Stand part 1
A long long time ago I heard a line in a song that said, "You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything." And that stuck with me. Because I don't care about much. I'm really hard to bother. I don't sweat the small stuff... or the big stuff. I once had someone tell me, "The only things you take seriously are Jesus and your son!" And, I mean, I would say my FAMILY and Jesus... but, yeah, pretty much. I'm kind of obsessed with love. That's why it's pretty much all I ever Rant about. It's pretty much the only thing I think is worth putting out there. So. Let me drop my memory verse for today and then we'll get into it. Jesus said, "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee" (Acts 26:16). A minister and a witness. That's kind of the job description of the New Man, isn't it? Receiving and releasing what God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us (and in us, and through us, and as us). Look at Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." And link that up with Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." We taste and see Him... because He tasted death for us. We live in Him because He died for us (and as us). We can stand... because He is holding us up. But that means we need to stand for what He stood for. For what He stands for. And that, of course, is love. Before the cross there were ten commandments, right? And from there some like 600 odd laws for the people of Israel. But when Jesus came He gave a New Commandment. For the New Man. One rule to live by. Love one another as Jesus loves you. Again, receive it and release it. Witness it and minister it. Taste it... see it... and share it. He is the vine and we are the branches, right? The branches are where the fruit lives, if I can say it that way. We bear the fruit. Make what we have available to the people around us. The vine produces the fruit, and the branches make it available. We stand where Jesus stands, I think is what I'm trying to say. We stand on the Rock, the foundation, that is Jesus, that is love. And when we stand on that Rock we cannot be shaken. Listen, I consider myself to be very non-confrontational. I'm not interested in arguing. Ask my son. I tell him all the time, "I'm not going to argue with you." I'm ok with people doing what they want to do. For the most part. I pick my battles, and I make sure they're worth fighting. That's what I'm trying to say. Because there ARE some things worth standing for. (And I think that's a huge, vitally important distinction to make. Standing FOR something rather than standing AGAINST something.) You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything. So stand for love. Stand for forgiviness. Peace. Mercy. Grace. All of those things that the nature and the stature and the measure of God!