I still remember when I seen a young lady on the news in 1999 during the columbine shooting. She was asked by the shoo Ted if she believed in God, she said, “Yes,” and was promptly shot and killed.
It was later discovered that Cassie was not the only one targeted because of her faith in Jesus that day. You may ask, why didn’t they take the easy way out, for the sake of saving their lives, why simply say no?
I think that there was only one reason. They were convinced that the truth of Jesus was more important than saving their lives. When I think back to this, I have to ask myself a question would I have had the courage that they had?
People don’t die for beliefs. They don’t die for strong beliefs. They die for their convictions.
When America was being formed, was it formed by people who had a strong belief in freedom from tyranny?
No. I believe it was conviction that they had inalienable rights given to us by our Creator, and those rights were worth dying for, if necessary.
During World War I in World War II do you think they thought it was a good thing to do? No, they fought with the conviction that America was the greatest country in the world, and it was worth defending. And threatening our allies meant threatening us.
I think this is the point that many miss still miss today.
What are some things we should have conviction about?
Here are some things we need to be convinced about, in my opinion.
- The Word of God
We need to be convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. Not just a good book of nice writings, but the very Word of God, that is written by the Holy Spirit through men. And we have the word of the profits make more certain, we should pay attention to it as a light shining in the dark place. Understand that no prophecy scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoken from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 40:8 tells us, “The grass withers, the flower fades, the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
This is so important because in these times of turmoil we need an anchor to grab, something we can trust without reserve.
2. Jesus
We need Jesus more than ever for salvation. In the world, we’re seeing a clear choice between good and evil. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
And in Acts 4:12 Peter says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
If this is true, we need to start acting like it.
If you believe that Jesus’s blood was shed on the cross was exactly what we needed to save us from hell, and if we are convinced that He paid the price for us we need to start acting like it. We need to start acting like it because this will get us eternity in heaven. He did everything necessary to secure our salvation, by taking our penalty of sin on himself.
Jesus’s death and resurrection was not some meaningless ritual, He paid it all, and that should be enough to convince us to live for Him.
Jesus not only died for our sins, but He rose victorious over death, which opened the gates of Heaven for you and me.
The question is are we convinced or just believe?
Is it our conviction of Jesus was who He said He was and that He died and rose from the grave to bring us into heaven? If it is we should start acting like it.
Will we hold on to that conviction when times get tough and we are challenged as the truth of faith in Jesus gets harder?
We should act on our convictions about all else. I believe if we don’t share our stories and plant seeds every chance we get there will be people who will perish and will go to a godless hell.
I believe that it is our conviction that He really is the only way to heaven and we should be taking opportunities that are given to us to share the gospel.
Following Jesus is not a convenient path. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Messiah Yeshua will suffer persecution.” But what is the alternative: to live a life separated from God, that leads to spiritual death, and being banished from God’s light, and joy.
From Pity to Praise 