Sarah Jefferson – NorthStar Church Blog

Digging Deeper: The Overflow

Sarah Jefferson on January 10, 2025

“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

THE OVERFLOW

I know what you might be thinking: I have remembered my why. I have asked for changed thinking. I am trying to lock eyes with Jesus and wrestle out what I say I believe. But what’s next?

Pray for Endurance

“For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.” – Hebrews 10:36
Sometimes, the hard things we walk through last a moment or days, but other times they last years. Pray for endurance.

Just Do the Next Right Thing

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” – Lamentations 3:22-24
My grandmother used to tell me, “Do not yield to the temptation of looking at everything at once, as if everything would happen at once and all the events of the day are crowded into an hour.”

We glorify the Lord in whatever He ordains, one step at a time. Walk in today’s mercy, believing that tomorrow will have new mercies for all it holds.

Wait and Watch

“I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.” – Habakkuk 2:1
Get on your watchtower, waiting and looking for the Lord to work. Be expectant.

There is a fascinating study I read about the topography of tears. Researchers photographed 100 tears under a microscope, revealing an amazing spectrum. Tears of grief looked entirely different from tears of joy. Tears of liberation were distinct from tears of release. Even tears from laughter, change, or cutting onions had unique structures.

Tears and Transformation

Acts 9 details Jesus’ calling on Saul’s (Paul’s) life. Saul was blinded, and when the scales fell from his eyes, his restored sight immediately propelled him to become a world-changer for God’s kingdom.

While Saul had literal scales causing blindness, we too are often spiritually blinded. What if our tears held the scales? What if those very tears were the remedy for healing our sight? As the scale-filled tears fall, they give way to vision—clarity to see Jesus. Like a blind person seeing for the first time, the blur is removed: clarity, focus, vision… Jesus.

I don’t want this study on tears to minimize the pain you might be experiencing. It certainly doesn’t capture the depth of some of my hardships. But I want to elevate the truth that each tear has been accounted for and holds a purpose.

We serve a good Father who allows the circumstances of our lives to filter through His hands. He is our only hope.

Sarah Jefferson is married to Curtis and the mother to Grey, Sanders, and Collins. She is a rare Atlanta native, currently living in Acworth. Sarah began her career in public relations in the sports industry. Now, she is a high school English teacher Mt. Paran Christian School. When she’s not teaching, you can find her running or hiking the beautiful trails of north Georgia and spending time with her busy family.

Digging Deeper: Work Out Your Salvation

Sarah Jefferson on January 9, 2025

“Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”

Philippians 2:12-13 (CSB)

WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION

When my mother-in-law died, I couldn’t even process her passing because my mother immediately fell ill. Then, eight months later, she also went to be with Jesus. Layered grief is unlike anything I have ever experienced. I tried to read my Bible, but I couldn’t understand any of it. I couldn’t listen to praise and worship because I couldn’t stop crying. And if I’m being fully transparent, I was disappointed with God’s plans for my life.

Elizabeth Elliott often said in her talks, “Sometimes life is so hard you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is, just do the next thing. God will meet you there.” When life feels a lot like you’re living in a snow globe and everything is turned upside down, it can be tempting to walk away. But the enemy of our souls is never closer than when we suffer.

There is no checklist for getting through hard circumstances, but we must continue to work out our salvation. Here are a few things that helped me:

Continue to lift your eyes to Jesus. I found it helpful to listen to podcasts and sermons that pointed me back to Him.
Surrender. This is hard but necessary.
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-3
Oftentimes, my prayers were simply, “Jesus, I trust You.” I had no idea what He was doing in my life, but I knew He was faithful.
Wrestle with what you say you believe.
“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23
Find someone to walk alongside you who will continue to point you to Jesus. Don’t suffer alone! NorthStar pastors can help guide you to the right ministry to help you hold fast to Jesus.
Stay teachable.
“Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.” – Psalm 86:11
We often do not have because we do not ask (James 4). So, ask the Lord to teach you how to glorify Him in this hard season.

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” – Isaiah 50:7

All I can tell you is that Jesus is near to the brokenhearted, and the cleft of the rock is real. It’s the only thing that makes the heartbreak beautiful and purposeful. What once was the valley of the shadow of death, I now see as the valley of vision—a place to see Jesus.

