| Subject: I am afraid |
Author:
Vicky
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Date Posted: 02:58:39 03/24/06 Fri
Good morning again y'all. My prayer this morning as I begin is that you will all have a wonderful weekend and that GOD will bless you with opportunities to share HIS love with others. I was back in Acts chapter four again this morning. You will remember from yesterday that Peter and John had been taken and put in jail for their part in the healing of the crippled man at the temple. Let's look at the WORD.
Let's look specifically at Acts 4:23, 24a, 29, & 31:
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to GOD.
Now, LORD, consider their threats and enable YOUR servants to speak YOUR WORD with great boldness.
After they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the HOLY SPIRIT and spoke the WORD of GOD boldly.
Let's think about this for just a minute. As I read this passage over many times this morning my heart thought the following: O FATHER, please shake me up so that you can use my life to honor YOU and to SPEAK YOUR WORD BOLDLY. These people got together and prayed and told GOD what HE already knew, asked GOD to endow them with HIS POWER, asked GOD to fill them with HIS BOLDNESS, and then they got busy doing the work GOD had called them to do. I will tell you that the LORD has been all over me this week about personal evangelism. Many times in the course of the week HE has pricked my heart and said to me, "Vick, OPEN YOUR MOUTH." I will tell you something that you might not know about me. I am so intimidated by people. If you know me personally you are probably sitting there thinking, "NO WAY." I don't appear to intimidated, but people scare me to death. This week, and again this morning MY FATHER has spoken again and again and has said to my heart, "Vicky, you are asking me to fill you with boldness, you are asking me to give you the WORDS to share...WOULD YOU PLEASE OPEN YOUR MOUTH." I have a couple of times this week handed someone a track, but I am scared to death to speak.
I have nothing to be afraid of...I have what a lost person needs. I have JESUS in my life. I have seen HIM do things in my life that most people never thought could be possible. I have seen HIM change my life. That is something to talk about...RIGHT?
And then this morning I come to Acts chapter four again and HE said to my heart, "VICKY, I have given you the POWER in the person of the HOLY SPIRIT who dwells inside of you. I have given you the WORDS to share. NOW YOU MUST step out in faith and open your mouth."
I have shared my heart with you this morning as honestly as I know how to. I don't ever want you to think that I don't struggle with the same things you struggle with. I don't believe that would be honest or right. I hope that in sharing with you my fear, you have been encouraged that it's OK to be scared if you will just keep stepping onto the next step. I learned something a few years ago, but along the way I have forgotten to live this principle out in relationship to sharing with others...If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain. Once I open my mouth and say the name of JESUS and begin to share HIS love with others then the fear of that moment will be gone. I will have done the thing I feared.
The Bible tells us that Peter and John and the people there got busy and went on sharing and talking to others about CHRIST...I wonder if maybe they weren't a little bit afraid. I think it's OK to be afraid, but it isn't OK to stop moving and allow the fear to paralyze us.
So, this morning as I close I ask you to pray for me in this regard. Pray that I will not allow intimidation to keep me from opening my mouth. I will pray this for you too. You see, I believe that there are people who only you can reach with the gospel; I believe that there are people that only I can reach. These peoples' blood will be on my hands if I fail to be faithful in sharing the LOVE OF CHRIST with them. Here's the thing...I don't know who they are, and because of that I must share at every opportunity. Pray that I will pay attention and take the opportunities as GOD gives them to me.
Y'all have a great weekend! Know that I have prayed for you and have asked GOD to fill you with HIS POWER and HIS BOLDNESS, as I have asked the same for myself.
ONLY and ALWAYS Because of JESUS-
Vicky
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