A Time to Stand // A Devotion

Hello and welcome to my second post of 2019! (FYI, I updated my December Wrap-Up with the rest of my reads so be sure and check it out!) As promised, I have a devotion for you! It’s time to take a look at my word for the year: Stand. When is it time to stand? Let’s look into our Bibles and find out!

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15
King James Bible

It’s Time to Stand up for What We Believe.

I think we can all agree that there is only One God, Jehovah, the God of the Bible. Our Lord and Savior. But sadly, around the world, people worship other gods. Allah, Buddha, Mary and many other “gods” are worshiped as the “one god”.  This is not a new issue, as the above Scripture indicates.

So many people tell us it’s not “politically correct” to pray in Jesus’ Name. It’s “offensive” since everyone has their own religious preferences.  I’m not saying we need to start a fist fight or a loud protest. But when faced with this situation, we should not back down and say, “That’s fine. I’ll just say Amen at the end of my prayer.” There is no room for compromise.

For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:24
King James Bible

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God to be ashamed of me. Especially not because I was ashamed to admit that He is my Lord and Savior. After all, Jesus suffered ultimate shame and suffering for us. Isn’t it a small thing for Him to ask us to speak up and declare our Faith?

We Must Stand When it Seems We are Alone.

Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
I Kings 18:22
King James Bible

We know from reading the scriptures that Elijah wasn’t alone in his stand against Baal, but it sure seemed like it! And today it can be the same. You can get discouraged, thinking you are the only one staying true to God from our generation; thinking you are the only one waiting for God to bring “the one” to you if you are unmarried; believing no one cares about God’s standards anymore except for you. It can be lonely. But just as God did for Elijah, He will send encouragement to you! We are not the only people of our day who try to serve the Lord; we are not the only ones waiting for God’s divine order; we are not the only ones trying to have godly standards! We are not alone! But even when we feel that we are alone, God is always there for He has promised to never leave or forsake us! What better company could we ask for?

I wish I could take the time and dig into all the people of the Bible who had to stand in hard times. Or in our History for that matter! Let’s take just a moment and look at a few before I have to wrap this up!

-Moses had to Stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of his people. That’s not easy! Especially when this guy thinks he can outlast God in a contest of wills. Pharaoh had no idea Who he was up against! (Exodus 3)

-Moses called for the men of Israel to stand for the Lord’s side when there was sin in the camp. (Exodus 32:36)

-Elijah had to stand before the prophets of Baal and prove who the true God was. (And he won, of course!) (1 Kings 18)

-Daniel had to stand against those who wanted him to pray to the king instead of God. In this case, he stood by kneeling in prayer to the One True God. (Daniel 6)

-The three Hebrew children stood when ordered to worship a false God. They were thrown into the fiery furnace, walked with the Son of God, and lived to tell about it! (Daniel 3)

-The disciples stood against the priests when they were told not to preach about Jesus. But Peter answered them by saying they ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:27-29)

-Throughout history, Baptists have been ordered not to preach under penalty of imprisonment and death. But they continued on, as did Peter and the disciples.

-The Founding Fathers believed that, among other things, King George was preventing us from carrying out the great commission and refused to let us print our own Bibles. They took a stand for basic human and Christian rights, leading to the American War for Independence.

-During the War Between the States, Abraham Lincoln declared Bibles were contraband of War. Christians in the North took a stand, smuggling money, ink, type, and printing press equipment through the lines to the South so we could print our own Bibles. If they had been caught, they could have been arrested or even executed for smuggling to the “enemy”.

-Hitler declared Jews were not human and that they should be killed. Many Christians and others across Europe risked their lives to save God’s chosen from the concentration camps of the Nazi party. Many died for their stand, but they still stood!

What about you? Will you stand in the face of opposition? Will you be willing to speak up at the prompting of the Lord? It doesn’t matter what man says, but what God says.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:29
King James Bible

It’s Time to Stand. Will You?

Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22