The early church didn’t pray for “divine appointments;” they prayed for boldness. God’s kingdom can only be established by faithful and courageous people. (Full text)

I, for one, want God’s Kingdom to advance on Earth and not only that: I want to be a part of it. But I also, very often, feel weak and unable to be strong.

I think it is probably human nature to be cowardly. It’s easy and it’s natural to avoid confrontation and be silent when something needs to be said. It’s hard to take risks, it’s hard to put yourself out there and be exposed to the possibility of rejection.

How then can we be “faithful, courageous people”? How can we be bold to speak the truth?

Paul, in his letter to Timothy, wrote these words, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.” (1 Timothy 1:7-8a, NLT)

In Acts 1:8, Jesus told his early followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere[...]”

The answer is that we become bold, courageous people not when we develop more will-power, but when we yield to and have greater faith in God’s Holy Spirit within us.

This process seems somewhat esoterical, but it really isn’t. In my experience, walking in the Holy Spirit by faith simply means we say, “God, you have given me boldness so I will live boldly. You have given me courage, so I will have courage.” Then, when we in faith take that first step of boldness or that first step of courage God comes through and empowers us to follow through.

2 Corinthians 12:9 is encouraging to me as I work through these things myself. God told Paul as he wrestled with his weakness that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” As I am weak, it gives God opportunity to show His power in me. And that is a really beautiful thing.

1 Corinthians 10:24
“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”

So, I read this this morning and have a few thoughts on it.

As Christians, it is now our charge to live totally for others. First for God, and subsequently, as stated here, for those we are around—our “neighbors”.

Part of why this hit me so poignantly this morning is because of a book I’m reading right now. I’m reading Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. It’s really an awesome book. I can’t quite say enough good things about it. I can’t go into tons of detail, because he says it all much better than I could, but one of the big themes in the book is something like this: God has changed our hearts and given us passion and desires that align with His passion and desires so that we would pursue those things. Therefore, if God doesn’t say, “no”, then go and change the world with the things he’s laid on your heart.

He was reflecting on what gives us the ability to do this, and he wrote something like this (sorry, I don’t have the book with me right now and can’t quote it exactly): “I want what I give to define my life.”

I’ve been really thinking about this a lot. I want what I give to be what defines me. I don’t want to seek to gain anything, but rather only to give. I will gain a great deal, I am confident, because God promises it. But where do my goals lie? In gaining or in giving? One will breed a productive life, the other will hold us back from finding true life.

Take a peek at Luke 17:33 “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”

As a Christian, a few things in my thinking have been completely changed. One of the most prominent is that I have come to believe the simple truth that in all things there is meaning. Read a Psalm like 33, and it becomes overwhelmingly clear and God is ruler of all things. All things are, ultimately, in submission to Him. The Bible also makes very clear that God is loving. If these two things are true—that God is loving and powerful—there has to be meaning in everything. In His love, he couldn’t let random bad stuff happen; he couldn’t let random meaningless stuff to happen. It wouldn’t be loving. Now, there are bad things that happen and there are things that seem meaningless, but, the reality is that God works good out of all things—the “bad” and meaningless included (Rom 8:28).

Beyond being able to have this confidence that things have meaning, as a Christian, also, I have come to accept my God-given purpose here on the Earth. Jesus, before he ascended into heaven, commanded his followers to tell everyone in the world the truth that they could be forgiven of their sins if they would turn to Jesus and accept his forgiveness, not relying on their own works for salvation, but rather on the simple mercy of God.

This calling to spread good news that people can be saved is a very high one. It matters on Earth but it matters for all of eternity, as well. No job, mission, or cause other than this one has any effect after this existence. They are all foolishness when put up against eternity.

To me, having a mission that does matter beyond my own life and into eternity is thrilling. I can get up on a rainy day and go to a job that isn’t always super exciting and still be filled with joy and purpose knowing that I am living for something that truly matters.

1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

There is hope and there is purpose in life because Jesus Christ will come back and save those who are trusting in Him.

I love this!