THE GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE 18TH EDITION

3P'S OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE: PERSISTENCE, PATIENCE & PERSEVERANCE

A welcome Note

Isn’t it lovely to know how God’s grace has been operating in our lives? Well, we at the Good News Magazine hope that you had a wonderful time of God’s grace resting in your lives. We so thank the Lord for you all. We are pleased to welcome you back to our 18^th edition and we have so much to share with you precious people of God.

Our theme this round we will focus on Persistence, Perseverance and Patience.

I see a woman getting up early in the wee hours of the morning. She prepares some porridge and then packs all that she needs in a basket ready for work. She carries a machete which she almost forgets and hands it over to her older boy, that boy happens to be me. Well it is very cold out there; we quickly tread to the field. There is so much a head of us. Plenty of work needs to be done. It is preparing the field for sowing. I have to help mum cut the unwanted vegetation and prepare the ground for planting. It takes a lot of time and hard work preparing the ground.  It needs a diligent person to do all that. After the ground has been fully prepared, there is sowing time and harvesting time.

Between the sowing time and the reaping time there is always a long wait…and this is what I call patience. Before the harvest time comes, the crops planted endure a lot. The good farmer always knows what the crops will have to go through before they mature and be ripe for harvest. The storms of the night, the winds that blow boisterously, the pests and weeds that destroy crops, the floods, the intense sun; all these are just some of the setbacks the farmer may encounter during the waiting period. If crops were destroyed due to any of the above, the farmer has to ensure that he starts all over again to sow, this I call Persistence or Perseverance.

Now let’s get started by looking into 1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: There is so much we can learn from the above scripture.  However, the journey of salvation is often very challenging and it takes a lot of patience, persistence, perseverance, prayer and faith in God to make it through. Jesus Himself told His disciples that in the world they would have many tribulations, but we must endure all this. The Apostle Paul also emphasized this in Romans 5:3-4 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

Tribulation worketh patience, not in and of itself, but the powerful grace of God working in and with the tribulation. Patient sufferers have most of the Divine consolations, which abound as afflictions abound. It works needful experience of ourselves. This hope will not disappoint, because it is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. It is the gracious work of the blessed Spirit to shed abroad the love of God in the hearts of all the saints. A right sense of God's love to us will make us not ashamed, either of our hope, or of our sufferings for Him. It is when we go through trials and tribulations that we experience or learn how patience works in us. At our hour of trial we learn of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises; of His power in supporting us; and of our own frailty and weakness; and so we are taught humility, thankfulness, and resignation to the will of God.

It is important to understand that the moment we pray to God and make all our requests known to Him, He knew that long before we could petition our requests. Therefore, just as the Psalmist said, ‘I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry,(Psalms 40:1) we have to be careful not to rush ahead of the Lord as that shows lack of patience. And when we give up easily or prematurely we lack perseverance! Psalm 27:14 says, Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalms37:9 says, For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. Isaiah 40:31says, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. And my favorite verse James 1:2-4 says, My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Patience is not just sitting around doing nothing but it is hopeful endurance, expectant waiting in the Lord.

It is also important to understand that during waiting time we go through thoroughly training to be ready at all times for what is to come. Romans 8:25 says, But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 

There is, of course, a close relationship between having patience and persevering. We can have all these only when we operate in faith. Faith and prayer play a very vital role when it comes to perseverance, patience and persistence. We can’t do this without faith. We can only hope in faith knowing that God’s Word and promises are true. We can be patient in waiting for something to happen, but we might not persevere in prayer. To persevere in other words means to continue doing something despite all external forces that are trying to discourage us from doing so. Apostle Paul knew better when he said in Ephesians 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Dear friends, let’s never give up when it comes to waiting on the Lord. If we give up easily we can never get the results that we so desired. The Lord always answers our prayers. His timing is not our timing. To Him a day is like a thousand years and vice versa. Have you waited for so long for an answer to some need but it tends to take long? Be patient. Are you tired of asking the Lord for one thing over and over again? Be persistence. Do you ever feel the circumstance you are under now can never end? Just persevere, for there is a reward kept for you by our Lord. Matthew 7:7 says, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

The story of the Canaanite woman is a great encouragement to us all. In Matthew 15:22-28, the Bible says, And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

How great this woman’s faith was! Even Jesus recognized that and told her so. If she could have stopped and gone without persisting, she could have lost that miracle! But she kept persisting, she never wanted to quit. She knew that the Master could not leave her the same. She knew Jesus would do something. Though she saw clearly that Jesus had kept quiet about her request, she couldn’t go away. How often does this happen to us too; we pray and receive no immediate answer, so we shrug our shoulders and give up. However, this woman did not give up, instead, she persisted and kept “crying out”. Jesus then stated the reason why He had not answered her: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Still, the woman persisted; and, most significantly, did so even as she worshiped Him. This persistent act of faith eventually caused Jesus to change His mind and give her that which she asked for! The same can work for us if we apply faith and learn to persist!

