A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day March 13, 2019
For justice will return to the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the Lord had been my help, I would soon have dwelt in [the land where there is] silence. (Psalm 94:15-17, Amplified Bible)
There is an old hymn of the church entitled “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”. The first verse of that hymn goes like this:
Stand up! Stand up for Jesus! Ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, It must not suffer loss: From vict’ry unto vict’ry, His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished, And Christ is Lord indeed.
There is a great account in the Bible where the Apostle Peter came to a point in his life where he had to make a decision on whether to stand up or sit down. You remember Peter. He was the one that said he would never deny Jesus and in the time of extreme persecution he denied Jesus three times. But Jesus gave him another chance! Aren’t you glad that Jesus gives all of us second chances?
Peter lived in a time when people that followed Jesus were being persecuted. They were being crucified and burned to death for their faith. After the Day of Pentecost, Peter had his second chance to stand up. All the circumstances around him indicated he should be quite. We have similar circumstances today. Believers in some foreign countries today are being beheaded because of their faith in Jesus. Believers in this country (the USA) are being labeled as “people that use hate speech”. Anything that even resembles the Christian faith such as prayer, crosses, the Ten Commandments, etc. are being expunged from public places such as schools, court houses and even cemeteries.
What’s this all about? It’s about a lost world telling you and me to sit down and be quiet. Jesus told us these times would come and they are here. Now, we have to make up our minds what we will do. Are we going to sit down, or are we going to Stand Up? Listen to what Peter did in the face of sure death:
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: (Acts 2:14)
Peter went on and preached Christ to the multitudes that day (Acts 2:14-41) and three thousand souls were saved because Peter and the apostles decided to Stand Up. The real question facing all of us is are we that courageous? Are we going to Stand Up and lift up our voices, or are we going to sit down and be quiet?
Our prayer at New Life Network is that we will all have the courage to Stand Up!!!
The remaining verses of that old hymn go like this:
Stand up! stand up for Jesus! The trumpet call obey; Forth to the mighty conflict, In this His glorious day. Ye that are men, now serve Him, Against unnumbered foes; Let courage rise with danger. And strength to strength oppose. Stand up! stand up for Jesus! Stand in His strength alone; The arm of flesh will fail you; Ye dare not trust your own. Put on the Gospel armor, And, watching unto prayer, Where duty calls, or danger, Be never wanting there. Stand up! stand up for Jesus! The strife will not be long: This day the noise of battle, The next the victor’s song; To him that overcometh, A crown of life shall be; He, with the King of glory, Shall reign eternally.
