The_Stand

THE STAND by Joshua Kimes I heard once that ‘if you don’t stand for anything then you’ll fall for everything.’ I think there’s some truth to that statement. There are stacks of people in our schools, workplaces, uni’s etc that aren’t really living with purpose, and so easily influenced by the culture and customs of today.

Paul writes in 1 Cor 16:13 - “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong.”

I love this verse, particularly where it says ‘stand true to what you believe’. Three friends in the Old Testament Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego bring this verse to life.

In Daniel chapter 3 the evil dictator King Nebuchadnezzar had this huge golden image made. He instructed the people of the nation to bow and worship this image at the sound of his band playing.

A refusal to this order ould be punishable with death. (Pretty whacko King) When the band started playing, hundreds of thousands of people bowed down in worship to this golden image EXCEPT Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. They stayed standing, true to their convictions and loyal to God. A few thousand years later in 2010, the culture we live in is still bowing to an image…Although the image isn’t a huge golden statue of Julie Gillard, (that would be very weird ), people are bowing to the image that is portrayed by the media, on TV, in magazines, and on the internet. It defines the way people think, act, talk and live. Devastatingly this often limits and restricts the lives of individuals.

Do you ever feel pressure to think, act, talk and live in a way that you know God would not be proud of?

After reading Daniel chapter 3, what can we learn from the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and AbedNego that can help us in our relationship with God and standing true to what we believe? ( For example: They stood together, they knew God personally, God shows up when we need Him most, etc.)

Let’s refuse to bow to the image and culture of our world and decide to be young people that live this verse out: 1 Cor 16:13 - “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong.”