May 2018 – LoveAndGrace

Choosing Joy: Evening or Morning

From the Old Testament’s first books through the the New Testament’s last books, God shows His love for us by letting us choose if we will accept His grace as a free gift for our lives. He longs for us to accept that gift and even gave His Son’s life to pay the debt for our sin. Those who do not accept God’s teaching squander the richness of life that He offers for momentary thrills that so often — sometimes immediately and sometimes over time — cause so much pain. With man’s way, the end is grief. With God’s way, the end is life.

Weeping may last for the night, but there is a song of joy in the morning. (Psalm 30:5b GW)

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! (Psalm 126:5 ESV)

Find blog posts at LoveAndGrace … tweets at Twitter.

Comments welcomed. Let’s share what God says to His saints.

Please join us for Prayer and Questions at the end of the devotion.

WE EXPRESS OUR DEEPEST EMOTIONS THROUGH SONGS AND POEMS.

Here is just one example of how God shows us the difference between His way and our way — it’s captured in the lyrics of these two songs:

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Man’s View:

Maybe the sun’s light will be dim/

And it won’t matter anyhow.

If morning’s echo says we’ve sinned,

Well, it was what I wanted now.

—Angel of the Morning

God’s View:

You stay the same through the ages/

Your love never changes/

There may be pain in the night/

But joy comes in the morning.

—Your Love Never Fails

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THE STORYLINE IN BOTH SONGS is similar, with the twist coming at the end. In the song praising man’s view of life, the “joy” comes first, but it’s a false joy that leads, inevitably, to sorrow and hurting.

The song praising God’s view of life, however, shows that God’s nature is unchanging — He’s perfect and without blemish. He promises to guide us through the difficulties of life and grant us, in the end, eternity with Him. So, in His view, the joy is real, and it is the reward for faithfulness, and it comes at the end.

Both songs can be applied toward a well-deserved weekend. After five days of commuting, dealing with the difficulties of anyone’s line of work (check out God’s comments in Genesis 3 as to why that is so), and the mounting stress of financial concerns, personal interactions, and possibly fear of drifting through life, here comes the weekend!

68.Woman_Praising_God Friday evening, and we’re energized to “party” with a capital “P” and just have some fun, maybe get drunk or high, definitely drive our cars fast, and, yes, find some willing gal or guy to “hook up” with.

All of that “fun” will just blot out the hardships of real life and give us some thrills.

The next morning, though, we might fight a headache, could face a painful breakup with a girlfriend/boyfriend, deal with a serious dent in the new car, and wonder what went wrong.

Next weekend comes, and we’re back at it again. In man’s view of life, we never learn.

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WHAT WOULD THE WEEKEND in God’s view look like?

God rested the seventh day during creation, so He urges us to take some rest, too. Since
He created us, He knows we need to pace ourselves. In the Old Testament, He created the Sabbath for the Israelites to worship Him every seven days.

For the New Testament church, that rest, or sabbath, could be any day, but we know we should find time to step away from our tasks and to-do lists.

We would want to worship Him, of course, so there would be church service, with a wonderful opportunity to sing His praises, hear a message based on Scripture, and enjoy fellowship with other believers. 68. Nursery

The weekend would not just focus on our worship, though. There should be an opportunity or two for service projects.

For some people during a particularly hectic time of life, that service could be confined to helping out at church — parking lot ministry, or volunteering in the nursery, or being part of the collection team that passes the plate — are just some examples.

As our schedules ease up, maybe we find more time to volunteer in a homeless shelter or distributing canned food to those in need.

Instead of a headache, guilt feelings, and a dented car, we’re more likely to feel energized, especially if we felt the Lord’s nudge to serve His Kingdom in some capacity.

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SO WHAT IS OUR LESSON from all of this?

God does not promise us a carefree, stress-free life — not after we rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden — but He does promise to help us through the pain of life, if we let Him.

Unfortunately for us, most people are still rebelling against Him. They want to “do” life on their terms, ignoring the rules and guidelines put in place by their Creator.

In a world of sin, an offer to spend a Friday night with our peers, mixed with plenty of alcohol and a zest for adventure beats out a weekend of Bible study, soup kitchens, and prayerful meditation.

But once we let God into our hearts — we confess our sins to Him and acknowledge our need for Him — that calculus changes.