Determine to see Him in this hardest pain.

Digging Deeper: Lock Eyes with Jesus

Sarah Jefferson on January 8, 2025

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1 (CSB)

LOCK EYES WITH JESUS

We are now three days into talking about the hope of heaven. We have clarified that the hope of heaven doesn’t remove the pain of this life. It simply yet profoundly reminds us of our why, simultaneously giving peace in the midst of deep, penetrating loss and disappointment. Because our only purpose in this life is to glorify God in whatever He ordains, we cannot live for others, the things or pleasures of this world, or even the beautiful gifts God gives. Yesterday, we saw that the key to knowing God’s plans and purposes for our lives requires that our thinking aligns with God’s thinking.

But how do we do all of this? We follow Jesus’ example:

“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2

You see, the overflow of locking eyes with Jesus is a life aglow with His glory. It takes our eyes off our circumstances and places them on the only sure thing in this world—Jesus Himself. We begin to see the beauty of His character, the blessings in His promises, and the peace in His presence.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” – 2 Peter 1:3

Have you considered that as Jesus followers, we can share in His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption? That’s the hope that lights up the darkest nights. That’s the hope the world needs.

I don’t want to make light of our suffering. Some of us have endured wave upon wave of unbearable grief. Life is hard, but do not grow tired of doing good (Galatians 6:9). Get into God’s Word and lock eyes with Jesus so that, like Paul, you can say:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

Only when we lock eyes with Jesus do we see the hope of heaven. Only then can we press on. When we build altars in the wilderness, continually surrendering our will to His, we’ll look back and see that by His grace, mercy, and the empowering of His Spirit, we were walking on the water, hand in hand with our Savior.

Thank you, Jesus!

Digging Deeper: Changed Thinking

Sarah Jefferson on January 7, 2025

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then, you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

CHANGED THINKING

When Joni Eareckson Tada spoke at the Wheaton College Elizabeth Elliott Memorial Service, she said she knew there was more to suffering than understanding the reasons why God allows it or how you can benefit from it. She recognized that true maturity, true joy, and true contentment have less to do with a mechanistic assessment of God’s plan and purposes for your life and more to do with being pushed into—and at times shoved and pressed up against—the breast of Jesus Christ until your heart begins beating in rhythm with His. It’s not a tidy, orderly list but something very messy: an earnest grappling and wrestling with the angel of the Lord until He touches us in heart and hip.

She said, “When you are decimated by affliction, when you are down for the count, you learn Elizabeth’s doctrine. The Bible’s answers are never to be separated from the tender, sweet, holy, precious God of the Bible—food and drink to those of us that God places on altars of affliction.”

Tada, as you may recall, dove into the Chesapeake Bay at the young age of 16, broke her neck, and has spent the majority of her life paralyzed in a wheelchair. Now 75 years old, she has endured stage 3 breast cancer and currently lives with chronic pain in spite of her paralysis. Without a doubt, she has learned about the hope of heaven.

Romans 8:28 tells us we serve a sovereign God who is weaving all the events of our lives together for our good and His glory. But how can some of this be good? In the throes of life’s hardest moments, Scripture offers profound insight into God’s thoughts versus our own.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9

Yet, when you are staring at the effects of adultery, a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, or a wayward child, it’s hard to imagine how such hardship can be seen as good. Romans 12:2 offers the key:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Philippians 4:8 adds this powerful command:

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

If His thoughts are not our thoughts, then the prayer becomes, “God, change my thinking on this. You are the good thing You will not withhold. Give me eyes to see You in this impossibly hard season. Help me to fix my thoughts on Your promises and character.”

After all, He is our only hope in this life.

Digging Deeper: Remember Your Why

Sarah Jefferson on January 6, 2025

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

REMEMBER YOUR WHY

“But what does hope mean?” I practically begged my mentor and spiritual mother of nearly 40 years.

After decades of following Jesus, the layered grief of losing my mother-in-law and my mother within eight months of each other had left my head in a million places, uncertain of everything I thought I knew. Everyone kept talking about the “hope of heaven,” and I believed our mothers were there—in the very real place of heaven, in the presence of Jesus. But this hope wasn’t easing the pain I was left with.

