What Will You Stand For?

Ephesians 6 reminds us that we are called to stand strong in the courage of our convictions, based on the teachings of God's Word:
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.


I believe that the Lord desires for us to live a life of conviction.    That involves having a well-developed belief system based on the principles of Scripture, making sure that our personal beliefs are under the authority of God's Word.   And, it involves being willing to stand strong, even when our convictions are being challenged.   The Bible tells us to stand our ground, to be bold and strong, willing to show that we belong to God.

2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 teachers us that because we are in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we are called to stand firm:
14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope...  Stand firm - that's a great phrase for us these days - we are called to stand in the courage of our convictions.   If we place ourselves in alignment with God and His kingdom, then He empowers us to speak and act in accordance with His ways.  This Sunday, many are standing together with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, who are resisting the heavy hand of governmental authorities around the world and standing for Him, when it would perhaps be the path of least resistance to acquiesce and to not stand for their faith.   This weekend, it is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  And, hundreds lined U.S. 31 in front of Marbury High School today to stand with the cheerleaders who have traditionally made banners with Scripture on them for the football players to run through prior to a game.   An out-of-state organization that has made a name for harassing students and government officials for exercising their freedom of religion wrote a letter trying to make them stop.   The local school board has said they will not respond to the letter.   Tonight, the cheerleaders will continue the tradition and post a banner that has Romans 1:16 on it - it says,"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..."  Sometimes you just have to stand - you stand for what is right, what you know to be true, allowing the Bible to shape your convictions and letting the Spirit empower you to be strong.