Am I Ready?

In my reading and study of Revelation 1 and 2 and 2 Timothy 3, the theme of readiness and persecution are very clear. 

I’ve talked about this before-the threat and fear of persecution. I’ve written how the idea of being derided for what I believe terrifies me. It’s crazy. I can stand up until I’m blue in the face and talk about/defend something so trivial compared to my beliefs in God, but when it comes to defending God and biblical principles I shrink back.

I’m concerned about how people will view me, how “Jesus-freak”-ish I’ll look.

Why?

Shouldn’t I be past that by now? 

In parts of the world, people are being killed for believing in God. That’s not quite happening in my sphere, but if I’m unable to stand up for Christ amongst my peers, amongst friends, family, the internet, how will I stand when death threatens me?

All of this reminds me how important it is to know why we Christians believe things we believe.

Why do we believe in God, in the Bible? Why do we call ourselves ‘Christian’? 

We-disciples of God- are to be people of the Word, studying for ourselves the principles we claim to stand for. Spewing what pastors say or only relying on paragraphs from some devotional book isn’t going to cut it.

The Word of God is a glimpse into the mind of God. Only by its study are we able to understand. 

So am I ready?

Am I ready to stand for principle, even when everyone is against me?

God’s principles never change. When we are faithful to those true principles of God, people will deride us. Even amongst other Christians, we can find ourselves pinned against a wall and persecuting one another.

So what are the right principles? What is truth and what is error? Because a belief is popular, does that make it right? Because it’s unpopular, does that make it wrong?

I’m totally guilty of being caught up in repeating what I’ve heard others say and have gotten stuck when people ask me to defend that point of view. It’s frustrating and embarrassing, but also reminds me to review why I believe certain things.

Why do you believe what you believe?

Am I ready to stand, even I’f I’m standing alone?

Are you?