General Stuff

Hold fast

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I woke up this morning with those two words echoing in my soul. May it’s for me, maybe it’s for one of you who is reading this. More than likely, it’s for both.

It turns out that the Bible has a lot to say about holding fast.

Hebrews 3:14 tells us to hold on to our confidence in Christ.

Titus 1:9 tells us to hold fast to the Word, so we can teach it well even to those who fight against it.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 encourages us to hold fast to what we’ve been taught.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 breaks it down even more simply and tells us to hold fast to what is good.

Simple, right? And yet, we hold fast to so many other things that didn’t make the list!

Opinions.

Positions.

Power.

There are more that we could list, but you get the point. We must not only hold fast, but hold fast to the right things. In the last look of the Bible, John is writing letters to 7 churches, and in the only letter written that includes no correction, he drops this encouragement.

“I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭ESV, emphasis mine)

What did they have that was worth holding fast? The promise of an open door, and a love for the Word of Jesus and the name of Jesus that had been tested by persecution and was genuine. He told them that He was coming quickly — not a word that defines length of time but rather lack of delay — and that there would be those who would fight to take their crown from them. Ultimately, the crown was what they had and what they needed to hold fast to.

You get 3 guesses at who the crown was and the first 2 don’t count. That’s right. The crown was Jesus. The prophet Isaiah had written about it long before the Word became flesh:

“In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;” (Isaiah‬ ‭28:5‬ ‭NASB, emphasis mine)

There will be no end to people who want to take away our crown, but in all the clamoring and jockeying for power and position, hold fast to Jesus, y’all. He is all we need, and that relationship is worth holding on to.

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June 2, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.