Tag: stand

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Stand firm

The battle is set.  It’s time to take your fighting stance.  When you look around, you see that you are the only one standing.  Know that you are not the only one who experienced this.

A young man stepped up as the army of Israel cowered behind him.  Standing by himself in front of a giant from the enemy’s camp, he won the battle in one swift move. His name was David. (1 Samuel 17:41-54).

A young Jewish girl living in captivity risked her life to save her nation from annihilation.  She knows this weight is carried only on her shoulders.  If she doesn’t step up, her race could be wiped out.  So she reveals herself to her enemy and he ends up being the one taken out.  Her name was Esther (Esther 4:14-17).

A carpenter’s son, a nomad with 12 friends who travels Israel to share His word, is betrayed and abandoned by His friends because they are afraid of the fate He must face.  He faces it anyways.  In one painful death and one marvelous resurrection, He saves the world and gives us the gift of Grace and Eternal Life.  His name is Jesus (Matthew 28:55-56).

Their secret is that they never were alone, but God was with them the entire time.  Don’t ever think that you have to face anything truly by yourself.

With God, all things are possible.  Sometimes God wants to strip us from anything that might distract us from Him.  Have faith that God has it under control.   Stand firm in your stance and follow God to lead.  He will get you through it!  Just trust Him!

Be blessed, dear friends.  Don’t forget God has you!!

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Stand…

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:10 NLT

My heart hurts for the Middle East Christians who are being killed, tortured, hated, forgotten…may the Lord bless them and give them a great reward for staying strong in their belief in times like this.  They are truly my heroes.

We can learn a lot from them, especially those who have the freedom to worship however we like…people like me.  I hate a little conflict.  Even a tiny fight with a friend makes my world start to spin because there isn’t peace.  My fellow believers, we need to get over the ache of a little conflict and realize that persecution for doing RIGHT can be a good lesson to learn.

I know you are saying “What???  Has Brooke lost her MIND????”  But, think about this – when we are persecuted, we start to understand the plight of Christ in His last day.  He stood up, was spat upon, beaten, tortured, stripped naked, and hung on a cross to die.  If only Satan knew that instead of killing Him off, He just gave Him the rights to the Kingdom…

To our brothers and sisters in the Middle East who are continuing to stand up for what you believe – I applaud you.  May Christ reward you greatly.  May we, here in a world with much less persecution, learn from you and start standing up for what we know is RIGHT.

May all those who worry about making the person next to you mad so you don’t share the truth with them – remember that even just a little persecution brings us closer to who Christ is.  Stand up, speak up, and live a life without fear!

Prayer: Father, bless those who are being persecuted for your sake, especially those in the Middle East.  Give them great rewards and send them peace here on Earth.  Help us, those who live in a much easier situation, stand up with our brothers and sisters and not back down to just a little conflict.  Build up an army of believers that will do whatever we need to do to make sure your truth is known.  And make me one of your warriors in that army.  I love you.  I thank you for being you.  In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

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