Isaiah 7:9b – If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

Cherrypicking from scripture is often dangerous because we take things out of context, but these few words scream not only to be read once but also to be seared upon our minds and our hearts. Faith is not a cellphone that we carry in our pocket and whip out at our convenience. It contains our obedience as well. Nebuchadnezzar carried away the people because they claimed faith but obeyed false gods. God sent the prophets to warn them but those folks would have none of it. Stubborn, consistent refusal to obey the God who had brought them prosperity was what took away everything from them. They had it so very good and then suddenly they didn’t. They did not quite understand they could not have it both ways. Hmm … Sound familiar? Either we choose God or we choose the world. Jesus confirmed that in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” So even if we choose to refer to Old Testament teachings as antiquated and superseded by the Gospel, Jesus reinforces this truth. Faith and obedience are bound and interwoven. We cannot say we have faith and then have our actions disprove us and show us to be liars. Hope, love, peace, and joy – the meanings of the four Sundays in Advent – come from faith and obedience in the Christ who was promised, arrived, taught, died for our sins, was buried, and then rose from that grave. His words should shine out of us so that when people see us, they don’t see our face but that of Jesus. Obey, trust, be the faithful. Stand tall!