The script is flipped.

The booze party with a roomful of strangers, all acting weirdly, no longer sounds attractive. We start to see the party with a big circle around it and a diagonal line drawn through it.

Instead, we find real joy — authentic joy — in helping a poorly dressed stranger to a hot meal or to help a young child learn a Bible story or just raise our arms in praise during a worship song.

The fellowship of saints begins to look more inviting than the fellowship of drunks.

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OF COURSE, THERE IS ONE MORE scenario to work through. That’s the one where the weekend is neither the hipster party nor the worship service, but just a suburban family of 4 or 5, with a small dog and a minivan and soccer games and barbecues and friendly neighbors.

Jesus pointed out the rebellion here, as well. It’s the story recorded in Mark 10:17-25, where the rich young man who bragged to our Lord that he had obeyed all of God’s laws since his youth yet wondered what more, if anything, he should do to merit eternal life.

When Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give the money away and come join Him, the man chose, instead, to hang onto his possessions, regardless of the eternal consequences.

Don’t be fooled. The Bible clearly tells us that the only way to God’s Paradise is through Jesus Christ. (Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6, NKJV)

Those weekends with the drunken friends are soon outgrown, but how sad when people substitute for them the pleasant day at the beach or gathering of family — without any invitation to accept the outstretched hand of their Savior.

No matter how pleasant it may look on the outside, man’s view is always hollow on the inside.

God’s view is solid inside … and it lasts forever.

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PRAYER: O LORD GOD, how it must pain You to watch Your Creation rebel so often and 68. Holy_Bible_Cross so thoroughly against You. Yes, You created us in Your image, yet we constantly push You away in favor of our walk, our own values, our own joy. Lord, would You please come into our hearts and transform them in hearts that hunger for Your love and Your way. In Jesus’ name. Amen

QUESTIONS:

Do you find Jesus’ invitation to come to Him as the only way of salvation too limiting and not quite right, that maybe there’s more than one way to get to Paradise?
Do you chaff when confronted with the possibility that your choices in life are not good ones for you or even more so that the Creator has a plan for your life and you might not be following it?
Having read this meditation, are you more willing to consider that God’s view of our lives can be more rewarding than our own view is … in no small part because He made us?

Doctrine Vs. Unity: A False Choice?

The evangelical brand of Christianity is splitting, perhaps beyond repair, into rival camps. While the fabric was being torn for decades, the rip is more noticeable as a large voting bloc supported the presidential election of Donald Trump over rival candidates. Only Trump selected an evangelical running mate and promised to support policies the bloc supports. Other candidates actively opposed those policies. Recently, the anti-Trump evangelicals held a conference bemoaning their minority status. Where does this brand of Christianity go … and will there be a healing balm?

“But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1 BSB)

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.” (John 17:22 NLT)

Find blog posts at LoveAndGrace … tweets at Twitter.

Comments welcomed. Let’s share what God says to His saints.

Please join us for Prayer and Questions at the end of the devotion.

ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY TO CHOOSE between sound doctrine or a unified church?

Is that a real question or is it a false choice? Can we have both? Have we ever had either?

Where do you stand?

67.Conference_Lecture Recently, some 50 evangelical leaders gathered at Wheaton College in Illinois to discuss the fate of the evangelical religious movement.

The impetus for the meeting, according to organizers quoted in various media accounts, was to assess the spiritual health of the evangelical community after the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president, especially in light of polling that shows 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for him.

(The definition of “evangelical” was not mentioned in most media accounts, but generally it encompasses four basic beliefs: inerrancy of the Holy Bible, Jesus’ redeeming work on the Cross, salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus, and a call to evangelize.

(Also, there is an apparent discrepancy in the poll survey in which news organizations that commissioned the poll were more interested in the subset of “white evangelical” than in “non-white evangelical.” Finally, the term “evangelical” was not defined in the survey.)

Therefore, 20 percent of white evangelicals did not vote for Trump. Of that number, some voted for one of his opponents, while others declined to vote at all.

Conference organizers — let’s call them “the 20 percenters” — expressed dismay and frustration with the vast majority of their fellow believers — let’s call them “the 80 percenters” — who voted for Trump.

They drew the conclusion that the 80 percenters were destroying the brand, that evangelicalism had reached a “crisis,” and that something must be done to restore its tarnished image.