In her kind, gentle, but confident voice, Susan replied, “Sarah, this is when you fall back on what you know.”

So, friend, let’s do just that. When life feels completely upside down, overwhelming, and absolutely nothing like you imagined, go back to the beginning. Trust the process.

Who made you? Genesis 2 tells us it was God who made us.
What else did God make? Genesis 1 tells us God made all things.
Why did God make you and all things? Isaiah 43:7 reminds us that we were made for His glory.

We were made by an intentional, loving God who sees the beginning from the end. Nothing surprises Him—not the loss, the diagnosis, the broken relationships, the financial hardships, the distant marriage, the infertility, raising teens, or the loneliness. He is aware of it all.

When we remind ourselves that we were created by an all-knowing God, who made us to glorify Him in whatever He ordains, we remove ourselves from the center of the story. This life is not about us! It’s not about our wants and desires, or even our “rights.” It’s certainly not about our happiness or what’s fair. It’s about Jesus and His glory. Glorifying God is our one great calling.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” – Psalm 84:11

The good thing He does not withhold is Himself. Pause and sit with that for a moment. Living for His glory begins with sitting—the secret to the true Christian experience. You see, before we can live for His glory, we must prioritize being still (Psalm 46:10), begging like Moses (Exodus 33) to see His glory in the very place we doubt it might be.

Digging Deeper: Dwelling at God’s Altar

Sarah Jefferson on November 22, 2024

“The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.”

1 Peter 5:10 (CSB)

DWELLING AT GOD’S ALTAR

So what do we do with this suffering Peter is warning us of? He tells us in verse 9, “Resist him, firm in the faith…” But how do we resist this lion looking to devour our souls?

Psalm 84 says, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of Armies. I long and yearn for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Even a sparrow finds a home and a swallow, a nest for herself where she places her young — near your altars, Lord of Armies, my King and my God.”

What an interesting choice to talk about the sparrow and the swallow. These are interesting birds because they’re nothing birds. In Jesus’ day, they had very little value. And they were messy.

Have you ever been out on a boat, maybe on Allatoona? If you go under an overpass, the bridges that cross the lake, and look up, you’ll see these mud nests. Those are sparrow nests.

These birds would build their nests in little nooks and crannies around the temple, and they were a mess. They were loose, misshapen nests made of whatever they could find, or they were made out of mud. But there they were–near His altar.

He could have written about any beautiful, prized, put-together bird here. Birds with nests that are planned, polished, clean, and fully put together. Birds that hold worldly value, whose soar demands the respect of others. But he chose the sparrow and the swallow. Why do you think that is?

Because that’s you, and that’s me. And that’s the call He has placed on our lives! Bring your mess, your filth, your unpolished world, and live your life near His altar–and dwell there.

I did a word study of altar. Are you ready? [Altar]: a place of sacrifice AND thanksgiving, a place where God brings change.

We resist the devil and stand firm in the faith when we build our lives at His altar. When we allow Him to empower us in the hard seasons, whatever it is, and determine to set our hearts on following Jesus, wherever He leads us. When we suffer and weep–because we will–He takes our tears and makes them refreshing–and a place of blessing. We’ll look back and see we moved from strength to strength, empowering to empowering, one situation at a time. Why? Because we’ve camped our lives–every aspect of it–on Jesus, at His altar–His place of transformation.

Only Jesus can do that. There’s no other route, no other way, no other choice that can give you this kind of “return” on obedience, surrender, and sheer determination to follow Him.

Digging Deeper: The Enemy’s Prowling, So Expect Suffering

Sarah Jefferson on November 21, 2024

“Your adversary, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”

1 Peter 5:8-9 (CSB)

THE ENEMY’S PROWLING, SO EXPECT SUFFERING

As a writer and fellow lover of words, I absolutely love Peter’s writing style. He uses strong words and powerful language to communicate his message. He cuts to the chase, calling Jesus’ followers up not only to the reality of the calling on their lives but also to the beauty in it all.

