Live for the rejection

The world of the Christian faith swirls with simple truths emanating from the Word of God.

One of the more difficult things for Christians, like most people, is speaking in front of strangers. This fear is pervasive, especially now in a culture where people think an emoji is a complete conversation.

As believers, overcoming fear follows a simple solution – love those who don’t know Christ more than we love ourselves. Let your love fuel your boldness.

Acts 4:13 and 29 (NKJV) – 13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” … 29 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word…”

You have Jesus with you thanks to His salvation. Christ not only lived the example of loving others, He commanded us to love one another as we love ourselves, and as He loved us.

Who can you love today, and let Christ’s boldness live through you?

Now, disciple…

3 Questions for now

Unsure of how to initiate the boldness Christ has given you?

Here are three questions to help you boldly love another, when you ask them:

· What role does spirituality play in your life, if any?

· How do you find peace in times of stress or difficulty?

· Have you ever felt like you were looking for something more in life?

Read these several times and remember them as best you can.

Then, at your next “now” opportunity, ask one and follow the Lord’s lead.

Be kind. Love them. Be bold.

Shawn’s noodling rant:

(“Noodling” is a term I swiped from my mentor. The meaning is to “ponder” or “think deeply about” a topic that God is challenging us with through scripture or the Holy Spirit, or both.)

Faith scares fear away from believers

My journey right now is managing life as it has happened and striving to focus on God’s direction, His commands, that will lead me to my next stage in life.

I’m hungry to do more for Him. My drive to do more for Him is growing to the point of being exhausting, overwhelming.

And I love it. And I want more of it.

But I, too, suffer from fear. I am bold in my career to the point of annoyance to fellow workers in the field. But when I see that opportunity to share the Word there always seems to be a misstep, or at least what I perceive as a misstep.

I get too busy, and the career demands override the Gospel-sharing opportunities. I look back and say to myself, “Ugh. I should have seen that opportunity.” So, I reboot my attention – with some prayer mixed in – regularly throughout the day to rein in my focus. The battle to focus and sense those opportunities is real and takes place every hour of every day.

Too often I can feel myself slipping back into a fearful state from which I suffered for so many years when I was younger. And then, as He always does, the Lord puts a word of guidance in my path.

Recently an old saying was brought to my attention (you can’t escape God’s insights even when scrolling endlessly through social media) and I wrote it down in my idea journal. The social media algorithms may never bring up this insight again, but I captured it in writing.

This old saying is worth repeating, worth rereading along the journey through this life.

“Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And there was no one there.”

Love a lost person today.

And be bold, disciple.