 

ENDURE TO THE END

As a young boy I loved having good things. Every time my dad who worked away from our home, would visit us and I would ask him, “Dad, did you bring me a shirt?” He would then respond, “No my boy, but I have something better for you.” Then he would give me some biscuits. This kept happening until he finally one day surprised me. “Check what’s in that box”. To my amazement, I was so happy to see a brand new shirt. With excitement I jumped up and down running to my mum to show her my new shirt. This later I learned was persistence.

Luke 18:1-8 says, And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? This woman sought justice from a judge who knew not God. However, due to the woman’s persistence the judge gave into her request in order to avoid becoming weary. Jesus then goes on to say that if this is what an unjust judge does, think how much more God will do for His own elect when they cry day and night to Him. And then Jesus goes on to relate faith and persistence, implying that if we give up and don’t persist then we lack faith!

Jesus is trying to teach us a very important lesson here that we ought to pray always and never give up. There are so many examples He used to elaborate this in teaching us about persistence. In Luke 11:5-9 we also read this: And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. This man is trying to get some bread from a friend who has already retired for the evening bed and is not willing to get up again. Yet, because of his persistence the friend will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Are we really asking as we ought to? Are we persistence in our asking? Do we always need quick solutions and responses? Where is our patient? Patience is true piety. Those that rejoice in hope are likely to be patient in tribulation. We should not be cold in the duty of prayer, nor be weary of it. Prayer is needful at all times, even during tribulation and distress, whether inward or outward. This should be made without ceasing; as saints we should watch unto it with all perseverance; as followers of Jesus we should pray always, and not faint; never give out and over, or be discouraged or murmuring against God.

2Thess. 3:5 says, And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. Enduring to the end requires faithfulness to the end, as in the case of Apostle Paul, who told Timothy, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2 Timothy 4:7). Obviously, this is not an easy task. It is intended to be difficult, challenging, and, ultimately, refining as we prepare to return to live with our Father in Heaven and receive eternal blessings. We cannot return to our Heavenly Father’s presence unless we are clean, and so we must continue to repent. First, it requires the Savior’s redemptive power and to endure to the end it requires the Holy Ghost, who will both guide and sanctify us. Patient here plays a big role in our Christian walk.

Have you ever thought why Jesus delayed to heal Lazarus? He could have come and healed him when he was still alive. Instead, He waited to raise him from the dead when he was already in his grave. God could have made David become king the day after he was anointed. Instead, he waited for so long to rise to the throne, many of those years spent fearing for his life, hiding out and running away from king Saul. God could have spoken to Moses in the desert about sending him to help free His people from slavery 40 days after he ran away from Egypt. Instead, He made him wait for 40 long years. God could have given Abraham the son He promised him when he was still a young man. Instead, He waited until he was 100 years old. God could have answered prayers and met the needs of these precious men of God much quicker, but He didn’t. He made them wait instead. This, He often makes us do the same.

God sometimes makes us wait for healing to come after we’ve been praying for years and there is no sign of recovery. He makes us wait to fulfill His call in our lives after He puts the desire and passion in our hearts to serve Him in a certain way. He makes us wait to give us the desires of our hearts. He makes us wait for direction when we are stuck at a dead end and we don’t know where to go or what to do. He could answer that same prayer that we’ve been praying for years every night in a millisecond. That same prayer that has been bringing you to tears. That same prayer the longer it goes unanswered, the more it makes you question whether God even hears. He kept Moses in a desert for 40 years. Joseph in a prison cell for 10 years. Abraham without a child for 100 years. David on the run for many years. And maybe He is keeping us right where we’re at for the same reason He kept these men for so many years: to build our faith and learn patience, perseverance and persistence.

Sometimes God keeps us waiting in order to build our dependence on Him when we are barren and empty to see if He is truly all we desire and all we need. God wants to build our trust in Him when the storm keeps raging, the battle keeps going and breakthrough and victory doesn’t seem near. And sometimes the waiting period of our lives is the most important time in our life. It is during this period when nothing seems to be happening, when prayers seem to go unanswered, when God seems so far away that the most spiritual growth takes place in our lives. That we learn to become more like Him.

