Stand in Faith

One of my favorite movie series is the Indiana Jones series. Well, except for the Crystal Skull, what were they thinking? There are so many great moments in the Indiana Jones movies, the action, the suspense and the comedy that shows up in great and unexpected ways. Overall they were great films that stood the test of time. One of my favorite scenes from all the movies is in The Last Crusade. Indy has been globe-trotting with his dad (Sean Connery, the true James Bond) in search of the Holy Grail. After lots of fights with Nazi’s, American traitors and a run in with Hitler himself they finally end up at the secret location of the Holy Grail, the valley of Iskenderun. Indy’s dad gets shot and the only way to save him is for Indy to grab the Holy Grail and give his dad a sip of the holy water. My favorite scene comes in when Indy has to take a leap of faith, check it out!

With the help of some special effects and movie magic, Indy is able to take a leap of faith and save his father. Sounds great, but what do we do in the real world? We don’t have a team of special effects artists creating our reality. And we don’t have a stunt man always ready to take our falls. What we do have however is God, and He is far better than any ally we could have on our team. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Be loving in everything you do.” Stand firm in your faith and be strong. When I read that I am encouraged because I know that my strength doesn’t come from myself but from God. I love the way this same passage is stated in the Message translation of the Bible: “Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping.” This week I want to challenge you to hold tight to your convictions, give it all you got, and love without stopping in all areas of your life. Don’t let the enemy distract you from the mission laid out before you.

Much love, Ryan