It's easier to be the crowd
to just fit in and not stand out at all,
to make a case for apathy
and never risk a thing in case you fall.
This is life and we all decide
the stand we take and this is mine:
that I am not ashamed, won't walk away
not trying to disguise or ever hide
the reason that I choose to be a fool
for the one who saved my life.
I won't apologize.
"All In" by Stellar Kart
In today's paper is a picture of former President George H.W. Bush with a shaved head...he was "standing" with a young 2 year old cancer patient, one of his Secret Service agent's child. A dear picture of standing in support of someone or something. The word in today's verse for stand is steko, meaning to be stationary or to persevere...as Stellar Kart says in the above lyrics "to be all in".
We all live by certain standards...we have rules or principles that are used for our basis of judgment. Some standards are higher than others, some are just different than others. As a follower of Christ, I choose to abide by the standards He set forth in His word...I love the freedom that comes from knowing what I believe, from seeing it, being guided in it and understanding it. Eugene Peterson in his book TRAVELING LIGHT says:
Taking a stand fights driftng with the tide.
Taking a stand contrasts with being carried and coddled by
the culture. Taking a stand means standing on our own two feet.
Our culture wants us to be "forward thinking"...as if that is better. I'm sad to say our beloved city of
San Antonio is considering an ordinance that would prevent anyone being appointed to a city position if they have "...engaged in any discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age or disability." My goodness...that's quite a statement!
My "bias" is toward Biblical truth...that is where I stand and that is where my Savior has told me to stand. Some days are easier than others, but my Lord tells me He will always go where He sends me.
Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." In our verse for today, he pleads again for his brothers and sisters to stand together to be of the same mind in the Lord. The world would have us go wherever the shift in moral and values chooses to take us. I will not go with them...I will fight with every fiber of my being to "stand firm in the Lord" and His principles.
If we have to stand for something, let us do what Jeremiah said in 6:16: "Stand by the road, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."
"Forward thinking" isn't necessarily the best thinking. I choose to be "a fool for the one who saved my life." If you are a follower of Christ, be prepared to share with others what "the good way is"...let us not leave behind the "ancient paths" or the faith of our fathers.
For further study: Exodus 14:13-14, 2 Chron. 20:17, Psalm 18:33, Psalm 40:2, Psalm 119:120,
Ezekiel 22:30, Matthew 12:25, 1 Cor. 15:58, Eph 6:14, 2 Thes. 2:15, James 5:8, 1 Peter 5:8-12.
This is my 100th blog and how grateful I am to the Lord for this privilege! Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
