Transforming Fears into Boldness

Read Philippians 1:12-14

What are you afraid of?  Rejection?  Other people's opinions of you?  Loss of a job, of relationships, or possibly of health?  Maybe suffering or even death itself?

Here in the book of Philippians we get a sneak peak into what would be anyone's worst nightmare.

Paul has been captured, dragged away, put behind bars and now sits helplessly in prison.
His mission seems to have come to an abrupt halt.
He has no clue how cruelly he may be tortured or tormented.
He doesn't know if he will ever get out.
He does not even know what his next meal will be.
The poor conditions in the prison may result in weakness, sickness or even eventual death.

All seemed lost!

Yet Paul takes a different perspective.  He views his circumstances through the lens of knowing his loving and Almighty God, that He is good, and that He must be up to something.

He says, "I want to you know that what has happened to me has really served to advance" the good news of the saving Gospel message  of Jesus Christ.

And the result?  Others were also encouraged to allow God to transform their fears and it gave them the courage to speak MORE BOLDLY!

We are not always called to just speak the message, sometimes God calls us to BE the MESSAGE! When we change our perspective, we can be a beacon of hope to embolden the faith of others.

How about you?  How can you take a different perspective of your past or current circumstances?

Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as to what God is up to in your life, and how He will use these times to advance His message in new ways to those your life touches.

Sunday, July 17 - Acts 4:18-31

Learning to listen to God speak is key to walking the road of life.  Do you hear God speaking to you?  Do you understand what message(s) He is sending?  It is an amazing adventurous existence when we move through life with God as our tour guide.  I don't mean to make light of difficult situations, or brush off how crippling certain seasons of life are, but I know when I lean on the Word of God for direction, when I wait for Him to speak to me, it all comes together.

The apostles knew what God wanted them to do, they heard Him speak to their hearts and they knew Jesus wanted them to continue sharing the message of Good News.  "Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

These brave followers of Jesus knew their lives were in danger but they also knew the salvation of the world was more important.  Just think what a burden and gift their assignment from heaven was to them.  What did they do when the political rulers warned them?  "...they raised their voices together in prayer to God." (Acts 4:24)  They asked God to give them boldness to continue to tell the amazing story of Jesus.

God heard their prayers and honored them. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31) ) God honored their prayers and sent the Holy Spirit to them.  God will do this for you and for me as well.  All we have to do is pray and ask God for what we need.

Read Acts 4:18-31 here.

Not me, Lord! - Matthew 26:17-35

The reading for today is rich with lessons of denial, a place where I find myself all too often.  For years I denied that I needed Jesus in my life.  I denied that He wanted to live in my heart.  How could He?  I knew myself, I knew what my heart was truly like - but then again, so did Jesus.

Once I got over myself and discovered there was a much better way to live, really live, my heart softened.  Jesus did that.  Often when reading from the Bible, a line, a phrase or a word will stand out on the page.  In this lesson the words "Surely not I, Lord?" were high-lighted with a heavenly boldness.  How many times have I said the same, proudly boasting - "I would never do that!"

Matthew 26:21-22 (NIV) 
 And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"


How many of us still live in the denial that what we do, say, or believe doesn't really matter?  We do matter and Jesus wants us to know that we matter so much to Him.  For today, that is just what I need to hear and hold in my heart.  Blessings to each reader today.  May God reveal himself to you in a great big way.  Share if you will, what that would look like for you.



Read the entire text for today at Biblegateway.