The determined Christian

 Many Christians today need the grit and determination to hold onto their faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  The word determined means to be decided, resolved and settled.  To be a determined Christian is to be resolved and settled as a Christ-like believer of God (Proverbs 4:25).  When faith should cry louder, culture, the enemy, and the world promote silence.  Christians should be more like blind Bartimaeus who was determined to cry out unto Jesus (Mark 10:46-52).  In this passage, even though the crowd began to tell Bartimaeus to be quiet, he began to yell louder for Jesus to intervene in his life.  When Jesus bids Bartimaeus come to him, the first thing Bartimaeus does is takes off his outer garment.  He was laying aside the garment that reflected his shame, his filth, and his history of what had defined him.  This required determination to not remain the same.  Laying off the outer garment in today’s time can be displayed by laying aside sin (Romans 6:23), getting rid of all the hindrances and distractions (Hebrews 12:1), or letting go of where a person is and moving forward by becoming a Christian (Ephesians 4:22).  Believers must be determined to get as close as they can to God through His Word, prayer, and a holy lifestyle.  It is not by works that a person is saved but a love for God and an appreciation of being born again should create a desire to express love in action. 

Christians must also be determined to not bow to the idols of this world or culture.  Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow or worship the image created by man, Christians should not bow to the lawlessness or perversion of culture today (Daniel 3:4-30).  Being determined not only includes becoming a Christian but also remaining a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and enduring to the end to be saved (Matthew 24:13).  The spiritual enemies in today’s time strive to distract and pervert as many believers as they can.  One key to not being distracted or tempted above the ability one has is truly looking and believing whole heartily in God (1 Corinthians 10:13).  God is there to give strength and help to those who rely on Him to conquer anything that comes (1 John 2:13).  Christians are also well able to do anything that needs to be done for the kingdom of God (Numbers 13:30, 1 John 4:4).  He gives strength and every resource to do what He calls Christians to do. 

Knowing that Christians are supposed to be fixed on God and His Word is the key to being dedicated (Psalm 119:15).  One of the biggest distractions is the flesh in a person’s life that desires the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-17).  Determined Christians must walk by the Spirit to live according to the plans and purposes God has for each believer (Jeremiah 29:11).  God created mankind to walk with Him and fellowship with Him (Genesis 3:8, Genesis 5:24, Genesis 6:9).  If the enemy distracts Christians, he gains spiritual ground.  Many issues within the current culture and time reflect years of the distraction and silence of Christians.  May current Christians be determined to stand for the Word of God, the presence of God, and the kingdom of God to be the victorious soldiers He has called them to be.