I Pledge Allegiance to the Bible

Everyday in our preschool chapel program, we begin with three pledges:
Pledge to the American flag
Pledge to the Christian flag
And Pledge to the Bible.

While I love my country, and I love Jesus, I love the words to the Bible pledge:
“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy Word.
I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
I will hide its word in my heart that I may not sin against God.”

Each morning, we select three student helpers to lead us in the pledges. Awhile back, we had a very serious 3-year old take his first turn at holding the Bible for the pledge. Picture in your mind, a Charlie Brown face on a mini Mr. Incredible's body holding the Bible above his head. He held it up proudly, like I imagine a 3-year old Moses would hold up the Ten Commandments.

But before we could even start the first pledge, he dropped it. Crash! Boom! Bang!
You should have seen poor Charlie Incredible’s face crumble.
As I was waiting to see if he would get upset, he picked it up again.
As we are reciting our second pledge, his little arms start shaking under the weight of that heavy Bible. Then, he dropped it again.
Now his little lip was getting wobbly but he was determined to fulfill his Bible duty. Using all of his inner and physical strength, he proudly picked up that Bible and upheld the Word of God until we were finished.

And I thought to myself, “If a three year old can hold up God’s Word until the end so should I.”

Today, the media, celebrity culture, politicians, and maybe even some of our family and friends, want to knock the Bible out of our hands. They want us to drop the Word of God under the weight of political correctness. In the name of tolerance they want us to compromise God's truth. They are systematically removing God's Word from businesses, schools, monuments, private property, and free speech because when they see or hear scripture it offends them.

Recently, I had to go through the jury selection process. The defense attorney asked us, “Have you ever been in a position where you looked at evidence and made a judgment, but your judgment on the matter was different than everyone else around you. Say you were in a group of twelve people and they all felt and believed differently than you, would you stand firm on your position even if you were the lone hold out? It’s not easy when you are standing all alone on your convictions. Will you stand by your decision or will you cave into public opinion? When people start to pressure you to change your mind or compromise, will you cave?”

WOW! Those questions made me stop and think. What would I do in that situation? What will I do when a similar situation rises? According to God's Word, situations like those are going to arise more frequently and with greater intensity. Jesus said, “The world is going to hate you because of Me. They are going to throw you into court and prison, they are going to scoff and slander you, they are going to persecute and maybe even kill you for My sake.” (Matthew 24) When Jesus is on public trial, being insulted and scoffed by public opinion, will I stand firm on God’s Word or will I deny Him and cave?”

God knows my weaknesses and my fears but He also knows my heart. He knows that my heart's desire is to always uphold His Word no matter how bad the opposition becomes. But, how do I train and prepare myself to stand firm when darkness surrounds me?

I will do what my little Charlie Incredible did. Throughout the year, he watched his fellow classmates hold the Bible during the pledges, so when it was his turn to stand, he was prepared.

I need to read God’s Word and study how the heroes of the faith stood up in times of persecution:
How Moses followed God’s commands and stood up to Pharaoh.
How Daniel refused to worship an idol and stood up to Nebuchadnezzar.
How David stood up to Goliath, the giant, who was blaspheming the God of Israel.
How Peter and John stood up to the religious leaders who had forbidden them to speak and teach in the name of Jesus.

That is why it is so important to read God’s Word and hide it in our heart. So that when our time comes to uphold the Bible, even though we may have wobbly lips and shaking arms, we will stand firm. Boldly proclaiming:
“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word.
I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
I will hide it’s word in my heart that I may not sin against God.”

So, are you prepared to join Jesus' team of superheroes? It doesn't matter how young or old you are, what your circumstances, position, or talents are, or even your health and physical shape. All it takes is an open heart, willing to invite Jesus in, so that God can fill you with His Holy Spirit power!

Love,
Yolanda
All scripture is God breathed. 2 Timothy 3:16
The Word of God is alive and active. Hebrews 4:12

The LORD's Words are flawless. Psalm 18:30

Heaven and earth will pass away but My Words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35