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ATTENDANCE WAS INVITATION-ONLY. So if your name wasn’t on the invite list, the organizers did not want to hear from you.

67.SocialMedia_globe Prominent names that were not invited included Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress, both supporters of the Trump presidency, although not necessarily of the man. Their writings and public utterances have been supportive of Trump’s policies when they line up with traditional evangelical values.

Prominent names that were invited included New York City megachurch pastors Tim Keller and A.R. Bernard. At one point in the proceedings, Keller characterized the divide among evangelicals this way: “We are being driven apart because there’s now a Red and a Blue evangelicalism,” thus imitating the political divide within the secular world.

What, then, about the 20 percenters? What values does their testimony support, especially since the winning candidate not only selected an evangelical running mate but not one other presidential candidate even sought the evangelical vote or promised to meet the voting bloc’s social policy goals.

Evangelicals have been strong supporters of religious liberty, marriage between one man and one woman for life, sanctity of life from pre-born through physical death, and support for Israel’s right to exist, among other concerns, but how do the 20 percenters defend their vote for another candidate either lukewarm toward those values or outright opposed to them? 67.MyWay_MyWay

Not said.

It didn’t come up.

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WHAT IS THE STATE TODAY of the body of Christ? As of now, more than one month since the two-day conference ended, no “statement” has emerged summarizing its findings, leaving the public without a sense of how conference organizers would respond.

Members of the president’s faith advisory council noted that the conferees held more “progressive” views on social issues than does the president and his evangelical supporters.

Some evangelical organizations, such as Focus on the Family, are dialing back their political involvement, believing it can interfere with the Gospel message they want to promote, while other groups are ramping up their efforts to preach the Bible to a world in darkness.

But those nagging questions just won’t go away: Should Christians — in particular, evangelicals — promote the values they believe God has laid out in the Holy Bible regardless of secular world pushback … and now pushback from within the body of Christ?

How does the secular world, eager to discredit God’s Word, view the apparent split within the evangelical community?

You know those complaints:

You claim to love the sinner but not the sin, but do you really love the sinner?
Can words written 2,000 to 3,000 years ago really be valid universally for all time?
How can you claim to know the ultimate truth? Who made you the arbiter of what’s right and wrong?

Should the evangelical movement split into rival factions, each representing its version of truth, or should the various factions find a unifying message to heal those divisions?

Belief over unity? Unity over doctrine? Engage in the world; retreat from it?

Are evangelicals becoming the religious-based arm of the secular fight between “conservatives” and “progressives,” between Republicans and Democrats?

For those of us who believe the Holy Word of God is the Almighty’s love letter to us, that He is perfect and unchanging, our conviction rests in His eternal truths. We believe that He has told us clearly what He expects of us, and the expected criticisms from non-believers lack impact.

Fair enough, but now it’s reached a new level: much of the invective comes from within the body of Christ.

Witness the meeting at Wheaton College.

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THERE ARE TWO SIDES to this story, as there are to so many stories.

Those who organized the conference downplayed any anti-Trump messaging, 67.Agree-Disagree emphasizing the discussions, the prayers, and the “painful conversations” that took place, according to one religion writer for a secular newspaper.

Yet those “painful conversations” were how the evangelical movement could continue
unstained when 80 percent of their fellow believers voted for a candidate they all conceded was flawed morally, but who was the only candidate who pledged to honor biblical values in his policies.

On the other hand, news reports showed that several attendees left the conference when it became clear to them the proceeding was not just to express dismay with the election results but, more alarmingly, a roasting of the 80 percenters who voted for him.

Those defectors said the conference by its very nature was political and was not an attempt to unify the faithful.

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AS THE SUMMIT ENDED, one of its the organizers reportedly said that in future meetings, evangelical leaders will “fan out in all kinds of directions,” as Christians recognize diversity within their movement.

However, the non-invited Franklin Graham said on FaceBook that he is “not interested in fanning out in all kinds of directions” but wants to focus on one direction only: “reaching lost souls” and “calling people to cross the line from death to life, in Him [Jesus Christ].”

He further said the word “evangelical” should not be used in a secular political context but only in promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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67.Jesus_Welcomes_All

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Apparently, there is a deep split within the evangelical body of Christ, just as there are fissures growing within Christendom’s denominations. Each faction claims to be following Jesus Christ while questioning the faith commitment of the other side.

