"Standing for God"

"Depart from me, ye evil doers: for I will keep the commandments of my God." (Psalms 119:115)

  Be it as it may, was the title I was thinking of, but it was not quite ready yet for that to be presented. If you think this world is getting more and more wicked, you really haven't seen anything yet. There is coming a day when all those that are in Christ will need to take a stand; no more silence and sitting still, there will be moments of declaring the side you represent, and it will be a time of testing. The subject of when that might take place is debatable; some think it will be before the rapture, and others think it will be during the Tribulation. Personally, I believe it will be both, before and after the rapture of the church. The only difference between the two, is one will involve comfort and the other will be based upon life, physical life, as in making the choice to live or die. In some regions of the world the choice to live or die is already the case. Here in America we are spoiled and do not need to be all that concerned about dying for our faith, not yet anyway. This verse speaks more about drawing lines in the sand, as to who you will associate yourself with and what you will stand for. If there is something that must be presented in us, it is loyalty to the Body of Christ. If there is one good example for how that looks, it would be the situation of having a brother or sister come into a room while you are with your other friends, the ones that don't quite believe as you do, but they are still your friends. If your brother or sister gets into a discussion about the Lord with one of your friends, what side will you be taking? Or will you take your brother or sister aside and try to convince them that this is not the place? The greatest command that we have been given involves love, as in loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If push comes to shove, what is it that matters most if you love your friends, to be able to hang out with them, or to get to see them in heaven? I remember back in the 80's going to a Sunrise Service, before Calvary Chapel of Diamond Bar, and Pastor Raul had just lost his very best friend, and he had died in his sin. Raul was noticeably very upset and shaken up about it. He had known that friend over thirty years, and chose to not offend him by trying to make him a believer. We don't know what might have happened in the final seconds of his life, if there were any. This great commission is for all, and it is not our fault if those that we love don't accept it, but it might be are fault if they haven't received it...

""Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'""
(Matthew 7:21-23) NLT