“Take Courage” as the call of Jesus…..not “play is safe and prosper”
Acts 23:11
S—The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
H—Paul has just testified about the resurrection through Jesus Christ in Jerusalem in front of the Sanhedrin and caused an uproar. There is also a plot out to take his life as he returns for more questioning. That night Jesus comes to him in prison and basically says, “man up, its not over yet and in fact I need you to do the same thing in Rome; I need you to give your testimony there too that my message might be proclaimed.” Little does Paul know that it is in Rome where he will be killed for being a follower of Jesus. Its as if Jesus is saying, what is happening in Jerusalem is preparation for Rome and my task of you proclaiming my message is more important then your own safety and comfort because it is through your faithfulness that millions of people will be saved from hell and come to belief in me.
A—its impossible to read the new testament and think that being a follower of Jesus is just some new and easy way to live a prosperous and safe life. Why then is this the over all view of being a Christian in American culture. In fact, its just the opposite. In the new testament being a follower of Jesus means putting everything on the line for the sake of the vision and mission of Jesus. It takes the deepest kind of courage to stand in front of the Sanhedrin’s of our lives and proclaim Jesus. But yet this is the call upon our lives. Jesus is searching for and pleading with those that claim allegiance to Him to “man up” to “woman up” and take courage to stand up and proclaim this message of grace and forgiveness. Jesus is pleading with us to be like Paul and to realize that getting this message out is more important then the safety and prosperity of our own lives.
P—Jesus, I come to you this morning and feel this deep desire and calling to live into this verse today. I’m not sure exactly what that means for my life but I do hear your voice telling me to take courage and to continue proclaiming the message. So often I create outcomes in my head of what will happen when I proclaim your message and I repent of this sin. I pray you would free me from worrying about what others think and that you would inspire me to be solely about pleasing you. Please, give me opportunities to stand up today and proclaim your vision and mission to the world; grant me the courage to live this kind of life that sees proclaiming your vision and mission as more important then my own safety, comfort, and prosperity. Amen.
E—today I depend on God’s grace to give me the courage to be a proclaimer of Jesus and not a proclaimer of my own safety and comfort.
Peace from Pastor P
chadpullins@connect2crossroads.com; www.wedesiremore.com
I really enjoyed this. I needed it today cause I was so upset with something that I begain to get to myself and not talk to my co-workers. But I need to proclain Jesus’ message of LOVE and know that no matter what happens He is the most important person in my life and not my comfort. When it comes to Him and me…He is looking at how I respond and not the next person! GOD is in CONTROL if we allow Him to be and I do Jesus ..forgive me.
Thank you Jesus and Pastor P.
When I imagined a few years ago what my life would be like if I lived it expressly for Jesus, I thought he would send me into a mission field to be martyred, or ask me to preach to people who threw things at me, or something along those lines. What I didn’t expect was what I got. God took me from school and from jobs, even my ministries, and told me to just wait. So I have, much to the confusion to the people around me. I had no answer for my father when he asked me what my plan was. Whenever a friend or church member asked me “what I’m up to” there was the wave of internal embarrassment and the awkward muttering afterward. But God has been good and provided for me and I know He has something wonderful coming. The point is, I think, Sanhedrins come in all shapes and sizes. Thank you for the post. I would love it if you checked out my blog and tell me what you think,
Blessings!