We can speak up boldly about God and His work in the face of difficult situations. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. (Acts 9:28 NIV) Allow me to set the stage: the time Saul was living was probably not a lot different than the one we’re living in now. I’m not talking about socio-culuturally. I’m referring to the religio-political context. Saul was living in Jerusalem in a time where speaking out and speaking for something other than the accepted religion was reason and cause for an assassination conspiracy. I know you history buffs are saying that in Saul’s time there was relative peace in the Roman Empire and that they fostered diversity through assimilation into the Roman way of doing things, etc, etc. Yet that argument sounds so strangely odd. In fact, it sounds a little like the United States of America! You see, in our age and day, we find ourselves in a context where if we speak up and for our Christian beliefs, we are ostracized and/or persecuted for having a different opinion on morality than our countrymen who believe in the religion of tolerance and relativism. I’ll be the first to tell you that Christians, historically, have been the worst offenders of humanity and morality when in the majority; but I will also tell you that the religion of today’s society is utterly more dangerous in that it attempts to nullify the essence of religion in the name of political correctness. If only these pundits and psuedo-intellectual speaking heads would recognize their blindness as the horrific two headed dragon they condemn Christ followers to be, then maybe there can be a conversation and dialogue. However, I’m not here to talk about things we cannot control in our society. Likewise, I’m not talking about even having conversations that are controversial. I’m simply talking about speaking boldly about what you believe and in whom you believe in the face of people telling you what you should or shouldn’t believe and educating people (not contemptuously) about why you believe in Jesus. I want to point out something we can all do to speak up for what we believe. When we read the passage today, we find Saul being able to boldly speak up to his conversion and about Jesus. What we see is that he is able to do so because God and His power gives Saul the ability to speak through his past experiences. Moreover, Saul found a community by which he rely on in the face of difficult situations and conversations. The question is whether we have a community and a faith that Saul displays in this situation? The answer is probably no. The answer is “no” because we don’t want the community, most often times; and because we’d rather not talk about our experiences with God. Right now is a time where there are plenty of opportunities to speak boldly about and for God. I want you to decide how you will speak up in just one situation. Then we’ll work from there. Move freely and speak boldly about Jesus. People want to hear you speak, so dare to speak up. Part 2 of our VBS quiet time devotionals.
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