No Better Time Than Now

Over the last several weeks, we have watched history unfold here in the United States.  From those things, we have seen unprecedented responses from people on every side of the argument.  The question is, how we do we as followers of Christ resolve ourself to what's taking place around us and what do we do about it?

All through Scripture we see examples of men and women who did everything in their power to follow after God.  While there are many we could choose from, the ultimate example is Jesus himself.

After Jesus had silenced the Sadducees with His teaching, this is what happened next:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' And He said to them, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as Yourself."
Matthew 22:36-39

We are to love God first!  We are to love Him with everything in us.  That means we love God with everything we have while accepting who He is fully by His Word!  We learn who God is by enjoying a close personal relationship with Him through prayer, study, and activity in His mission.  We don't decide what parts of Him we want and then throw out the rest that we don't like or make us uncomfortable.  A true acceptance of following Christ is one in which we accept ALL of His teachings from beginning to end, even when they cause us to stand on our own.

Being a Christ follower never meant our life would be easy or without opposition.  It means we stand with The One who could have sent an entire army to save the first martyr we know of: Stephen.  While God allowed him to die for his faith, it's the only time in all of Scripture we actually see Jesus STANDING at the right hand of the Father.  Every other instance we see throughout scripture repeatedly states that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father.  I believe this to be very significant.  When we love God completely, as Stephen did, and are willing to take a stand for Him, He stands with us!

For me, there is nothing greater I know of than to know that God stands with me when I make a stand for him!

In fact, I believe this goes all the way back to Isaiah 54:17 when we see the prophet speak: "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgement you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, declares the Lord."

Wow, what a heritage!  Who wouldn't want to live in that?  I choose to accept that and believe that God has my best interest at heart no matter what everyone around me says.

We are to love others second.  I believe this is where our culture is trying so desperately to mess us up!  Today we are told that we can't love others and stand firm on the things we believe.  WRONG!

Jesus proved that people could be loved regardless of their opinions, problems, and shortcomings.  He spent his time with those who the world considered the worst of the worst. Yet he never once allowed someone else's opinion to sway Him from the truth of who God is.  If He had wanted to do that, He could have saved Himself so much agony and pain by telling the religious leaders, Pilate and the crowds what they wanted to hear rather than the truth.

Think about the woman at the well.  Jews and Samaritans were to have nothing to do with one another, yet Jesus offered her the most precious thing He had to offer, while recognizing how many husbands she had from failed marriages.  He saw more in her than she saw in herself.  Yet he didn't move from who He is or the truth that is in Him!

In the end, we must decide how we will respond.  No matter what your friends, your parents or the people in your church choose, you will have to make a personal decision for yourself!

What will you do?  How will you respond?

There is no better time than now to decide what you will do.

For me:
"For me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15