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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Perspectives

Consider It Joy

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October 7, 2020

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Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing
of your faith develops perseverance
JAMES 1:2-3 (NIV)



No gift quite matches the gift of perspective. If value is determined by an article’s relative abundance or scarcity, perspective is nothing less than 24-karat gold. The book of James offers such perspective to those enduring “trials of many kinds.”


In the best of times, our vision remains weak. We cannot catch even the briefest glimpse of the future; we have no idea what the next year, week, day or even hour might bring. We tend to make our judgments based on superficial, outward observations. When worries and trials push their way into our lives, we often draw back within ourselves, further limiting our eyesight and understanding.


Writing with a pastor’s heart, James offers wisdom to those who have been displaced, scattered and persecuted. He begins with this piece of extraordinary counsel: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3). Joy? In the face of many trials? The only way such a thing could be possible is through the eternal perspective offered by Scripture and God’s indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the testing of our faith, says James, which develops perseverance.


And that’s not all. “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4). In other words, our difficulties and struggles are part of a process designed to bring us to a plane of living beyond anything we have experienced. That’s the sort of “big picture” insight into life we could never find on our own.


No matter what our situation may be, a Biblical perspective is the only one that brings us such perseverance and patience … and peace.



Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop
and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm,
because the Lord’s coming is near.
JAMES 5:7-8 (NIV)

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Perseverance

Seize the Trial

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October 7, 2020

- Category : Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Perseverance

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Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing
of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work
so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,
because when he has stood the test,
he will receive the crown of life
that God has promised
to those who love him.
JAMES 1:2-4, 12 (NIV)



A trial is not just an assault to be withstood, it is an opportunity to be seized. And these verses in James are intended to inspire, showing us that trials are opportunities to prove our love and enhance our faith. With this perspective, life becomes inspiring – not in spite of the trials but because of them.


The soldier who is called to the front lines is stimulated at the chance to prove his skills. The officer who is given a position of higher responsibility is roused by the rugged demands of his task. You and I are soldiers in the same way.


If you are tempted to slack off from praying but instead you remain faithful, your faith develops perseverance. If you are tempted to feel sorry for yourself, but instead start thinking of the needs of others, your character becomes refined. The result? An improved you with greater faith and a closer walk with the Savior.


And this is where the joy comes in!


JONI EARECKSON TADA



We can rejoice, too,
when we face problems and trials,
for we know they help us develop endurance.
And endurance helps us develop character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with his love.
ROMANS 5:3-5 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Take Heart and Endure

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September 10, 2020

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Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
HEBREWS 12:2 (NIV)



I am helped to endure my trials when I consider how Jesus endured His own. This verse tells us that great joy gripped the soul of the Master when He looked ahead to what His sufferings would accomplish. He endured for the joy of completing the Father’s will for Him. He endured for the joy He would feel at His resurrection and exaltation. And He endured for the joy of soon being able to present cleansed believers to the Father in glory.


Jesus did not “enjoy” the cross, but He was able to endure it for the joy set before Him. By considering Jesus, we, too, can take heart and endure.

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We also pray that you will be strengthened
with all his glorious power so that you will have
all the endurance and patience you need.
May you be filled with joy.
COLOSSIANS 1:11 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Fear, Featured

Free From Fear

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September 2, 2020

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Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might destroy him
who holds the power of death – that is, the devil –
and free those who all their lives
were held in slavery by their fear of death.
HEBREWS 2:14-15 (NIV)



As human beings, we are prone to fear, no matter how much we believe in God or heaven. And the fear of death can hold tremendous power over us, as these verses make clear.


God understands the fear common to all humanity. He isn’t the author of death; He is the one who came to vanquish death, and one day He will destroy it. But when it comes to facing death, I am like a child, just flesh and blood. Jesus understands because he took on our human condition to deal with this fear of death.


I realize I will have to face off with fear for the rest of my life – but I don’t have to live in slavery to it! I believe in a mighty God, the resurrected Christ, who proved His power over the grave. Still, I have to admit I’m still afraid on occasion. Now I am learning to admit my fears honestly to God, who understands my human condition.



Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

It was sin that made death so frightening
and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage,
its destructive power.
But now in a single victorious stroke of Life,
all three – sin, guilt, death – are gone,
the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55-57 (THE MESSAGE)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

Sacrificial Friendship

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August 27, 2020

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Dear Friends, let us love one another,
for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God
and knows God.
1 JOHN 4:7 (NIV)



Before I went through my season of suffering, I had friends, but I didn’t understand how important those relationships really were. Sure, I enjoyed my friends. It was nice to have them. But it didn’t seem to me that I needed those relationships. Boy, did that change!


I learned that you cannot get through pain and suffering on your own. You eventually come to the end of yourself, and you need another person there to stand beside you and lift you up. To have a friend who is willing to make the personal sacrifice to be with you so that you are not alone is a powerful thing. When I was struggling, it was really important to know that my close friends were willing to sacrifice for me. Their sacrifice was a demonstration of God’s love for me.



This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love:
Christ sacrificed His love for us.
This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers,
and not just be out for ourselves.
If you see some brother or sister in need
and have the means to do something about it
but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing,
what happens to God’s love?
It disappears. And you made it disappear.
My dear children, let’s not just talk about love;
let’s practice real love.
This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly,
living in God’s reality.
1 JOHN 3:16-18 (THE MESSAGE)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Our Unseen Hope

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August 20, 2020

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In this you greatly rejoice, though for now for a little while
you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that your faith –
of greater worth than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire –
may be proved genuine and may result in praise,
glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him;
and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled
with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
for you are receiving the goal of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.
1 PETER 1:6-9 (NIV)



Though we have not seen Him, He calls us to love Him. Though we do not see Him now, He calls us to believe in Him (even if things aren’t going so well). And the result when we do so? We are filled with “inexpressible and glorious joy” which will culminate in the salvation of our souls.


