TAKING A STAND

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Every Christian ought to be ready to stand up courageously and unashamedly for the Lord. How inconsistent that a person redeemed by the blood of Christ experiencing saving power should cower before an unbelieving world! On one occasion Frederick the Great invited some notable people to his royal table. Including his top-ranking generals. One of them by the name of Hans von Zieten declined the invitation because he wanted to partake of communion at his church. Some time later at another banquet Frederick and his guests mocked the general for his religious scruples and made jokes about the Lord's supper. In great peril of his life, the officer stood to his feet and said respectfully to the monarch, "My lord, there is a greater King than you, a King to whom I have sworn allegiance even unto death. I am a Christian man, and I cannot sit quietly as the Lord's name is dishonored, His character belittled", all trembled in silence, knowing that von Zieten might be killed. But to their surprise, Frederick grasped the hand of this courageous man, asked his forgiveness, and requested that he remain. He promised that he would never again allow such a travesty to be made of sacred things. (Copied)
Shortly after I had surrendered to the ministry the company I was working for had scheduled a sales meeting for a Wednesday night. I informed my supervisor that I would not be there for the steak supper they were serving but would be out of prayer meeting in time for the meeting that was to follow. He was not at all happy about it and said, "We have executives from out of town who are going to be here and you should skip church to be there for the meal. I can't make you be there for that part but it looks bad for us and you will miss your steak supper."
When I got to the meeting the executive in charge of the meeting saw me come in and got up from the meal that he was just finishing. He met me as I came in the door and I figured I was about to catch it from him. You can imagine my surprise when he grabbed my hand, shook it vigorously, and began to apologize, "I should never have scheduled this meeting for a Wednesday night, I know that is prayer meeting night but it was the only time I could be in town. I certainly respect you for attending prayer meeting and thank you for getting here in time for the sales meeting. I am glad you are both committed to your church and the company. I told the waiter to keep your supper warm for you and you can eat your meal and listen to what I have to say at the same time."
You could have knocked me over with a feather and the look on my supervisor's face was priceless. He was as shocked as I was relieved and he never mentioned the incident to me later. I learned a lesson then that it is always best to follow your convictions.