Take Your Stand

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”               Mt 16:18

You cannot sit on the sidelines, because God has called you to the front lines. Sometimes that means taking a stand for what is right. Jesus said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Note, gates are defensive measures. That means we have been called to attackthe powers of hell. In 1517 a monk named Martin Luther picked a fight with the religious establishment. He challenged the status quo by attacking the selling of indulgences (licenses to sin). He posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and ignited the Protestant Reformation. Luther probably didn’t know that he was making history. But small acts of faith and courage have a domino effect. When we do what is right regardless of the circumstances or consequences, we set the table for God to turn the tables. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther was summoned by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and put on trial for his beliefs. Instead of recanting, Luther mustered the moral courage to take a stand: “My conscience is taken captive by God’s Word, I cannot and will not recant anything. For to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” So, who do youneed to stand up for? The homeless? The fatherless? The voiceless? Don’t let the problem overwhelm you. Don’t let what you cannot do, keep you from doing what you can.

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