Engine or Caboose?

Are you a leader or a follower?

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Tim 4:12

"If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

Do you know that there are people throughout out centuries that have been stoned, beheaded, hung for their faith? Do you know that there are people today in many countries who are being shot, beheaded, their churches and houses burned to the ground for their faith in God? Voices of the Martyrs is a magazine and a Christian organization that tells the story and sends financial provisions to people who are family members of those that have been martyred. These people are "an engine". They take a stand, even to the point of death for what they believe, not afraid of the consequences. They know what they believe and can stand alone!

Do you know what you believe? Do you believe what others tell you on tv, through your church, through friends or do you seek to find out the truth for yourself? How do you know what is truth? The only source that I know of that is absolute truth is "The Holy Bible". It is the only book through history that its contents have remained the same, from language to language. I compare every pastor's words, every movie, every radio show or tv show to The Bible. Men can interpret things and at times it is far from the Bible. Take the story of the group that followed Jim Jones that drank Koolaid several years ago. They were poisoned and they all died. Their teacher made up his own religion and people followed blindly. How about our current terrorists? They all believe in Jihad, following a god and taking the lives of others in the name of religion. They are followers not asking questions for themselves, they just follow their leaders blindly.

If I say that I believe in God and love others and my life says something different, we are not supposed to judge but we are to ask questions about if what I say and what I do matches up. If I say that I love everyone and then I go out and murder, do my words and my actions line up? There is a saying "Actions speak louder than words." Do you have principles in your life that you live by, that you would die for? Or are your beliefs because of someone else, you are just going along with what they say? Do you spend time studying what you believe or do you learn more from osmosis from what others tell you, or popular opinion? Do you set an example for others to see? Where are you on the train? Are you just coasting along or are you leading the pack?