i hear: stand firm

June 8, 2016 by MaryK 2 Comments

Do you only have a few minutes for Bible Study today?

Or do you have a few extra minutes and want to feed your soul? Try one of our new i hear podcasts. Three minutes is all you need to receive a little encouragement and refreshment from God’s word!

“Times are changing,” as the saying goes, but God does not change.

He is eternal and timeless. When the culture seems to shift like sand underneath our feet, God calls us to hold our ground. Commit today to stand on firm upon the Rock and affect the culture for Christ.

It’s time to stand firm.

Please leave a comment below on your experience.

Have a blessed day!

Short & Sweet: 4 Ways to Stand Firm

April 11, 2016 by MaryK Leave a Comment

I love to wake up early in the morning to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of a new day with my Father. After breakfast, I slip on my shoes, grab my Bible verses and take a prayer walk.

One morning the sky was filled with dark heavy clouds.

I glanced at the sky and decided to take a chance. While I was saying my verses, I kept a watchful eye on the sky. About half way through the rain began to fall. A few yards ahead, I saw a dry spot in the road; the overhanging trees offered a little protection from the rain. I hurried to the dry spot and waited. As the rain poured down I thanked God for keeping me dry in my sheltered spot.

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7 Days of Freedom, Day 5: Stand Firm

July 2, 2015 by MaryK Leave a Comment

For freedom Christ has set us free;

stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

firm [furm]

adjective:

not soft or yielding when pressed; comparatively solid, hard, stiff, or rigid
securely fixed in place
indicating firmness or determination

What is the first directive God give in Galatians 5:1? He asks us to stand firm. Notice God does not ask us to fight, run, or sprint, but to stand firm. In the Greek, stand firm transliterates as steko, which means, to be firm, to persist, to persevere, to be stationary. Thayer’s Lexicon gives us the prescription of how to stand firm: to persevere in godliness and fellowship with the Lord. When we face temptation, despite our feelings, we need to continuously obey God’s Word and consistently meet with Him. In short, follow and fellowship. Stand firm.

When we trace steko back to its root, it also means “to have a steadfast mind.”

Standing firm isn’t so much a position of body, but of mind.

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After we have been freed from sin by Christ, under what conditions can we be subjected again to slavery? If we move … if we do not stand firm.

Why has Christ set us free? So we can be free … free to love Him, free to serve Him, free to take His message to the lost of the world.

Over the holiday weekend please take time to pray for our nation’s citizens and leaders, that we will stand firm in the Biblical truths that shaped and formed our great nation.

Action Points

In order to pray and act efficiently, we must be informed. Please click on the following link to read about current hot-topic issues in the United States. Citizen Link
Is there an area of your life you need to firm-up? What steps do you need to take to stand firm?
How can you help your family stand firm?

Please enjoy the music below.

God Bless America.

“firm.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 28 Jun. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/truth>.

1 Thessalonians A Life of Faith, Part 12: Stand Firm by Mary Kane

February 10, 2015 by MaryK 2 Comments

“Maybe I should … maybe I shouldn’t. I think I will, but then again, maybe I won’t. Nope. Yep. Final decision. I most definitely probably won’t.”

Have you ever had a conversation like the above with a friend, co-worker, family member … yourself? Have you ever had trouble making a firm decision; swinging back and forth from choice “A” to choice “B” like the pendulum of a clock? Tick-tock, tick-tock, yes-no, maybe so.

I must admit I have had trouble trying to stand firm concerning decisions. Most of my wobbliness could be traced back to one deadly sin: people pleasing. In the not so distant past, my “stand firm” decisions were quickly toppled by one opinion contrary to my own. I was as firm as Jello at a July picnic.

My lack of ability to stand firm has cost me plenty (stress, wasted time, consequences, REGRET). After much prayer, soul searching and the storing-up of God’s Word in my heart, I am learning to stand firm, but not on my own two feet. I now stand firm upon the Rock.

To learn what it means to stand firm, and continue our study in 1 Thessalonians, A Life of Faith, please click on the link below.