The Lord Stood by Me

2 Timothy 4:14-18 ESV

“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

When we are serving the Lord Jesus with our lives, and we are sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of this world, and when we are refuting the lies of the enemy, we are going to be opposed, even by others professing faith in Jesus Christ. For not everyone who professes faith in Christ has genuine faith in him. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” truly worships Christ as Lord.

There are many professors of faith in Christ who are still living worldly lives, still living for the flesh, still habitually and deliberately sinning against the Lord. And so they don't have the mind of Christ, and so they don't really comprehend the things of God and how God works. They are still seeing through fleshly eyes, and so they end up rejecting what they truly do not comprehend.

And it is possible that the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ will oppose the truth of the gospel, possibly because they were not taught the truth and so they grew up believing the lie as the truth, and so their natural instinct is to deny what seems opposite of what they had always been taught. Others will reject the truth because it doesn't agree with their chosen lifestyles.

And just like Paul, when he was Saul, opposed the gospel and those who taught it, there will be people who will oppose the truth of the gospel and those of us who are teaching it because they sincerely believe we are wrong and that they are right. But among them are those who don't care that we might be right and that they might be wrong for it is all about them hanging on to what they were always taught, right or wrong.

So, it is possible that you might find yourself standing all alone, at times, with no one to stand with you, and with no one to support you. For even if some people will verbalize agreement with you in private, they may not be willing to take a public stand with you because they don't want to be persecuted with you. For it takes courage to stand on what is truth especially when you have the majority against you.

But even if we have to stand alone, at times, we must stand on the truth. But first we must search the Scriptures to make sure what we are believing is indeed the truth. And this is why it is so critical that we study the Scriptures in their full context, for many are being taught the Scriptures outside their context and so they end up believing the lies and not the truth. So we need to be seekers of truth.

And when we are on the Lord’s side, and when we are obeying him, he is our support even if all humans desert us. He will be our strength, and he will help us to stand on the truth. And he will give us the words to say and the courage to say them. And although he does allow evil people to do evil against us, he will carry us through it all and he will bring good out of it if we trust him and if we obey him.

And one day he will take us to be with him for eternity and that is our hope. But please know that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” is going to heaven, but only the ones doing the will of God. So, if walking in obedience to the Lord, in holy living, is not your practice, but if living in sin and for self is your practice, you will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what your lips profess. For we must obey our Lord, in practice, and we must not walk in sin if we want to have eternal life with God.

I Will Lift My Eyes

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.