“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges Me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns Me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” – (Luke 12:8-9, NIV)
“I tell you, if you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will say that you belong to Me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels. But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in Me, then I will say that you do not belong to Me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels.” – (Luke 12:8-9, ERV)
“Stand up for Me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know Me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels?” – (Luke 12:8-9, MSG)
Last night, my love and I watched the movie, “God’s Not Dead”. It was a story about a college freshman who found himself being required to deny God’s existence by an arrogant, atheistic philosophy professor. In his class, every student willingly folded to the professor’s demands except for Josh, the protagonist in the story. This infuriates the professor, and he tells Josh he can either change his mind or spend the next three class sessions trying to convince the jury (his classmates) that God is not dead, while the professor refutes his claim. There are multiple characters that are well-developed, and as the story unfolds there is an incredible thread that weaves their lives together. Without being a spoiler, the young scholar does a deep dive in his own faith, sacrifices things he loves for God, and ends up with a far greater reward for standing firm in his faith than he ever would have, had he folded to the pressure applied by the professor. It is seldom a film that sticks with me into the next day, but this one was powerful. If you have not seen the film, it is well worth the time to watch. God is good, and His faithfulness knows no end. May we ever acknowledge the reality of God, for it is through our trust and faith in Him that we are saved.
Choose trust in the Lord,
for He is so good;
through difficulty,
His grace’s understood.
He is our true Source,
the One who supplies;
His wisdom and help,
true love realized.
Lord, help us always,
to show who You are;
with words and actions,
for You’re our victoire.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we acknowledge you before others, You acknowledge us before all of heaven. Thank You that there is evidence of who You are all around us. Forgive us for the times that we have stayed silent or have not spoken the truth that we know. Teach us to trust in You to provide wisdom and grace to demonstrate who You are and how You love. Equip us with Your goodness, wisdom and grace so that we might love well, all whom we encounter. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we praise You for who You are and ever seek to be Your ambassadors through how we love others. Amen.
© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present
“…Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.” – Luke 12:48b
Revelations In Writing 