Bold Faith
Salvation is found in no one else. Acts 4:12
READ Acts 4:8–13
After Prem Pradhan’s (1924–1998) plane was
shot down during World War II, he was wounded while parachuting to
safety. As a result, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He
once noted, “I have a lame leg. Isn’t it strange of God that He called
[me] to preach the gospel in the Himalaya Mountains?” And preach in
Nepal he did—but not without opposition that included imprisonment in
“dungeons of death” where prisoners faced extreme conditions. In a span
of fifteen years, Prem spent ten years in fourteen different prisons.
His bold witness, however, bore the fruit of changed lives for Christ
that included guards and prisoners who took the message of Jesus to
their own people.
The apostle Peter faced opposition due to his faith in Jesus and for
being used by God to heal a “man who was lame” (Acts 4:9). But he used
the opportunity to boldly speak for Christ (vv. 8–13).
Today, like Peter, we too may face opposition (v. 3), yet we have
family members, co-workers, fellow students, and others we know who
desperately need to hear about the One in whom “salvation is found” (v.
12), who died as payment for our sins and was raised from the dead as
proof of His power to forgive (v. 10). May they hear as we prayerfully
and boldly proclaim this good news of salvation found in Jesus.
By Arthur Jackson |
How will you boldly share Jesus today? What keeps you from telling others about Him? How can you be better prepared to do so?
Father, thank You for what You’ve done for me. Help me, in Jesus’ name, to boldly share my faith with others. | | | | |
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The word translated “unschooled” in Acts
4:13 is unique in the New Testament and is used only in this verse. In
the original language, the word means “without letters, illiterate,
without learning.” Peter and John were perceived by the religious
leaders as being “unversed in the learning of the Jewish schools” (Greek
dictionary). They were also referred to as “ordinary men,” a reference
to a private person, one without the kind of knowledge or education that
would be useful in the public square. In the minds of the religious
elite, the apostles were “regular Joes.” But what they did possess—the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit (v. 8)—more than compensated for their
lack of formal religious training or sophistication. The Spirit
continues to fill and embolden believers in Jesus today to proclaim His
death and resurrection—even to those who reject Him (v. 11).
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