ARE YOU STANDING UP FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD ?

8/12/2019

THE LAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. WHEN I SPEAK ABOUT FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, I MEAN THOSE WHO’VE HEARD HIS VOICE, ACCEPTED HIS SALVATION, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE BEEN MOVED TO BE CHANGED. CHANGED IN HOW THEY FEEL, CHANGED IN HOW THEY LIVE, AND CHANGED IN THEIR PRIORITIES. THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE JUST DIFFERENT. FOR SOME, IT WILL MEAN RE-EVALUATING BEHAVIORS THAT DON’T FEEL RIGHT ANYMORE. FOR OTHERS IT WILL BE A RESHUFFLING OF FRIENDS AND ACTIVITIES. IT MAY BE A COMPLETE REFLECTION ON CAREER, OR WHERE YOU LIVE. IT MAY BE AN ANOINTING FROM GOD HIMSELF TO A SPECIFIC ACTIVITY OR CALLING THAT IS JUST SO POWERFUL THAT IT BECOMES A PASSION IN YOUR LIFE THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED NO MATTER WHAT ! WHEN YOU FOLLOW JESUS, YOU WILL HAVE A NEW HEART, A NEW MIND, AND A NEW PURPOSE. THE QUESTION IS, ARE YOU GOING TO EMBRACE IT ?

CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME. Psalm 51:10

AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, SO THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS, THAT WHICH IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT. Romans 12:2

BEING TRANSFORMED TAKES A LOT OF CHANGE, AND IN MANY WAYS IT ALSO TAKES A LOT OF RISK. IT FORCES US TO COME OUT FROM OUR SAFETY AND OBSCURITY AND ACTUALLY STAND UP FOR GOD AND HIS PRINCIPLES. IT MEANS SPEAKING UP AND SPEAKING OUT ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG. IT MEANS REACHING OUTSIDE OUR COMFORT ZONE TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN US. IT MEANS SHARING THE LOVE OF JESUS WITH THOSE IN NEED. IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN’T HIDE ANYMORE FROM THE PURPOSE THAT GOD CALLS ALL HIS FOLLOWERS TO EMBRACE….YOU HAVE TO BECOME A DISCIPLE, AND SHARE WHO JESUS IS, AND TO BECOME A DISCIPLE YOU HAVE TO SURRENDER ALL YOU ARE TO JESUS YOURSELF. ALL YOUR SIN, YOUR STRUGGLES, YOUR HEART, YOUR MIND, YOUR ACTIONS….AND YOU WILL REALIZE THAT WITHOUT HIM, YOU ARE LOST. BUT WITH HIM, YOU ARE STRONG, AND POWERFUL, AND A VOICE AND LIGHT TO OTHERS. A BEACON OF HOPE, INSPIRATION, AND LOVE.

THERE IS ONE OR TWO MORE THINGS THAT WILL ALSO MOST LIKELY COME YOUR WAY. PERSECUTION, DISLIKE BY SOME, AND THE INEVITABLE CALLS OF BEING JUDGMENTAL. NO ONE SEEMS TO WANT ANYONE TO HAVE PRINCIPLES THAT ARE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT CULTURE DEFINES AS “RIGHT” FOR TODAY. THE HONEST TRUTH IS THAT GOD’S PRINCIPLES ARE DIFFERENT THAN CULTURE. HE HAS A PLAN AND AN ORDER FOR LIFE. HE SET IT AS OUR FOUNDATION WHEN HE CREATED US. I BELIEVE THAT THE KEY TO SHARING HIS PRINCIPLES IS TO LIVE THEM OUT IN YOUR OWN LIFE. I HAVE FOUND THAT A LOT OF THE PUSH BACK AGAINST CHRISTIANS IS FIRMLY BASED ON THE FACT THAT THEY DON’T WALK THEIR TALK. CHRISTIANITY IS FULL OF HYPOCRITICAL ACTION THAT SIMPLY FRUSTRATES THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING. LOOKING BACK ON MY LIFE, I KNOW MY ACTIONS SURE WEREN’T ALWAYS PERFECT, BUT PART OF THE LOVE OF GOD IS THAT WE CAN FAIL, BUT WE MUST TRY OUR BEST TO REFLECT HIM….NOT ON OUR OWN, BUT WITH HIS HELP. HE ALONE CAN CHANGE US, AND CHANGE MAKES A DIFFERENCE NOT ONLY TO YOURSELF, BUT TO THOSE AROUND YOU. MAYBE EVEN TO THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

FOR WHOEVER WILL SAVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL SAVE IT. FOR WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN IF HE GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD AND LOSES OR FORFEITS HIMSELF ? Luke 9:24-25

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. Matthew 5:10

I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS TO YOU, THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION. BUT TAKE HEART; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. John 16:33

THE WORLD WE ARE LIVING IN TODAY SEEMS VERY DIVISIVE, DIFFICULT, MEAN SPIRITED, AND AT TIMES JUST DOWNRIGHT HARD TO TAKE. SADLY, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY IF YOU TRULY LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. JUST THINK WHAT THE 12 MEN WHO WERE WITH JESUS WENT THROUGH, AND ALL THOSE WHO FOLLOWED HIM THROUGH THE AGES. I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF THAT I LIVE IN AMERICA. IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, FOLLOWERS OF JESUS ARE PERSECUTED RELENTLESSLY EVERY DAY. MANY ARE BRUTALLY BEATEN, FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES, IMPRISONED, AND MANY ARE VIOLENTLY KILLED. I AM THANKFUL THAT SO FAR, AMERICA STILL HAS A GRASP ON FREEDOM AND LAW AND INDIVIDUAL GOD GIVEN RIGHTS. THOSE FREEDOMS HOWEVER CAN NEVER BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN OTHER PLACES THAT FACE PERSECUTION AND EVIL EVERY DAY, AND YET, THEY STILL STAND UP FOR THE GOD THEY SO LOVE AND ABIDE IN. THEY ARE MY INSPIRATION AND MY EXAMPLES OF WHO I WANT TO BE IN MY FAITH. HOW MUCH MORE THEREFORE SHOULD WE STAND UP FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD ? IT IS TIME ! MAY WE HAVE THE COURAGE AND THE FAITH TO BE ALL GOD WANTS US TO BE IN HIM !

SO DO NOT FEAR, FOR I AM WITH YOU; DO NOT BE DISMAYED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD. I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU AND HELP YOU; I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. Isaiah 41:10

THANKS BE TO GOD THAT HE IS OUR STRENGTH AND HOPE/ JA