The Bible tells us what to expect in the future … and it isn’t pretty.

Listen to the apostle Paul counsel his young friend, Timothy:

You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. (2 Timothy 3:1 TLB)

Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him. In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan. (2 Timothy 3:12-13 TLB)

Is everyone in the evangelical community looking to the Bible for guidance … is only one side … if so, which one?

Paul, again:

For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 TLB)

Are those 20 percenters — the ones who supported a candidate opposed to biblical values, as well as those who declined to vote — are they substituting their own values for the ones laid down in Scripture?

The prophet Isaiah:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20 NASB)

God warned us through Paul what He will do if we disobey Him:

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:28 ESV)

Whether the evangelical movement is irrevocably split or can reconcile in Christian unity may be less important than where we are in our individual walks with Christ.

In the end, He will call us to account for our words and deeds, not hold us responsible for the larger church movement.

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PRAYER: O merciful and mighty Father God, our hearts break for the failure of our witness. You called us to be light to a fallen world so that men and women would see our good works and give You the glory, but we’re stumbling about in the dark ourselves. Lord, speak into our hearts with Your words of wisdom. Forgive us our pride and self-importance and recast our gaze to the road You light for us, to that straightened path You’’ll make for us, through the narrow gate You told us to find. Lord, you’ve given us a choice: help us choose life. In Jesus name. Amen

QUESTIONS:

Do you see doctrinal splits within the various Christian denominations (Catholic and Protestant) and even within the ranks of evangelicalism? Do they matter to you? Does this matter to you, or do you toss it off as “inside baseball,” just the stuff for the full-time paid Christians? Has this event stayed under your radar?
What effect do you think conferences and forums, such as the one held at Wheaton College, have on the body of Christ and its internal connections? What effect do you think they have on the external world when their deliberations are covered extensively by secular media?
Do you think discussions about the divisions within Christendom (whether among evangelicals or within denominations) weakens our fellowship? Do you believe the body of Christ should refrain from such discussions and focus solely on the spiritual matters that bring us together?
Jesus Christ prayed for unity in His church. He also said His mission was to proclaim the Truth. Has His church remained unified, and does it proclaim the Truth? If you could pick one quality or the other — “unity” or “truth” — which would you value more? Why? Can you understand why your neighbor might disagree with you?

Resisting the Father of Lies

With so many lies in the world, how can we ever know what is Truth, or if there even is truth? Jesus Christ assured us that He is the Truth, that He tells the truth, that we can believe Him. He backed up His comments through miracles of healing, making it clear that no one could do what He did because no one else was God. His most dramatic Truth was predicting the manner and timing of His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, and then His rising from the dead to live forever. We can believe Him; we can rest our salvation on His truth.

“This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth.” (John 18:37 NCV)

“You belong to your father, the devil. … When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44 NIV)

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” (James 4:7b-8a NLT)

Find blog posts at LoveAndGrace … tweets at Twitter.

Comments welcomed. Let’s share what God says to His saints.

Please join us for Prayer and Questions at the end of the devotion.

THERE ARE SO MANY LIES IN THE WORLD TODAY.

They come at us from all angles, from people who think we should trust and from people we hardly know, from people in authority and from people close to us.

Sometimes, they mean to lie, knowing full well they mean to deceive; other times, they 66.Web_Of_Lies believe the lies they’re telling and so deceive themselves along with us.

Sometimes, those lies hurt; other times, they can be dismissed.

But with all of those lies, how can we ever know the truth? Do we even believe there is a truth? Or is everything we believe “relevant,” acknowledged only in relation to something else?

For those who have come to hear the voice of Jesus Christ and to accept Him into their hearts as their personal Lord and Savior, there is comfort from the world’s lies.

Jesus is Truth. We can believe in Him.

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THE BIBLE TESTIFIES to the Truth.

Jesus told His accusers that it was to “bear witness to the truth” that He came into the world. (John 18:37) He assured His disciples and believers down the ages that the Father’s “words are truth.” (John 17:17) He announced that He, Himself, is the “way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

He prefaced His promises with promises of truth: “Verily, I say unto thee,” or “Truly, I tell you,” depending on the English translation. While the words differ among translations, the message is the same: “Listen to Me. I am telling you the Truth. You can, and should, believe Me.”

