Stand Firm

You can tell a lot about a person by how they stand. Are shoulders slouched or held square and straight? Are eyes cast downward or looking forward confidently? Is the face open or clouded? The way you stand communicates confidence level, amount of training and readiness.

Stance is important for athletes as well. Virtually any sport that involves physical exertion is concerned with how the player stands. In football, different players use different stances so they can do their job effectively. Linemen crouch low and stand with their feet wide apart so that they are stable and powerful. The quarterback keeps his head high and feet moving so that he can move quickly. Receivers setup for explosive speed and keep their hands up and ready to catch the ball.

Baseball, soccer, tennis and golf players are all concerned about their stance too. Coaches spend lots of time making sure a player knows the optimum stance and they force the player to practice it until it becomes second nature. Everything flows from the stance.

A player that, both literally and figuratively, starts off on the wrong foot is at a disadvantage. He or she is often slow to react and cannot take advantage of an opportunity. Full power cannot be delivered to the bat or club. Worse, he or she is off balance and can fall to the ground and be out of play altogether.

But stance is not just for athletes. It is incredibly important to everyday life. There is an interesting verse in the Bible that says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

In this passage, St. Paul is directing followers of Christ to be ready for evil days. He knew that evil days are part of life. They happen to everyone. If you haven’t experienced an evil day, don’t worry, it’s in the future.

And because evil days are on the horizon, it is important to be ready for them. Paul first talks about the armor that God has given to us, and then he talks about the stance we are to take. He says “stand your ground.”

Picture a soldier who is ready for battle. The line has been drawn and his commander has told him to hold his assigned piece of ground. The soldier prepares himself. He checks and re-checks his armor. He checks the positions of his fellow soldiers relative to himself. He stretches his muscles. And then as the enemy approaches he crouches in a state of readiness. No one looking at this soldier from afar would doubt that he is prepared for battle.

All of us are in a battle every day of our lives. We battle for our families, for our marriages, for our children, for our friends, for our faith, for our health....for our lives. Far too often, we forget to prepare ourselves like a soldier preparing for battle. And far too often, instead of crouching low and being ready, we bumble along blindly and are surprised when the enemy attacks.

Your stance can make all the difference. A stance of confidence in a God that is faithful and true. A stance of faith that believes the best in the midst of the worst. And a stance that communicates a willingness to fight to the death for that which is worthwhile.

How’s your stance today? Have you gotten lazy? Have your forgotten that you are engaged in a battle? The pastors in Kings County would love the opportunity to encourage you this weekend. Why don’t you give one of our great churches a visit and get back in the battle?

Andrew Cromwell is the executive pastor at Koinonia Christian Fellowship in Hanford. E-mail him at andrew@kcfchurch.org or call 582-1528.

How Committed Are You?

Vince Lombardi said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

Altogether too often, we have a commitment problem. Sometimes we don’t commit to something because we want to keep our options open. We are concerned that a better opportunity might come walking by and we might miss it if we are otherwise engaged. Sometimes we don’t commit because we don’t want to feel boxed in. The idea of being restricted is uncomfortable and therefore undesirable. And sometimes, we don’t commit because commitment can be difficult and we are afraid that we might fail.

Our commitments (or lack of them) define us. People that are unshakably committed to the right things make a significant difference in our world. It is easy to list off famous people whose impact still echoes today because of the positive commitments they made. Political and social figures Winston Churchill (“we will never surrender”) and Martin Luther King Jr. (“I have a dream”) refused to compromise. Thomas Edison (“I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”) wouldn’t give up. And Babe Ruth decided he was going to keep swinging the bat even when it meant he held the strikeout record for decades (“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run”).

Commitment doesn’t only make a difference in famous people’s lives, it transforms everyday lives as well. The dad that makes a commitment to spend time with his kids. The husband that commits wholeheartedly to pursue the heart of his wife. The teacher that decides that no child is unteachable. The friend that chooses to believe the best and always has your back. The employee that decides they don’t just work for their boss, they work for their Father in heaven (Colossians 3:23 “work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord”).

Of course, you can be committed to anything, and it is possible to be committed to things that are just a waste of time or are even destructive. But when you commit to those things that are truly meaningful—your family, building healthy relationships, Father God, work that makes a difference, giving rather then hoarding—you sow the seeds that will result in a harvest of blessing in your life.

I will never forget the story someone told me about the day their dad made the commitment to get their family in church. Church and spirituality was not a part of the family’s life up to that point, but one Sunday, dad made the decision that it was important. He gathered his family together and they headed off. More than thirty years later, the decision that father made continues to bless that family, and there is no doubt it will for generations to come.

The best commitment you can make is to chase after our Father with all of your heart. Joshua said, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” That quality decision resulted in great blessing. Yours will too.

This weekend, the pastors in Kings County would love to have the opportunity to encourage you in your quality commitments. All over this community, pastors are invested in helping people build their marriage, their families and their relationships. Isn’t it time you made that quality commitment to get you and your family into church?