I want to remind you that God is not deaf to our prayers. He is not blind to our constant tears, to our desires, and to our needs. All He is teaching us is to learn waiting on Him. If He is making us wait, there is a very good reason for it. If He is telling you “no” today, maybe it’s because He has a better “yes” waiting for you tomorrow. If He is keeping you in the same place you’ve always been today, maybe it’s because He’s helping build your faith before you enter your promised land tomorrow. If He is not healing you or bringing you victory today, maybe it’s because you will have a greater testimony when He waits to help you be an overcomer tomorrow. Wherever you are at today know that God is right beside you and that there is a purpose for you. Even if that purpose is to wait.

Don’t give up just because you don’t see anything happening today. Maybe there is nothing physically happening that your eyes can see but there is definitely something happening in the spiritual realm as you learn to rely on Jesus. Don’t allow your waiting period to make you hopeless about what tomorrow will bring. Instead, let it build your faith and give you even greater hope for what God has in store for you. He made some of the greatest men of faith wait. Don’t be discouraged if He makes you wait as well. He will come through for you, just like He came through for them. Remember, God gives us strength to endure but not to escape. Be patient, persist and persevere for God has not forgotten about you! We are always in God’s mind and thoughts. Don’t you ever give up!

I sum up this with Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

CREATIVE WRITINGS

The Race of a Lifetime – By Deborah Ann Belka

The race we are running,
is the race of a lifetime
we must run it well . . .
or else we’ll be left behind.

If we’re going to succeed,
we must run it to win
the only way to victory
is to run away from sin.

For Satan is on the chase,
after our souls, he's gunning
we must be sure from him
to always keep on running.

We need to stay focused,
on the goal that is ahead
we must be sober and alert
so we can be Spirit lead.

It’s a race of endurance,
not one of swiftness or speed
we must depend on God . . .
for the stamina that we need!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hebrews 12:1
King James Version

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us,”

Copyright 2014
Deborah Ann Belka

Patience Poem

I'm Waiting Lord

I’m waiting Lord,
waiting just on You
I know deep down . . .
You will come through.

I’m believing Lord,
with all my heart and soul
for I know You are . . .
the one who’s in control.

I’m trusting Lord,
trusting whatever You do
I know everything . . .
is completely up to You.

I’m expecting Lord,
in You, I will rest
knowing You know
what for me is best.

Lord, I’m waiting
waiting just for You
I’ll keep believing . . .
no matter what You do!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God:”

King James Version
by Public Domain

Copyright 2015
Deborah Ann Belka

Perseverance Poem

One-Step at-a-Time

It’s a daily thing,
this Christian walk
it’s a one-step at-a-time
this Christian walk.

It’s a journey,
at times a troublesome one
it’s a battle
with Satan that must be won.

It’s a voyage,
one storm right after another
it’s a struggle
to keep our faith from going under.

It’s a passage,
from the darkness into the light
it’s an encounter
needing all our strength and might.

It’s an expedition,
with our very own cross to wear
it’s a fight
to the end, we all have to bear.

