Thankful Thursday

This week I am so very thankful for some encouragement straight from my Lord.  As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am attending a weekly Bible study with Bible Study Fellowship where we have been working our way through the book of John.  I have learned so much through this study, and I have been tremendously encouraged and strengthened in my walk with the Lord.

God so preciously spoke directly to my heart through the words of our lecturer this past Tuesday.  I have a couple of very tough situations in my life (one much tougher than the other, but both tough), which have required me to share the absolute Truth of God's Word and then to take a firm stand on and for that Truth.  It has been and still is HARD and HEART WRENCHING at times.  I have experienced persecution from those I love and from those whom I thought were friends and who knew my heart.  I have experienced broken relationships and loss of fellowship with some; and I have experienced rejection... all because I have taken a stand for my Jesus and for the Truth that He came to reveal to us through Himself, the Living Word.

Oftentimes I begin to doubt myself and wonder if I have heard God correctly in how He would have me to respond in these situations, and EVERY TIME my Lord so graciously speaks to me through His Word and through sermons or something I am reading to confirm to me that I am doing His will and responding in the way He has and is leading me.

So with all that in mind, the following principle from our lecture greatly encouraged me, as we were discussing Judas and his betrayal of Jesus and Jesus' trial before Annas in John 18...

Principle:  "Those intent on going their own way are not interested in the truth."

How do we respond to those who go their own way and are not interested in the truth?
1.  Accept that I can not change them...
2.  Pray for them...
3.  Continue to stand for the truth - no matter what they say or do...
It is not loving to give in to what is wrong or to be silent.  Jesus was never unloving but He stood for what was true and what was right. 

Where do I stand with Jesus - do I stand with Him or do I stand with His enemies as Judas did?

So what about you?  Are you standing WITH Jesus for the Truth or are you standing with His enemies?  May this encourage someone as greatly as it has encouraged me to keep standing for the Truth!