Stand Up for Jesus
“For whoever is ASHAMED OF ME and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will ALSO BE ASHAMED OF HIM when He comes in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
You might reread the above passage again. After doing so, ask yourself, "Am I EVER ashamed of Jesus Christ?” Before dismissing the possibility outright, consider the following:
It is not always easy to bring Jesus into a conversation, let alone stand up for Him if others demean Him or take His name in vain. Yet Jesus stated that if we are ashamed of Him or His teachings, he will be ashamed of us. We might even forfeit our salvation if we conceal our faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Someone has observed, “If the devil cannot defeat our faith, he will convince us to hide it. Either way, he wins.”
Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” (Rom. 1:16). Neither should we be ashamed. The gospel is God’s power to save us and those around us. If we are ashamed of it, woe to the world….and woe to us.
A preacher reportedly made the following announcement. “Whenever we sing, ‘Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus’, we ask everyone to rise. But there’s no challenge in standing up for Jesus among believers. It is what we do out in the world that demonstrates courage. Beginning today we will only sing that hymn as we are DISMISSED TO LEAVE.”
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
“For whoever is ASHAMED OF ME and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will ALSO BE ASHAMED OF HIM when He comes in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
You might reread the above passage again. After doing so, ask yourself, "Am I EVER ashamed of Jesus Christ?” Before dismissing the possibility outright, consider the following:
- Are there situations in which you feel uneasy about letting on that you are a faithful Christian?
- Do you ever avoid the subject of your faith in Christ around certain people?
- Do you sometimes keep quiet concerning your commitment to Jesus rather than risk a possible confrontation?
- Do some of the people that you regularly encounter have little (or no) idea that Jesus Christ is your Lord and King?
It is not always easy to bring Jesus into a conversation, let alone stand up for Him if others demean Him or take His name in vain. Yet Jesus stated that if we are ashamed of Him or His teachings, he will be ashamed of us. We might even forfeit our salvation if we conceal our faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Someone has observed, “If the devil cannot defeat our faith, he will convince us to hide it. Either way, he wins.”
Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” (Rom. 1:16). Neither should we be ashamed. The gospel is God’s power to save us and those around us. If we are ashamed of it, woe to the world….and woe to us.
A preacher reportedly made the following announcement. “Whenever we sing, ‘Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus’, we ask everyone to rise. But there’s no challenge in standing up for Jesus among believers. It is what we do out in the world that demonstrates courage. Beginning today we will only sing that hymn as we are DISMISSED TO LEAVE.”
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
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