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Crosfigell

Keeping the Faith

Will you keep the faith today?

Spiritual Practice

Indeed, since I learned to know Him in my youth, the love and fear of God have grown in me, and up to now, with the Lord's help, I have kept the faith.

  - Patrick, Confession (Irish, 5th century)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

  - 2 Timothy 4.7

Both Paul and Patrick, near the end of their lives, declared that they had kept the faith. They had not faltered in belief; they had not been disobedient to their callings; they had not strayed from the path of righteousness; they had not failed to bear bold and consistent witness for Jesus Christ; they had made disciples.

How satisfying that must have been for each of them to be able to say that! Keeping the faith involves more than just holding on to the promise of forgiveness and the hope of eternal life through all our earthly sojourn. Keeping the faith costs those who truly keep it.

It costs many hours devoted to seeking the Lord, in prayer and in His Word. It costs the forsaking of certain temporal pleasures and diversions in order to devote all one's available time and strength to seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Keeping the faith means defending the Gospel against those who deny or make light of it. It means living as a flesh-and-blood witness to the fact that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Keeping the faith means nurturing others in their walk with the Lord.

We must keep the faith one day at a time, one situation, one task, one open door of opportunity at a time, making the most of every situation for the knowledge of Christ and His glory. If we truly fear and love the Lord, as Patrick did, we will keep the faith, and grow in it daily.

Today, the next moment - this is the only time available for keeping the faith. Let's not keep it to ourselves. Let's not keep it under a bushel. Let's not keep the Spirit from doing exceeding abundantly above all that He's ever done in us before.

Rather, let's keep the faith with a big, expectant vision of how the Lord might use us to make Him known to others. In other words, keep the faith like Paul and Patrick.

Will you keep the faith today?

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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