Philippians 1:14 (NIV)"Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."
Study materials on Philippians 1 tell of two ways the Gospel had been advanced as a result of Paul's imprisonment. First, Paul made no secret about the fact he was in prison because of his love for Christ. Because he was a follower of the man they had recently crucified, and he made it known, everyone was aware of Paul's predicament. Even the soldiers who stood guard over him knew of his loyalty to the man from Galilee. Instead of falling into self-pity or demanding his own release, Paul took this opportunity to make the Gospel known.
The second way the Gospel was advanced as a result of Paul's circumstances was it made his followers bolder, it helped to convince them they too could tell the world about Jesus and the salvation which He brought to the world. This is a stunning fact, when you consider that the opposite would be true of most. Fear would permeate followers of any other god, but disciples of the True God drew courage from Paul's example.
I still wrestle with the question, how would I act? I am growing more and more confident that I too would be able to withstand the flaming arrows of the evil one. I have been drawn to Ephesians 6:10-18 for a number of days now. The message gained from reading about putting on The Armor of God seems to be so relevant to life these days; more so than in the past. So, you may see more of this in the weeks to come. The only way to spread the Good News of Jesus is to know it. The only way to know it is to read, study and practice it. Then we can, "speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."
Read Philippians 1:12-30 here
Listen to Philippians 1:12-30 here
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