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THERE IS A SECOND WAY Jesus tell us the truth: He show us.

66.Jesus_Changes_Everything Telling is one thing: it points to the way. Showing demonstrates the truth of the promise.

Jesus shows us the Truth by changing our lives.

The Bible is clear that when we accept Jesus’ call to forgive our sins and captain our souls, He sends the Holy Spirit to begin a complete makeover. The Spirit will convict us of sin, show us with increased clarity the truthfulness of Jesus’ claims, and strengthen us to withstand opposition.

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THE TESTIMONY OF CHANGED LIVES is the greatest tribute to the truthfulness of God’s Word.

There is no need for argument or debate, no quibbling over doctrinal disputes, no questioning the point of it all. Changed lives leads to a personal testimony that leads to sharing the Gospel (or the Good News) with the rest of the world.

Jesus urged us to let our light shine brightly in this darkened world so that men would see our *good works* and, recognizing the change in our lives, give the glory to the Heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:16)

Our commission is to live the Gospel daily in every situation, praying constantly, and letting the Holy Spirit bring His fruit to bear in our lives. That fruit is described as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)

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66. God-never-made-a-promise-that-was-too-good-to-be-true SO, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR WORLD?

Are you finding it easy or difficult to believe in the miracle of life that God offers us through Jesus Christ? Does it seem *too good to be true*? Does it seem to be a *fanciful tale* or a *crutch for the weak*?

Are you so ready to close your mind to the possibility that He is, actually, who He says He is? That He is God. Are you so ready to close your mind to the life-changing transformations you may have seen in someone close to you — possibly a family member, maybe a friend or a neighbor or even a co-worker?

Are you so ready to ignore His offer to give you rest from your labors, to offer a salve for your troubles, to give you answers to those questions that torment you?

Jesus is the answer to the “whys” of life, even when we cannot understand them in this life, at this time. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), so, of course, we no more can understand everything He does than a hamster can understand what we do.

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WHEN THE LIES OF THE WORLD envelope you, and you start to question and doubt and wonder and take that short road to total disbelief, could you hold on a moment and take stock of what’s really going on in your life?

Jesus told us that those who disbelieve Him are sons (and daughters) of the devil, that 66.Mean_kids Satan is real, and Satan is the *father of lies.* He is the “great deceiver.” His sole purpose is to take you from God’s embrace and throw you into the garbage.

He does not want you as Jesus wants you; he just doesn’t want Jesus to have you. Satan is like the mean kid who will upturn your lunchbox just to see your sandwich fall to the ground; he doesn’t actually want to eat lunch with you.

Jesus, on the other hand, will help you pick up your sandwich and give you a new one that tastes much better than the old one … and, if you’ll let Him, He’ll sit at lunch with you.

He’ll be your friend.

So, there’s your choice. Believe Satan and live a life filled with lies or believe Jesus and share in the Truth.

Jesus said it is the “truth” that will “set you free.”

Pretty easy choice.

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PRAYER: Our Father, our gracious and loving Father, we bless You and praise You for Your faithfulness, for Your loving kindness, for Your mercy. We thank You for showing us that Jesus is the Truth, while Satan, the enemy, is a lier and a deceiver. There is no truth in him. Remove the scales from our eyes and those You have asked us to pray for that we may see the lies for what they are and the Truth that is waiting for us to grasp. In Jesus’ loving name we pray. Amen

QUESTIONS:

What, if anything, holds you back from accepting the call of Jesus to let Him into your life? Are you afraid He’ll want you to give up something dear to you? Is it your alcohol or drug abuse? your temper? your love for money? your prideful arrogance? your affair with a co-worker?
How can this meditation help you make a decision for Jesus Christ? Would you like prayer? Can you use the comments section to ask for prayer from the editor and other readers?
What issues are you struggling with that you would prayerfully ask this meditation to address?

Acting by God’s Mighty Spirit

God gave us bold hearts to be His witnesses, both by how we act and how we speak. Of course, all of this is predicated on what we think and feel — those internal discussions eventually pop out in words and deeds. Either they glorify the Son or they dishonor Him. Let’s pray that God will change our hearts from stone to flesh and give us the encouragement to share our “good works” in His name, for His glory, with a world in need of redemption.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NASB)

I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 GW)

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NKJV)

Find blog posts at LoveAndGrace … tweets at Twitter.