Seeing is not always necessary for believing. What is necessary is trust in the One who has shown Himself faithful. Placing our faith in Him is not gullible, it’s smart – or in Jesus’ words, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” JOHN 20:29



We can rejoice, too,
when we run into problems and trials,
for we know that they help us develop endurance.
And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with his love.
ROMANS 5:3-5 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

The God of Peace

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August 20, 2020

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May the God of Peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
equip you with everything for doing His will,
HEBREWS 13:20-21 (NIV)



What a crazy world we live in. Oh, how we need God to breathe peace on our planet. Actually, He has, according to these verses. No matter how wild the world gets, we can experience this glorious peace because hostility no longer exists between the Father and us.


Still, it’s a crazy world. We need the peace of God that rules in our hearts (Colossians 3:15). God is with us, right in the middle of our world. And anywhere, at any time, we may turn to Him, hear His voice, and know His peace.


It’s my prayer that you turn your thoughts toward His calm and quiet. Hold the world at bay. Live in many moments of rest. May the peace of God go before you, leading you into each day. For whenever we look up into the face of our Father, whenever we quiet our spirit to hear His voice, we have found divine peace this crazy world can never take away.


JONI EARECKSON TADA



And let the peace that comes from Christ
rule in your hearts.
COLOSSIANS 3:15 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Faith, Featured

Take Heart and Endure

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August 5, 2020

- Category : Endurance for the Journey, Faith, Featured

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Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
HEBREWS 12:2 (NIV)



I am helped to endure my trails when I consider how Jesus endured His own. This verse tells us that great joy gripped the soul of the Master when He looked ahead to what His sufferings would accomplish. He endured for the joy of completing the Father’s will for Him. He endured for the joy He would feel at His resurrection and exaltation. And He endured for the joy of soon being able to present cleansed believers to the Father in Glory.



Jesus, did not “enjoy” the cross, but He was able to endure it for the joy set before Him. By considering Jesus, we, too, can take heart and endure.



We can rejoice, too,
when we run into problems and trials,
for we know that they help us develop endurance.
And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens
our confident hope of salvation.
ROMANS 5:3-4 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Love

His Only Son

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July 30, 2020

- Category : Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Love

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For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
JOHN 3:16 (NIV)



Babe Ruth is to baseball what John 3:16 is to the Bible. If you know just one baseball player, it’s probably the “Babe”. If you know just one Bible verse, it’s probably John 3:16.


God so ached for the return of this lost world that He gave up His only Son to bring it home. I have to tell you honestly, I can’t understand that. I can’t fathom why He would do that. Jonathan is my only son, and there’s no way I would give him up. Or Tiffany – my only daughter. Not for anything. Not to get my arm back. Not to play baseball again. Not for the world.


And yet …


And yet that is why God gave his Son – for the world. For you.



God showed How much He loved us
by sending His one and only Son into the world,
so that we might have eternal life through Him.
This is real love – not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son
as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 JOHN 4:9-10 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

We Need Each Other

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July 30, 2020

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Then the Lord God said,
“It is not good that the man be alone.”
GENESIS 2:18



I would like to share what I hope will be some words of encouragement. These are not my words but the words of a pastor I have tremendous respect for. His name is Bryan Loritts. I had the privilege of listening to a message he shared during an interview that I believe will encourage us all.


His message revolved around his response to the racial tensions and fears we are experiencing in our nation right now. However, It is also appropriate for those of us who are walking alongside someone who is suffering.


There are four powerful words he uses to encourage us. We need to first LAMENT, then LISTEN and LEARN, and then respond or receive in LOVE.


LAMENT – Most of us would struggle with understanding how to lament or grieve when faced with difficult news. Especially when we find ourselves hearing the word cancer for the first time. I don’t know if I thought of it being a form of lament when I was first diagnosed, but now looking back, I lamented the news. It grieved me to think that I was about to go on a journey where I could potentially lose my career or maybe even my life.


LISTEN – For the person on the receiving end of bad news listening can be a struggle. And as we all know, trusting the words of that doctor or counselor or deliverer of the difficult news and understanding the plan is critical. That is why, it is so important to have an advocate with you. A loved one who can help you understand – who can listen on your behalf. Also, listening to other’s stories who have walked a similar path – much can be learned.


LEARN – Obviously learning follows what we’ve just heard. We learn through listening to the doctors and counselors and the stories of others. We learn what others have experienced and what we possibly are about to go through. We gain an understanding of the situation that helps us to be emotionally prepared as best we can. And trust me, at least for myself, even with the information it was still very difficult to face what I was about to go through!


LOVE – In the end, as we face whatever trial we are going through, knowing we are loved becomes a powerful part of giving us the courage we will need to face the uncertainty of what lies ahead! Knowing we are not alone on this journey means everything to the one going through it. To love others binds us together on the journey so that no one is alone.


That is why Jan and I consider it a privilege to come alongside the hurting together with all of you. Thank you for making this ministry possible by your prayers and continued faithful support.



Above all, clothe yourselves in love,
which binds us all together in harmony.
COLOSSIANS 3:14 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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