A Faith That Endures

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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1164.

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Today's Devo is called A Faith that Endures.

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Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Good morning everybody and happy Thursday. My name is Stephanie Munya and I love coming on here and reading the scriptures with you all. I have loved reading these verses with you guys. I will be reading Luke

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21. This story is just so beautiful. It's so special.

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I'd even encourage you guys. If you have children or you and your siblings or you and your friends and your roommates, get together and read Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. Alan and I were just talking about how that was his Christmas Eve tradition with his family and how beautiful that is to just gather around, read Luke 2, read the story of Jesus, and remember what we're celebrating for. Well, let's continue. And it Sundays, and when eight days were completed so that it was time for his circumcision, he was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. I'm going to skip forward to verse 25. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.

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And this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him.

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And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, then he took him in his arms and blessed God and said, now, Lord, you are letting your bond, servant, depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples, a light for revelation, for the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. And his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Jesus. And Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.

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And as a sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, Anna. This is my favorite story by the way, it's short, but this is one of my favorites. There was a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phaneuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage. And then as a widow to the age of 84, she did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers. And at that very moment, she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak about him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Israel.

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I have such a respect for this prophetess Anna and this prophet Simeon, because they did something that is not highlighted a lot in my generation. They endured the faith. They were both promised by God that they would see the Savior come.

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And Anna was 84 years old. That is a lifetime. Simeon was close to dying. An entire life of waiting for the Savior to come. But they endured. That's something that, you know, our generation, we don't really like to prioritize endurance, perseverance. We. We like things that are fast and easy. We like to buy cheaper objects because who cares if it's cheap and it gets junky, we can just buy a new one anyways. We don't really put a lot of priority or a lot of praise for things that endure for a long time. Time. You know, my husband, he loves watches. He's big on Tudor watches. Of course, he loves Rolex. I can't even think of all the brands. But he loves watches, and he especially loves the watches that are durable. And the most expensive watches out there are the ones that can. You can swim with them, you can scuba dive with them, you can ride your motorcycle with them, you can work with them, and you can take them to a nice party. The watches that are durable are the most expensive ones.

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A faith that has endured the hardest of seasons is one of the most impactful, expensive faiths out there.

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That's when I have to ask myself, Stephanie, is your faith durable? Is your faith able to endure the hardest of seasons?

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I'll be honest. When times get hard, even I sometimes wonder, what am I doing all of this for? I've been coming to church all my life. And when the seasons get tough, it causes my faith to stumble. It causes me to question, what am I doing all of this work for? But James says that the testing of our faith is to produce endurance, perseverance.

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So these tests, these hard seasons we go through, it's to build up a faith that can go through any season unscathed. Just like Anna, just Like Simeon, who served in the temple, who prayed and fasted all their life waiting for God to fulfill his promise. And here's the beautiful thing. God fulfilled it. God never failed them. God didn't fail Anna. God did not fail Simeon. And God will not fail you. Whatever you may be going through today, stay strong. And remember that these tests are to produce endurance. It's to produce a faith in you that is stronger than anything out there and that can go through any season with trust and love for the Lord. Let's pray.

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God, we thank you for these tough seasons because we know you're using them to build endurance. And us, God, make us like the prophetess Anna who lived her entire life waiting to see you. Who stayed faithful to your temple, who stayed faithful to your church, who fasted and prayed in patience and in faith, knowing that you would not fail her. Make us like her today, Jesus.

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Make us like Simeon, who did the same thing, who waited, who heard a promise from you and stood on that promise. Give us the faith of Simeon. Give us the strength of Simeon. God, make us like these people so that we can have a durable faith no matter what season we go through. And even today, God, if we're going through a tough day, if we are growing weary and well doing, if we're just a little exhausted, if we're wondering what your plan is, fill us with peace knowing that you have a purpose for all of this, that you are a faithful God and you will never fail us. And in Jesus name, we all pray. Amen. So there you have it, your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today.

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We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.