Comments welcomed. Let’s share what God says to His saints.

Join us for Prayer and Questions at the end of the devotion.

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION?

As a born-again Christian, what gives you the greatest pleasure this side of Glory?

Is it praying to the Creator of the universe, knowing He hears your prayers through the shed blood of His Son?

64. Journal Writing Is it reading the Holy Bible, the inspired word from God’s own lips to encourage you through the valley of life until you reach Paradise? Is it gathering with other believers in fellowship or in worship, sometimes joining forces in service to the wider community, sometimes raising voices in praise, sometimes holding hands as prayers are offered?

Here’s my thought: It’s knowing that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as we are given life, we are called by our Lord to witness to His saving grace.

That means we are “walking with Christ” not just during worship but also when pumping gasoline into our cars; it’s not just when we’re engaged in a community service project or mission trip to a foreign country but also when we’re standing in line at the grocery store.

It’s not just when we’re engaged in knees-on-the-floor heartfelt prayer to our Savior but also when we’re playing golf or tennis with our friends and neighbors.

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WHAT’S SO AMAZING is that Jesus calls us to a life of service. He wants us to proclaim the Good News to those He places in our lives. Some of them are close family members, but others are co-workers, neighbors, friends … and even total strangers we meet as we go about the daily grind.

Are we smiling? Are we helpful when someone needs a hand? Do we offer encouragement when someone is hurting? Do we step in without expecting help in 65.Woman_Carrying_Groceries return? Are we willing to give without expecting acknowledgement or thanks?

What about our speech? Is it course and offensive? Does it ridicule or insult someone? Does it make someone uncomfortable to hear us? What about those “jokes” that require someone (person or group) other than ourselves to be the punchline?

Then, our Lord told us that it is not only what we say and what we do that counts in His book. No, for Him, it includes our thoughts. What evil has been rattling around in our heads, just waiting for an opportunity to mature into a nasty comment or unfortunate act?

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JESUS HAS PREPARED US for those trials and tribulations that mark our walk with Him. He has stiffened our spine, given us resolve, strengthened our nerve so that we will not shrink from extending a hand or word of grace.

Of course it can be daunting when facing a situation where we feel called upon to witness with our words. It’s often tough enough to give of our time for an act of service or share our treasure to help finance a worthy venture.

65.Hidden_Thoughts But what about those moments when we need to share with someone an account “for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV), and we wonder as we begin to speak just how they will receive our answer … and what they will think of us?

Some of us handle those moments with greater skill and grace than do others, and prayer and practice certainly lead to a better experience, but isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus, who has commanded us to share His Word with the world, has equipped us already not with a timid spirit but with a spirit “of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NASB)?

He’s given us the basic tools we need. He has made our job easier.

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EASIER BUT NOT EASY.

Nothing is easy in our walk with Jesus Christ. We will be assailed by a hostile world. We will be tripped up by someone eager to see us fall.

Okay, so we know that, but the Bible tells us that those who persevere to the end will receive eternal glory (Matt. 24:13) and that our present suffering (or even those awkward moments) cannot compare with the glory that awaits us in God’s Paradise (Rom. 8:18).

65.Bold_Heart

It’s not at all close to an even exchange.

So, what’s holding us back? Let’s “pray up” and go boldly, letting our light shine in a darkened world, that others may see our good works and give the glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

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PRAYER: Our merciful and mighty Father, give us boldness to proclaim Your love and mercy to a world lost in darkness and sin. Give us hearts, O LORD, that live for You and honor You in our speech, actions, and thoughts. Through Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen

QUESTIONS:

Do you feel a sense of dread and helplessness when you sense a moment coming when you might be called upon to offer a word of encouragement from the Lord, to share part of your testimony, to tell someone the life changing impact the Holy Spirit has had on your life?
Do you feel in those moments you could just take a breath, pray to the Lord quickly and silently to give you the words, and then trust that He will?
In those moments, are you — be truthful now — more apprehensive of what your companion (friend, family member, neighbor, co-worker) might say about you than you are what Jesus Christ might think? Are you aware that in Luke 9:26, He said He will be ashamed before His Father of those who were ashamed of Him on earth? Does that change your response?