It’s a daily thing,
this Christian walk
it’s a one-step at-a-time
to which we must never balk!

~~~~~~~~~~~

1 John 1:6-7 “If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Copyright 2015
Deborah Ann Belka

TESTIMONY

By brother James Beverly

"I was born on August 21, 1978 and have lived in Pike County, Georgia U.S.A. all my life ...... although I have moved around some. My mom was raised in a strict Christian household and was saved when she was 9. She met and married my dad in 1972. My dad was a hard man and was as lost spiritually as the day is long when I was growing up. The scriptures say at one point not to be unequally yoked with an unbelieving partner in this life.

My mom always stood on the WORD though when people would throw that up at her and she would say "the scriptures also say that if any part of your family is lost and you pray for them fervently then they shall be saved." That is my mom and I am so blessed to have a mother that not only knows the WORD but isn't afraid to stand up for it also.

Her prayers were answered in 1991 when my dad finally surrendered to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and gave his life to the LORD. Almost 20 years of praying for him every day. That is commitment.  I can remember my mom and my grandmother, her mom, crying a lot out of joy. Me being younger and lost I had no understanding of what was going on. I now know without a doubt that the angels were rejoicing when he was won ... you would have had to know him.

In the fall of 1996 we, my mom, dad and myself, moved to my current location just outside of Molena out in the sticks as people say around here. The road we moved on had hardly a house all the way down it. It was totally different for me and I knew that it was going to take some time to adjust to, and boy did it ever in more ways than one. We were moved in somewhat by the time school started back (my junior year ..... it would have been my senior but I failed due to goofing off in the 8th grade). Although we were in a different locale things seemed to be pretty much the same. My mom and dad both worked at the same textile mill and we went on with our lives; or so I thought. In June 1997 the telephone rang at a little after 2:00 am on a Monday morning and my mom answered it. It was the mill where they worked wanting my dad to come in to start up some machines (he was always on call because he was the chief mechanic). She woke him up and rolled back over to go to sleep. He stood up, took two steps and fell over dead with a massive heart attack. This would start the ball rolling for what seemed like a long, long time of living in the valley for my mom and me. The very next June we were involved in a serious car accident that had me in the hospital for an extended time and then confined to a chair at home for nearly 4 months. That fall, the mill permanently closed up and my mom's job was gone. They filed bankruptcy and although she had put in many years her pay for that time amounted to almost nothing.

Things seemed to be only going down hill to me until that October when one night my mom had turned on the tv to and was listening to some preaching that I knew nothing about. Being laid up like I was for such a long time when I was very active had become somewhat a thorn in my flesh. I was tired of doing nothing but as I sat there that night and listened to a message of salvation I noticed myself bowing my head and closing my eyes and praying that the LORD would save me. I didn't know why I was doing it or even what it meant but I knew something was causing me to do it. My mom was ecstatic that I had gotten saved and I was like, "Okay?"... haha ....

So here we are now in 2014 and as I look back on these things I type this and think "Wow...look at what the LORD has done." Now I have to add a few more details here to complete this. To begin with, I didn't follow through like I should have with getting baptized and getting into the WORD and going to church. As a matter of fact I didn't even join a church until January 2004. After all those years of being saved and stagnant the LORD was about to unveil me so to speak.

One Saturday morning in January I was sitting around doing nothing and the thought came to my mind that I should go to a local church that my mom had been going to on and off over the years. I asked her where she was going the next morning and being my mom she asked "I would love to....you want to go with me?" Before I even knew what had happened I had answered her and said "Yes I do." The next morning I walked into that huge church with all of those people and sat there not knowing what to expect. At the end of the service the pastor asked if anyone wanted to be saved or baptized or ... WAIT!!! ...that was it... the baptizing... I had never followed through with it. I was scared to death to walk out into that aisle and go down in front of all those people but the LORD nudged me on and after I took that first step I felt as though I just glided down there. He asked me what I wanted him to do for me and I told him that I was saved but that I had never been baptized and I wanted to do that and join so I could get in with the fellowship that I needed to grow.

Now to show you how the LORD works so mightily. That particular church holds baptism once a month and guess what day the LORD has impressed on me to go? That's right ... it was the day of their baptizing. I was baptized that night along with 16 others and I thought that was something too ... for all my life I have always loved the number 17. I also now know that the number 17 means "victory" when studying the Bible and that is what I have ladies and gentlemen... I have victory in JESUS! I started singing in the choir there and then started playing lead guitar for the youth band that the LORD blessed me to be part of although I certainly wasn't a youth. I was there until October 2009 when the LORD moved me to a little church that I played at for 3 1/2 years. They were needing help in their music department and HE spoke to me strongly on this one Sunday while I was in choir. I knew nothing of this church HE was calling me to help at but I didn't question HIM. I was obedient and HE blessed me in many ways for my time there. In April of 2013 the LORD spoke to me again. It was time for me to move on again. Interestingly HE moved me back to the church I was baptized in and I shall be there as long as HE needs this time as well.

The LORD's ways are NOT our ways and I know that more now than ever. We all think that we are okay until we are redeemed and then we can look back and really see how far off course we really were. The LORD has blessed me so much over the years and now I am involved full time at my church and a big ministry on Facebook straight off of my wall. I now hope to be used through this website too and sharing what HE will impress on my heart to share.

The LORD has blessed me with many things but the gift that I appreciate more than all is the very gift of HIS Son that died on the cross some 2000 years ago so I could live forever with HIM in perfection!!! GOD bless you all and I appreciate you taking your special time that HE has given you to read this and I pray above all that it will in some small way minister to you and let you know that even though we are all different we are all the same when it comes to needing a Savior!!!

Love you all... 

FINAL WORD

***If you would love us to pray with you, please do not hesitate to contact us through:  Justus at: blessedjustus@gmail.com,

And Jerry or Debbie at debbie.senese@gmail.com

If you have taken this step and made that all important decision to accept Jesus Christ as the Blessed Controller of your life, please contact us via email with name and physical address. And if you need to talk to us by phone, please let’s know so we may PM you our phone numbers. Would you like us to send you some material concerning the next steps in your walk with the Lord? Do you have special prayer request? If so, please let us know through the emails provided above.***

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May you prosper in all that you do! God hasn’t forgotten about you. You are in His mind and thoughts. Always praying for you.

Our 19^th Edition will be out on 1^st August, 2015.

Justus, Debbie & the Team, Kenya, USA

‘Holding forth the word of life;  that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,

that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.’ - Phil. 2:16