Perseverance! (Part 1 of 5)

“In his book The Maverick War, Duane Schultz tells the story of Art Chen, a fighter pilot for the Chinese in the 1930’s when Japan was determined to conquer China.

“On one occasion Chen “took on three Japanese fighters and shot one down before running out of ammunition. He deliberately rammed the second Japanese plane, then bailed out. He landed close to the wreckage of his plane and salvaged one of the machine guns, which he carried eight miles back to the airfield. Presenting the heavy gun to his commanding officer, Chen allegedly asked, ‘Sir, can I have another airplane for my machine gun?’”

“That is dedication to the cause.”

-- Russ Atherton. (Evart, Michigan)
[via -- “Leadership” magazine, Spring ‘97]

Do we possess a dedication to THE CAUSE that empowers us to persevere rather than bailing out and calling it quits? We are exhorted by Scripture to understand there is a spiritual warfare going on and we, as the army of God, are to be involved. But to remain involved takes the strength to persevere.

James wrote:
“(2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith DEVELOPS PERSEVERANCE. (4) PERSEVERANCE must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” ( James 1:2-4 NIV)

But how do we retain the fortitude to persevere in the midst of trials and conflict? We will note four things over the next four days to help us retain a spirit that enables us to keep on keeping on!

Have a great day set to PERSEVERE in the cause of Christ!
Carl

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