Day 14 - Week 2 Day 7 Called to Be Bold

 Today's reading

Genesis 24:15-61
Psalms 13
Isaiah 11
Matthew 10:24 - end of 10

Thoughts for the day

    1 - Abraham's servant speaks his purpose boldly, and by the end of todays reading, Genesis 24:61, Rebekah is on her way with the servant.  Just one thing is obvious to me in this section is when God has a plan, the plan get's accomplished.  A comfort in this day and age with "wars and rumours of wars" is that God has a plan.
   
     2 - Talking about God's plan being accomplished, when we look at Isaiah 11, once again we are told about Jesus coming.  This part of the plan is complete.  The description of Jesus is amazing but I LOVE the following:
  • The spirit of the Lord will rest on Him
  • The spirit of wisdom and understanding
  • The spirit of counsel and strength,
  • The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord
WOW, that's an incredible description and we have access to all that.

    As we read on there is the remainder of the plan that Isaiah prophecies and this is where we see a time of peace.  This is still to come!!  "The wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat....The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra and the weaned child will put his hand in the viper's den" then in verse 10, "The nations will resort to the root of Jesse(Jesus)".
    
    3-After understanding what we read in point 2, Jesus explains what he is calling his disciples to do.  He's telling us to boldly speak of Him.  
  • Matthew 10:26 "Therefore do not fear them"
  • 10:27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light"
  • "what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops"
  • 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul: rather fear him  who is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell."
    There is so much more in this section but this is important.  Jesus says in verses 32 through 34 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven, But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.  Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

    I'm hearing that I need to be bold.  I am not a bold person!!!  That statement may confuse you since I am writing this blog.  Well, this is pretty safe isn't it?  I can write and if you don't like what I say, you can ignore it.  Every time I'm confronted with an opportunity to speak Jesus truth to others, face to face, I am full of fear.  I had a former work colleague who went on a vacation to Malta.  He knew I was a Jesus follower so he said when he returned that he saw all the places where my buddy Paul hung out.  He even knew some of the stories we hear from in the Bible book of Acts.  My heart went in to fear mode!  I knew this person would classify himself as an atheist or agnostic and here was an opportunity to shift the conversation to Jesus.  Well what happened was amazing, Jesus stepped in, through His Spirit, and I was able to boldly speak what Jesus put in my mouth and managed to talk about why Paul was there and how the story relates to what I believe.  I didn't know how my colleague would respond but he listened and took it in.  Did he become a Jesus follower? No, but another seed was planted, or watered.  I am looking forward to the day when that former colleague meets Jesus.

    The Lesson?

    Jesus wants us to be bold but He is there with us!  His Spirit speaks through us.  When Jesus followers have been martyred, Jesus has been with them.  I'm not likely to be martyred here in Canada so at least I can be bold to speak Jesus since He is with me.

Comments

  1. Sylvia Pauls8 January 2026 at 11:46

    "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" 1Peter 3:15 comes to my mind. Being bold in witness this way needs to be taught and practiced in Christian circles as I've experienced both sides of this coin over the years: either silence when questions are raised, or hammer-bashing, patronizing responses to questions about our hope in Jesus. There's not a lot of gentleness and respect in this world but it should be a given, that these traits can be seen in Jesus followers on a regular basis.
    Thanks for stepping out in the power and love of the Holy Spirit, Steve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve Pauls - Daily Readings and Thoughts8 January 2026 at 12:12

      There are definitely ways in which boldness is not helpful. Boldness in the love that Jesus tells us to use, is boldness that may hurt deeply but also provides spiritual healing. That is never accomplished by "hammer-bashing".

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