Stand?

2Ki 9:21 And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

2Ki 9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

2Ki 9:23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.

2Ki 9:24 And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

2Ki 9:25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, Jehovah laid this burden upon him:

It is not popular today but as Christians we are called to stake out a position and to stand fast. If we are to rely upon Christ for our salvation we must, with sincere heart call Him in prayer and know, not think, we must know that He is faithful to answer. Now, we have squared away our eternal destiny but it is not a time to relax, there is a great deal to be dealt with. As the LORD did with Jehu, when we will listen to Him, He will give us direction and purpose to be passionate about.

It is very common today to hear, “Don't give me that Holy Spirit junk,” or much worse from both the man outside the church as well as from the long term member. In the recent past I have received that reply from even a pastor and from a pastor/prof. in recent months. But the fact is that the moment a man, woman or a child is saved they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. (1Cor. 6:19) I will, certainly, never tell you that we cannot disobey for why else would we find the caution not to do so? (1Thes. 5:19) God has never been a bully although some read the Jewish Bible, our Old Testament and illustrating their lack of study, try to label Him that and much worse.\

On a personal level I have been saved now for about 21 years and the very first thing I reached for was a personal knowledge of my Savior and that has involved a better than 21 year reading and rereading of the Bible as well as uncounted Topical Studies. I have had false accusations thrown at me that range from I'm a lying heretic to I'm an over-studied Bible scholar. None in that entire range are correct, I'm a man with a GED that has fallen in love with my God and I am doing my best to consume the scriptures!

Just as God wanted Jehu to clean, certain bad elements out of Israel/Judah so has my LORD given me a loving concern for the lost man and the best way to help the lost is to know the scriptures with a degree of intimacy. I came to know my wife by spending time with her, the same is true of the scriptures! My stepfather was a warrior and one great lesson he taught me is that a man will die for what he loves. I would die defending my wife and I have done my very best, on a daily basis to die to myself, that I might live for God. But, in the end, it comes down to one thing, you must decide, where will you stand?