Stand With GodSample

Stand with God by Standing for Your Beliefs

Each one of us will experience a moment that defines our faith. In the clip today, Grace has encountered that moment and seized it by honestly answering a question about the teachings of Christ and placing it in the class lesson’s context. This shouldn’t be a problem; after all, His ideas have inspired world changers for the last two thousand years. With such historical significance, one would assume that any adequate education would address Jesus’ life and the Bible, which is the framework of Western Civilization, where His words are found. (Read Matthew 5:44-45)

But these times are not rational times. The name of Jesus is under attack, and so are those who speak His name. And though Grace is a fictional character, there are many who are experiencing hostility for their beliefs. In other words, Grace’s character represents the tension experienced by professing Christians today. In America, those pressures are economic (threatening heavy fines or shutting down businesses) and social (name-calling, labeling, misrepresenting).

Though many of us are surprised at how quickly our society has turned on the very values that made it thrive, the words of our Lord Himself tells us to expect such resistance and intolerance. (Read Matthew 10:22)

In our scripture reading today, which includes the verse quoted by Grace to her class, the Lord instructs His followers on the proper response to the enemies that will inevitably rise against them. He asks those who believe in Him to bless, to do good, and to pray, even in the midst of hatred and persecution.

Why must we do that?

Jesus explains it to us in verse 45: We must act like the children of our Heavenly Father. Not like those of this world, who would curse, accuse and retaliate, but like those who are citizens of another place: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)

At the end of the video clip, Grace speaks about true success. Is it as the world defines it, or is it defined by the legacy that is left behind? She also speaks about courage and standing for what you believe. As we will see in the film, and as we see in the headlines today, courage to believe and standing for those beliefs go hand in hand. (Read Deuteronomy 31:6)

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, as we complete today’s devotion, we pray for the courage to stand for You in a culture that is moving further and further from Truth. And we know that Your Word is Truth. As we are challenged, we pray for our responses to be seasoned with grace so that we will represent You and honor You before all. May our legacy be like those who are truly citizens of heaven and who carry out Your mandate to love, bless, do good and pray for those who stand against us as we stand for You.

In Jesus name, amen.