Choose to Stand

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Matt 10:32-33 (NASB95)

Life is full of choices.  Sometimes we foolishly feel those choices will be easy.  Peter did that.  He declared he would never forsake Jesus but when the difficult time came he did the very thing.  We must choose before the crisis what we will do and who we will be.  James MacDonald wrote, "I will not walk away from the Lord when things get hard.  I choose to stand for Him."  Let us make the choice that regardless of the circumstances we will be Christ followers who will not walk away.

Where He has placed you!

I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—

1 Tim 1:12 (HCSB)

Where has God placed you?  Some of us may respond well no where!  "I am in this dead end job!"  Or maybe you may say, "I really don't have any important role in the church or ministry."  We may excuse ourselves by saying, "I really don't have any gifts, skills," even, "God can't use me."  No,  God has placed you where you are for His purpose.  You have a ministry, whether you recognize it or not.

Notice three important things about Paul's statement to Timothy.  First, He is thankful.  Don't belittle where God has placed you but revel in it.  God has placed you where you are to do what only you can do.  Thank Him for using you there!

Second, notice that He says God has considered him faithful.  Was Paul more faithful than us?  Perhaps in some ways but over all no not really.  He was human just like us.  Sinful, some times stupid and not always doing what he should be and yet God considered him faithful.  Understand what God understands about you.  You are a work in progress.  If you are waiting to be perfect, ready or prepared you probably will never be used.  God considers us faithful not because of who we are but because of who we will be.

Third, just a reminder, God places us where He wants us.  Ministry is not a choice it is our calling.  We don't choose where and when we serve.  God places us in His place and in His time.

Just serve where He has placed you!

Destiny

If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

Esth 4:14 (HCSB)

Destiny is not necessarily a Biblical word but it is a Biblical concept.  It means, according to Webster's dictionary, "Something a person or thing is designated, assigned or dedicated to in advance."  It is a biblical concept isn't it.  Lets not forget that God has a plan and that plan includes you.  He has a purpose for your life.  But in God's way of doing things there is another biblical concept, Man's free will.

God gives us a choice.  We have the choice to obey or disobey.  We can work with Him or against Him.  We can choose to fulfill our destiny, His plan, or in sinful arrogance do our thing, fulfill our desires.

Be faithful and fulfill your destiny, God's plan.  You are not where you are by accident.  You are there on purpose and God has a plan to use you.  Just consider, you may be where you are, "for such a time as this."

Not for faint of heart

 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

2 Tim 4:6-8 (NASB95)

Being a Christ follower is not for the faint of heart.  Paul doesn't beat around the bush with Timothy.  He reminds him that serving the King is going to require some difficult choices, circumstances and consequences.  Paul reminds us that serving means we must sacrifice ourselves willingly.  That goes against the grain for us.  We often seek comfort rather than sacrifice.

There is also required the need to get into the struggle for the Kingdom.  Kingdom living is equated to a fight or wrestling match.  Paul also describes it as running a marathon that requires endurance to finish the race no matter how much it hurts.

Yes being a Christ follower requires a commitment in which we give all but also remember the rewards.  Eternity with Him, a Crown of Righteousness and of course a, "well done, good and faithful servant."  Keep striving today in your commitment to following King Jesus!

Stand Tall

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Josh 1:5 (HCSB)

Do you have what it takes to be a great man or woman of faith? Can you live up to the testimony of the great Christ followers of history. Well two truths for you today.

1. You don't have too. It's not a competition. You don't have to compare to Paul or Joshua or Moses. You just have to be a faithful you.

2. We are successful in the Christian life because God is with us not because we do great things. It is God's empowerment, His presence in our lives that make the difference.

read these words of Henry Blackaby:

As you read the accounts of God's miraculous work through men and women in the Bible, you may wonder if God still performs such miracles today. Be assured that the same God who walked with Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Peter, James, John, and Paul now lives within you. No power can defeat the God who guides you. The God who blessed them is just as capable of working out His purposes through your life. The same God who gave them victory over seemingly invincible enemies, who provided for them when their own resources were insufficient, and who guided them in their decisions, is prepared to work as powerfully in your life today. The heroes of the faith had one thing in common: They were all ordinary people with no power of their own. The difference is the mighty presence of God. Times may change, but the effect of God's presence remains the same.

Henry Blackaby —Experiencing God Day by Day (July 31)

Never Alone

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. 46 After He said good-bye to them, He went away to the mountain to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 He saw them being battered as they rowed, because the wind was against them.

Mark 6:45-48 (HCSB)

When trouble comes we often feel like we are alone. WE ARE NEVER ALONE! Sometimes Jesus makes us get into the boat. He knows what we are about to experience. He sees us. He knows what we are going through. He is waiting to see how we will deal with the problem we are about to face. He is waiting to see if we will cry out to Him. He is watching. We are not alone.
We must trust Jesus. We need to cry out to Jesus. We must remember that even when we feel alone Jesus is there and He knows. He is ready to reach out and calm us and calm the storm. Just trust Him today.

Be Found Faithful

A person should consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of God’s mysteries. 2 In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one be found faithful. 3 It is of little importance that I should be evaluated by you or by a human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. 4 For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. 5 Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

1 Cor 4:1-5 (HCSB)

Above all our goal is to be found faithful. Paul understood who he was a servant and a steward. Paul also understood who he served, Jesus Christ. There is a twofold warning for us in Paul's message, 1. Your evaluation of others should have little importance in their service to Christ. 2. Others evaluation of you should not impact how you view your service to Christ. That's really where the rubber meets the road. For many of us we are people pleasers. We like people to like us, to appreciate us and to think highly of us. But when it really boils down others estimation of us has no real eternal value. However, God's estimation of us has significant eternal value. Remember this important truth as you go through your life. Don't try to please others but by all means be found faithful when Christ comes for you.