"And He said to them all,
If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily,
and follow me." - Luke 9:23

Have you ever felt like you have been on the skids for years?  You know what I'm talking about?  You've been going down that dark tunnel, straining your eyes trying to see that light that's supposed to be down there at the end somewhere, but there's just none in sight?

I was there.  And what usually happens in situations like these is we get impatient.

I was there.  I was like the pastor who went by a deacon's house and knocked on his door.  No one answered.  The pastor continued knocking, noting that the deacon's car was in the driveway and there was a television on.  Again, there was no answer.  Finally, the pastor got impatient and left a note on the deacon's door.  It read simply, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)  A few days later the pastor found the note laying on his desk at the church with a reply written on the back.  It was the text from Genesis 3:10, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked and I hid myself."  (ha ha) ;-)

So, we get impatient and we want results now.  I did.  But, God wasn't quite finished teaching me yet.  The 9th plague was just around the corner.

Some friends of mine asked me to go to a concert in Memphis, Tennessee.  I knew that I shouldn't go.  I knew that I shouldn't even be listening to that type of music.  But, because my friends pushed, I gave in.

We arrived at the coliseum in Memphis and sat in the parking lot, waiting for the gates to open.  As we sat there, three undercover police officers ordered us out of the car.  No big deal, right? 

Wrong.  I didn't know it at the time, but my friends had illegal drugs in their possession.  We were arrested immediately.

They divided the four of us up and took me to the largest jail in Memphis.  I was booked and shuffled from cell to cell.  Talk about a night that SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY. 

The computers were down that night.  It took about six hours to "process" me.  At first I was placed in a large cell.  There were many hardened criminals in there that night.  Most were drunk or drugged up.  One, rather large and nasty looking man, in a cell beside our large one, motioned for me to come over to where he was.  I lowered my head and pretended not to see him.  "Yeah, you," he called to me.  I didn't say much, but I was thinking, "I've seen enough prison movies to know that you and I are not going to become friends."  When I didn't respond, he called to me again, "I'm going to kill you when I get you to a cell alone." 

That, of course, made me feel much better.

I was scared to death and continually harassed and ridiculed by the other "inmates" and even the officers and guards.  It was very humiliating.  When I finally got to the small, cramped cell, someone was already asleep on the one small bunk.  I had to lie in the floor until morning came and my parents bailed me out.  I remember very vividly lying there in the urine stained floor waiting for my release.  I remember the stench of body waste in the room.  I remember the fear of the man who was in the room with me.  I remember the darkness. 

And I remember the prayer that I prayed that night, "God, if you get me out of here, then I promise I will never do anything like this again."

I meant that prayer.  God did His part, and for the last eleven years I have done mine.

IT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY, but the morning finally came and my parents bailed me out.  I went to court and the charges were dropped after I proved that I had no prior knowledge of my friend's having the drugs.  The doctor warned me to "pick better friends" and my record was cleared.

It was a very hard lesson, but God taught me that being a Christian doesn't erase the consequences of bad decisions.  God showed me that as a Christian I must not give in to peer pressure, or hold hands with the world, or abandon Him when His ways are unpopular and difficult.  As a Christian, I must always stand up for what is right and make Godly decisions.  Instead of allowing others to influence me, I must influence them by living as an example.

Through the past eleven years I have tried to do just that.  Like I said, I meant that prayer.   God taught me, through this plague, it's more than just learning all of the wonderful truths that He showed me during the first eight plagues that counts...you gotta live them.  There's a big difference between knowing how to live as a Christian and actually living the life.  The Lord showed me that we are to have more than "head" knowledge, we are to have "heart" knowledge.  We are to do more than talk the talk, we are to walk the walk.  That's the mark of a born again believer, that's what stands out among the crowd...someone who backs up their words by a separated life.

Just a few months ago, I had the privilege of taking a youth group to a conference for young people.  During a "praise and worship" music session, the music leader instructed us to stand up and "sing to the Lord."  Naturally, I stood up and began praising the Lord Jesus.  As I stood there with joy and love flowing from my heart, I noticed that none of the others from my group were standing up.  I began to get very sad.  Tears filled my eyes.  I thought to myself, "I can't believe you're not standing up singing to the Lord.  Don't you realize how much He gave for us.  Jesus is worth so much more than this."

As I stood there, I became even more sad as I thought about my own life.  So many times I have been sitting down in my heart.  So many times I have neglected Him myself.  I determined one thing that day, even if I have to stand alone, I'm going to stand for Christ, regardless of the cost.

Christian, if you take anything from this devotional take this:  Even if you have to stand alone, stand up for Christ.  Why?  Why should you stand up for Jesus?

Because Jesus stood up for you...

...when He stood up on Calvary's tree.

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!