Let the banner wave

I heard someone say recently, "Show your colors."  There has been a lot of talk about flags and what they represent. Flags have been used throughout the ages to represent groups and for people to display what they stand for.  Flags or banners are flown before troops in armies and battles. Many soldiers have fallen to protect a flag and keep it raised. They flag represents everything they are fighting for. We have a statue in America showing Marines raising a flag after a very bloody battle on Iwo Jima in 1945.  This is a symbol.  There is even a children's game called "Capture the flag."   The flag we fly tells the world  a lot about us. It represents who we are, what we stand for, and for what we will fight.

Dictionary.com defines flag as a noun meaning:
1.a piece of cloth, varying in size, shape, color, and design, usually attached at one edge to a staff or cord, and used as the symbol of a nation, state, or organization, as a means of signaling, etc.; ensign; standard; banner; pennant.

Another word for flag is banner. The bible generally uses the word banner.
Banner has some of the same meanings:

1.the flag of a country, army, troop, etc.
2.an ensign or the like bearing some device, motto, or slogan, as one carried in religious processions, political demonstrations, etc.
3.a flag formerly used as the standard of a sovereign, lord, or knight.
4.a sign painted on cloth and hung over a street, entrance, etc.:
5.anything regarded or displayed as a symbol of principles



As Christians we are to show our colors.  We are, in a sense, flying a flag or banner to show who we are, what we stand for and for what we will fight.  There are many references listed in the bible about a banner.

Using the New King James Version, I looked up the word 'banner'. Here are the verses it appears in.


Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;

Psalm 20:5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Psalm 60:4 You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah

Psalm 74:4 Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; They set up their banners for signs.

Song of Solomon 2:4 [ The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem ] He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love.

Song of Solomon 6:4 [ Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty ] [ The Beloved ] O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, Lovely as Jerusalem, Awesome as an army with banners!

Song of Solomon 6:10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Awesome as an army with banners?

Isaiah 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.

Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Isaiah 11:12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 13:2 “Lift up a banner on the high mountain, Raise your voice to them; Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.

Isaiah 18:3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.

Isaiah 30:17 One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill.

Isaiah 31:9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 62:10 Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples!

Jeremiah 51:27 Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts.

Zechariah 9:16 The Lord their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land—

This last verse in Zechariah tells us not only will there be a banner over us, but we, God's people, are lifted up like a banner.  We are the banner that displays Christ.

I Timothy 4:12 says Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

We are to be a banner by how we act, speak, treat others and follow after God.
Our very lives and how we live them are like a flag that God can wave to show the world who He is and what He can do.

Matthew 7:20 says, Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what fruit that others are to see in us.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

How will others see God?  How will others know what we stand for?  It is by our fruit.

There comes a time to speak up, stand up and fly your colors.
We will be known by our fruit.  Others judge our fruit whether we like it or not.  Others 'taste' of our fruit to see what God is like. What have I displayed to others?  That is the big question.
What flag have I been waving as I go about my daily life?
What have I told the world about my Savior?
What have I represented to others?
What flag have I raised to tell others what I believe in and fight for?

I pray today that God is pleased by how I represent Him and I pray that He work on me to make me a much better representative.
I also pray that God will be able to raise me up like a banner like in Zechariah 9:16.  Can he hold me up and say, "this is my child." with pride or do I bring him shame?

He was able to hold up Job when Satan came to him.  I pray that He can do the same with me.

Lord, help me be what you want me to be. Help me display to those around me your truth and love. Help me hold the banner high to proclaim your truth, your love, your compassion and salvation. Help me proclaim not just in good times, but help me hold the banner even in the face of difficulty and attack. Let me be wise in doing so and bold in the face of ridicule. Let Your banner wave. Amen.