Just a little effort

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. (2 Timothy 1:13-14)

Paul was writing to Timothy, encouraging him to continue in his faith, not deviating from the calling God had placed on his lives. While we don't have an Apostle Paul today who will encourage us with these same words, they were recorded so we could take instruction for our daily lives, as well. Hold on to the wholesome teaching you learned. Treasure it, don't let it be influenced by worldly norms or patterns. Hold on means that we not only keep it ever before us, but we follow that teaching with all the perseverance we can muster. When that perseverance falters a bit, then lean in even more so to the Holy Spirit's presence in your life and stand strong. Guard those precious truths - they will be what keeps us strong when everything coming against us wants to weaken our stand in Christ.

The Amplified Bible puts it this way: Guard [with greatest care] and keep unchanged, the treasure [that precious truth] which has been entrusted to you [that is, the good news about salvation through personal faith in Christ Jesus], through [the help of] the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. In other words, don't just give a casual look into God's teachings and then walk away unchanged. Use great care to incorporate them into your lives so that you recognize when any untruth creeps up that is encouraging you to veer from what God has taught. Guard with greatest care - don't forget that this truth we hold and our faith in Christ Jesus is the greatest treasure of all time, and our enemy would like nothing more than to steal it away from us.

Everything within this passage points toward an ACTIVE faith. There is absolutely no room in God's kingdom for passive faith. It is living, breathing, and active all of the time. If we sense our faith beginning to become a little too 'comfortable, perhaps it is time for us to ask the Holy Spirit for a bit of renewal! Comfort isn't our goal - righteousness is. The more we press into God's teachings, the more 'discomfort' that may produce. The good news is that when we take our 'discomfort' to Jesus, he removes our sins, heals those broken places, and makes us brand new in ways we never imagined possible. Keep, treasure, hold onto, and guard - take action today to not let the truth of our salvation become a fading thing in your life. You never know when just a little effort will produce the greatest result. Just sayin!