Remain faithful with steadfast purpose

Acts 11:23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, …

This is part of the account of the new Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene who preached to the people (non-Jews) in the city of Antioch.  When Barnabas was sent by the Jewish believers in Jerusalem to investigate, this was his concussion.  It stuck me when I read what Barnabas said to those new non-Jewish believers.  What did he see as the most important message to give them as they started their new spiritual journey?  To “remain faithful” to what they had learned so recently; that was to be their main goal.  I think the phrase “with steadfast purpose” is an especially powerful phrase.  This is how they were to remain faithful, not lacking in diligence, but clearly focused on the goal.  I see this as the target of my own faith-filled life as well, to be steady and diligent and focused, to have a “steadfast purpose” for what I do and how I live as a child of God.  This will have an impact on my surroundings.