Stand Up For God And He Will Stand Up For You


There have been countless people the above statement applied to but lets focus on these five men for one second:

Shadreck, Meshack and Abindigo – Daniel 3:1, 4-6, 13-30

Daniel – Daniel 6:7, 10-24

Stephen – Acts 7:54-60

In each case each of these men were in a position to take a serious stand for the Lord or back down and allow a mediocre brand of Christianity (or Judaism) to continue to dominate their culture.

These men had the audacity to take a stand for the Lord in a culture that was simply anti-Christ, kind of like today’s culture.  The thing that caught my attention about each of these cases is that these men took a stand despite the consequences that were coming due to their decision.  

The three Hebrew men had to face a chamber of fire, in that chamber the Lord showed up for them and spared their lives. Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because of his stand, but the lions weren’t hungry that night and all they wanted to do was keep Daniel company - the Lord showed up for Him. Stephen’s stand seems to be a little different.  He was stoned to death, but before he closed his eyes on this life, he peered into the Heavens and Stephen sees Jesus in a very awkward position - standing at the right hand of the Father.  Stephen’s act of taking a stand got the Lord attention, so much so that He stood up to watch the audacious act of His servant.

Are we living out a mediocre brand of Christianity today or do we have the audacious ability to take a stand for the Lord in this day which is anti-Christ? The fact remains that the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever is still looking for audacious people like Daniel, like Stephen, like the three Hebrew men.  

I pray that the Church - the real Church - would take a stand for the Lord.  If we do this He will take a stand for each of us.

Creating Culture Within Your Business
There are tangible things that are needed in business like equipment, labor and supplies but then there are also some intangibles that can make or break your business. In many cases it is the intangible aspects of business that actually become more important than the tangible items. One such intangible aspect of a business is the culture within it.

Culture is defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. Culture is everything to a business. It is the culture of the business that your customers will experience. If the culture of your organization is professional, then your customers will have an experience that imposes rigorous rules and regulations. The culture in your business should be people friendly, free flowing and orderly.

I could go on all week about creating culture within your business but I will sum it up in four principles:

Cast the vision – In order to create culture within an organization the vision must be cast or articulated to those who are to participate within the organization. Make certain that the vision is communicated in its simplest form even if it is complex.

Sell the vision – It is easier to sell the members of the organization the vision when the leader is also sold on it. The leader must believe that this is the vision for the organization and push through the difficulties that will be encountered while managing the voice of the naysayer.

Resell the vision – From time to time the leader will need to recast the vision. It is important to find different methods to resell the vision. Some suggestions include: having people within the organization read a book regarding the topic, a weekend trip, social gatherings, internal slogans that support the vision, incentives that promote the vision and meetings.

Clarify the vision – Please know that along the way the vision my have to be clarified or adjusted slightly. Therefore, it is important to allow the organization’s members to ask questions so that everyone is clear. Clarity of vision will also come through reselling the vision.

If you want to create a certain culture within your organization follow these four fundamental steps and overtime people will either buy into the vision or they will leave the organization.