon
Campus Pastor, Crosspoint North Crestview
tnixon@crosspoint.church
