Will You Stand Against the Storm?

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called -- Ephesians 4:1

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The bird in this picture may be hard to see. But he is sitting on rocks jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico. Little was he aware of the storm that would later hit this very place, as a hurricane blew in and the winds buffeted his home. In the picture, he was caught up in the quiet of the morning.

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It is unfortunate that many of the people who claim to be God's people are just as ignorant of the spiritual storm that is brewing. For a few minutes earlier today, I sat and talked with a very nice young woman about her life. She told me of talking to the dead and the fear that someone she knew was involved in black magic. Of course,she didn't want to talk to just anybody when she spoke to the dead, for fear they were wicked! She told me of visions and nightmares and dreams. I tried my best to explain that this was not what God wanted His people to do. I appealed to the scripture and encouraged her to surrender her life to Christ. Her look at me was a blank stare as she tried to explain to me that she operated her life under certain principles which she felt were right, which in my observation, have been very destructive to her. Much to my pain, I had taught her in church camp!

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I guess we can't be too hard on her. Many people today, some who have been strong in the faith in the past, are finding it hard to deal with Christianity and standing firm--and none of us are perfect, I know that only too well. Maybe we can't be too hard on her, based on our personal examples, but she still isn't right in terms of God's word and that she flatly rejected! And she must answer to God for those decisions and choices, as will we all.

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A. W. Tozer, a 20th century preacher, quoted in "Against the Wind" by K. P. Yohannon, p. 20, notes the following: "That this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of fundamentalist Christians . . . Our religious mood is social instead of spiritual. We have lost the art of worship. We are not producing saints. Our models are successful business men, celebrated athletes and theatrical personalities. . . Our literature is shallow and our hymnody borders on sacrilege. And scarcely anyone appears to care."

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Folks, are you the bird on the rock? The waves will come, the winds will blow and the tides will challenge our strength. We must be ready, able, and willing to stand firm in this day. We will be threatened and sometimes we might waver in the wind. But we can be victorious if we follow Jesus, the leader and his way, and not try to make it on our own, because we can't anyway!

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Father God, in the face of adversity, help us to be strong. Help us to realize that it is not how much fun we have, how much the music touches us, or what people think of us that matters. We know trying times will come and we will face storms. Simply, help us to be faithful and to live that faith out in front of those around us. In Jesus' name, Amen!