At some point you have to decide where your line is.

In other words … where is too far too far?

And each of us must consult with God and make a stand.

For three men in a “not so different scenario” than what we face today—they had decided.

Enough was enough.

God was God.

And sooner or later I must decide Who I stand with and who I stand for.

So Who do you stand for?

I stand for Jesus.

I stand for celebrating His rule over my life.

I stand for doing what He says above what others might say.

And when I feel weary about doing so, I read their story.

Daniel 3 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The gospel of Jesus stands much like the behavior of these three men.

As I stood in worship today, God put these things on my heart.  Today, I will keep it simple and leave you with these thoughts:

  1. Know What You Stand For.  There is so much that will test you and push you, and a wise friend once told me to ask, “is this the mountain that I am willing to die on?”  So many times, I have decided that it was not.  And God has clearly told me:  if it is not—-move on and never worry about it again.  But then there is the other.  There is the Shadrach Meshach and Abednego moment—and it is where we MUST stand, where we MUST be willing to fight and stand up.  To know what you stand for is driven by one simple things:  WHO you stand for.  Jesus has given you life—and He IS the way and the truth and the life.
  2. Honor And Conviction.  The reaction to Nebuchadnezzar is communicated with honor and conviction and it is much like what Jesus said to men who would be kicked out of the temple on His behalf.  As men exited the temple, they were given a full on slap across the mouth, as both an insult and as physical punishment, on their way out the door.  Jesus told them to not only take one — but two slaps in the face.  I personally LOVE this about Jesus.  It says, “I will honor you, but I am so committed to what I am standing for that I will take double the punishment.”  Honor AND Conviction.
  3. Worship The Miracle WORKER, Not The Miracle.  As Jesus was confronted to be trapped, He called out men for looking for “signs”.  Matthew 16  “4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.”  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made it clear—-”even if He doesn’t … “  Perhaps the greatest three words in this scripture … They stood for God alone—no matter what it cost.

God covers us in grace.

He is slow to anger QUICK to love.  He is the only friend you can ever, truly, trust.

So I will end this blog with this.

The world may be coming unraveled.  We may be losing our convictions and our morals.  Greed may rule the day.  The lust of the flesh might be strong.  But God’s grace is great enough for all of it.

MOVE ON and MOVE FORWARD.

As the New England Patriots walked away from a brutal pummeling at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, they moved on.  The famous phrase came about:

“We are on to Cincinnati”

If you go on Youtube and play that phrase, you can see exactly what that means.

At the end of the day, this is the gospel for all of us.  It is turning the page on all that was lost, or ruined, or hurtful, and it is truly moving on.  It is taking the pieces of our broken past and letting God paint a masterpiece with our lousy art work …

And becoming victorious.  As you watch this video, it isn’t that entertaining.  But moving on and moving forward lead that team to a Super Bowl Championship.  Being able to move on … and move forward is what God gives to all of us … every day.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J