But as we read his description of the enemy, I can’t help but wonder why Peter was writing like this. He’s concluding his letter that essentially tells Jesus’ followers, “Hey, Jesus suffered, and you need to prepare yourself that you’re going to suffer too.”

Prowling, by definition, means to move about or wander stealthily in search of prey. Perhaps, Peter learned that lions prefer to do their hunting when it’s dark. Maybe he was taught that lions also like to hunt during storms because the noise of the wind, rain, and thunder makes it hard for their prey to see or hear them coming. It’s even possible that Peter observed lions stalk their prey. All of this is true of the nature of lions.

Or, maybe Peter wrote like that because he had lived it.

Remember, it was during the Last Supper (Luke 22) that Jesus said to Peter, “Look out, Peter. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” And Peter replies proudly, likely with the same emotionally charged boldness he had in the garden, “Lord, I’m ready to go with you to prison and even death.” And can’t you just imagine Jesus’ face falling and his voice lowering a bit, looking deeply into Peter’s eyes, saying, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you even know me.

It can be easy to look at pages and scripture and honestly just feel like it’s all unrelatable. But if we strip away the modern ways of the world, the pages of scripture are filled with fallible people like you and me. While Peter wasn’t perfect, he’s the same man Jesus said he would build his church on and even the gates of hell could not overthrow (Matthew 16).

If you follow Jesus–and you should–you will suffer. Peter strongly warns us that the enemy is real, and he’s looking to sink his teeth into those who don’t see him coming. But the other thing I hope we see is that Peter is the gift the Lord gave us to show us he’s not looking to use perfect people–he’s looking to use the bold, repenting, and willing. Don’t allow your past sin to keep you from leaning into all God is calling you to.

Digging Deeper: Humility Lightens Our Burden

Sarah Jefferson on November 20, 2024

“All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exact you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 (CSB)

HUMILITY LIGHTENS OUR BURDEN

Since 2020, I feel like we have been frogs in the pot of ever-increasing tensions among Americans. We certainly are not lacking for things to divide us.

This passage from 1 Peter encourages us to embrace humility as both a garment we put on and a posture we take before God and others. To “clothe yourselves with humility” calls us to make humility a visible part of who we are. We are all image-bearers created to display God’s glory regardless of our circumstances. When we approach others with humility, we’re choosing to respect and value them, acknowledging that everyone is worthy of love and respect in God’s eyes. God honors this attitude by extending His grace toward us in ways we may not even expect.

God’s promise here is beautiful and freeing, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time.” This is not about looking down on ourselves or pretending to be less. It’s not about pretending at all. This call to humility is about real about who we are and our need for Jesus and surrendering our plans and purposes for our lives believing His are better. When we submit to His timing, we can rest knowing that He will lift us up and fulfill His purposes in our lives at just the right time.

Finally, Peter reminds us to “cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.” Early in our marriage, I distinctly felt the Lord telling me, “Sarah, before you complain about Curtis, just tell me.” What I have learned through bringing all of my concerns in marriage, parenting, work, and friendships to him is that most often, He’s inviting me to see Him more clearly and know Him more fully. Humility means recognizing that we don’t have to carry our burdens alone. When we let go of pride and self-sufficiency, we make room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to strengthen and support us in all He’s calling us to, experiencing His care in a deeply personal way.

Peter’s warning about suffering, followed by casting our cares on the Lord, isn’t a coincidence. We are only able to suffer well when we allow the Lord to carry the heaviness of all that’s hard in our lives. As Christ-followers, we must develop our prayer life so that whether we are struggling in sin or weighed down by our circumstances, we run to our Father to tell him.

In his book Desiring God, John Piper wrote, “Prayer is not a task to be completed, but a relationship to be cultivated.” Today, let’s lean in and ask God to clothe us in humility, trusting His mighty hand and resting in His profound love for us. There’s a dying world that needs to experience our kindness and love for them in order to see the hope we have in Jesus.

Digging Deeper: Humble Submission

Sarah Jefferson on November 19, 2024

“In the same way, you who are younger be subject to the elders.”

