Stand Firm. Refuse Comprimise

Stand Firm. Refuse Compromise.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Some years ago in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania a graduation speech caused a storm of controversy. Shannon Wray is not a celebrity. She is simply a graduating senior who earned the honor of giving an address at graduation. The school asked Shannon to speak about the past, including how friendships helped her get through high school. Shannon decided to write about her best friend.

He, even more so than the people I love, has been there every day, never forcing me to do anything, but always encouraging me to stretch my limits and strive for the best He has to offer. His name is Jesus; He is my greatest friend. It is because of Him that I have achieved and succeeded, and, no matter how much knowledge Hollidaysburg High has bestowed upon me, I would know nothing if I didn't know Him.

After reading a copy of Shannon's speech, the teachers in charge of graduation forbid her talk about Jesus. They censored her statements and prohibited Shannon from making other religious references in her speech. Shannon was in the jaws of a dilemma. Should she remain true to her Best Friend or abide by the rules of her teachers?

If Jesus is your best friend, if He is your Savior and Lord, then you can expect to face the same opposition which confronted Shannon. That’s the reality of what is ahead for all who follow Jesus.

If the world had it’s way,God would not exist. Im not talking about the false gods who bless you and allow you to do whatever you want to do, but rather the Living God, who has a Standard of morality and a moral compass for His people.

Imagine if you would, a world without Yahveh, our God.

Babies being tossed to the side or murdered for convenience

Handicapped, old, or sick members of society cast aside or denied treatment and care for convenience

Human sacrifice to appease the favor of the gods, to achieve convenience

not just one measly little, but a pantheon of gods to attend to your every need for convenience

Men, women, and children sold into slavery and forced into bondage for you to enjoy your life of convenience

Imagine living in a world such as this, would you have believed any differently? Would you be able to step away from the convenience of serving yourself like everyone else? Would you be able to go against the flow?

Remarkably, this world did once exist but one man discovered and chose to follow the One true God. His name was Abraham, and God made a covenant with him. His commands were not that difficult to understand, in simple terms, God told Abraham to “Depart”

This one man charted a different course, and out of him came a nation. A nation that would Follow God, and even after going astray, would eventually find their way back to him.

Over 3,300 years ago, an entire nation witnessed and experience a divine revelation that has only ever happened once in human history.

the giving of the 10 Commandments on Mt Sinai, and the Torah to Moses, the Jewish people, and then the world.

Man had been given a moral compass, a guide to best live one’s life to better himself and the world around him.

But even a nation called out and chosen by God, would still turn their backs on Him and forget where they came from and what God had brought them through.

But God always has a remnant

few and obscure

Israel as a nation chose not to take a stand with God and His Word. Because of this, they were led into captivity and scattered throughout the earth.

Deuteronomy 28:64 "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.

Lamentations 4:16 The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.

Ezekiel 11:16 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone."'

Daniel is a great example of one that God stayed with and comforted while he was an alien in a strange land. Daniel is one of the only men we read about that the bible declares no wrong in his life. He had life figured out.