1 Peter 5:5 (CSB)

HUMBLE SUBMISSION

Peter opens the chapter by talking directly to those in leadership within the church and commanding them to shepherd the flock. That is to say, their jobs are to preserve and protect the sheep–that’s you and me. It could be easy to read a passage like this with a hand on our hips posture, looking at church leadership passive-aggressively to do just that. And there’s no denying this is within their job descriptions.

However, there is an important aspect worth considering. Are we willing to follow? You see, church leaders can only lead to the degree to which their sheep are willing to follow. While some may consider submission a four-letter word, Jesus’ life and ministry modeled a life of humble submission, ultimately calling us to the same. So, what does humble submission look like for those of us who are members of this body of believers at NorthStar?

A willingness to be known.

In a world of perfectly filtered squares, social media has led us to believe highlight reels are real life. The truth is, there are no perfect churches, marriages, children, schools, and the list goes on. But as we struggle in those areas, we must be willing to be real so that church leaders can come alongside to love and lead us. Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This is how we love one another and spur each other on to the deeper things God is calling us to.

A teachable spirit.

Being known isn’t the answer to this humble, submissive spirit if we aren’t also willing to be teachable. This isn’t easy. Yet, Proverbs 12:1 tells us plainly, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.” As we grow in our knowledge of God’s word, we allow sanctification to have its way in our lives as we allow others to encourage us to love and respect our spouses, to parent our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to view our time, talents and treasures in a way that glorifies the Lord.

A posture of prayer.

We are undoubtedly living in times when we are seeing Christian leaders, in their humanity, fall short of God’s call on their lives. In one story, a pastor admitted he was leading from an empty place. Are we praying intently for our leaders that they would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and that God would give them a hunger and thirst for His word? Are we asking for an extra measure of boldness to preach all of God’s word, even when it steps on our toes? Are we covering their marriages and families, asking that God might protect them and be glorified in their lives?

Yes, Peter is calling our church leaders up, but he is calling us up, too. God’s created order within the church gives us the freedom to love God, love others, and live sent in a world that desperately needs the hope we have in Jesus.

Digging Deeper: Christ’s Grace Shaped Peter’s Leadership

Sarah Jefferson on November 18, 2024

“Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

1 Peter 5:2-3 (CSB)

CHRIST’S GRACE SHAPED PETER’S LEADERSHIP

Peter doesn’t mince words when he speaks to leaders within the church. He calls them to shepherd but clarifies that they should do so willingly and set an example for those they lead. But why would he place so much emphasis on the way they shepherd?

Perhaps his own failures lurked as a not-too-distant memory. He was the disciple who walked on water with Jesus, yet all too quickly rushed to defend Jesus in the garden. In John 6, when some of His disciples found it hard to follow and accept His teachings, Jesus asked the remaining disciples if they wanted to go away too. And Peter replies so authentically, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Later, he would deny three times even knowing Jesus.

However, I believe Jesus’ words and example had a far more lasting impact on his ministry than any of his failures. During the Last Supper, Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

Jesus isn’t simply telling Peter of a specific sin he will commit but ultimately speaking of a life of suffering to come for the sake of Jesus’ call on his life. In his kindness, Jesus adds his prayer that his faith would not fail so that he might strengthen his brothers.

Fallible as he was, Peter was a pivotal leader in building the church. In Matthew 16, Jesus told him, “On this rock, I will build my church.” Peter made mistakes, but God’s plans and purposes prevailed, and even the powers of hell could not overcome them. And Peter is now imploring fellow leaders to understand and walk out the high calling of leading God’s chosen people.

This is convicting in a time when churchgoers often take the posture of consumers, looking to pastors and leaders to perform, entertain, and lead perfect lives without sin or struggle. Yet Peter’s life shows us that pastors and leaders within the church can deeply love the Lord, be eager to serve, and still show their humanity.

Paul encourages church leaders in Titus 1 to “Hold to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able to both encourage with sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.” As our campus transitions through the Whatever It Takes campaign, it will be easy to focus on minor inconveniences. Yet we have this glorious opportunity to model Jesus by praying for our church leaders that their faith would not fail, that their work might strengthen the members, and that they might hold fast to God’s word. That’s doing whatever it takes. That’s the foundation God uses to build eternity in the hearts of those who still need Jesus.