2007.11.Fear Not

I am challenged as I read through Acts. In Acts 4 the apostles Peter and John are persecuted for proclaiming the truth of Jesus and then let go. After they are released they return to the body and pray for boldness to speak His words and they ask God to heal and perform signs and wonders through Jesus. And after they prayed these things the earth was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. They prayed for more boldness with the full knowledge that speaking and performing signs in the name of Jesus Christ could bring on more persecution and even death to their lives.

This passage has challenged me greatly because I do not often pray for boldness to speak of God. I become content with praying for protection or asking God to just keep us safe where we are. This obviously isn’t the greatest attitude if we are trying to take new ground for Jesus Christ. My director has challenged us to really focus on what we are trying to accomplish here at the University of Oregon. We could be satisfied with just gathering those who are believers and not be bothered about those who need to hear the Gospel.

Fortunately God has called us to go and make disciples of all nations. It has become clear that we need to encourage one another to pray and speak with boldness no matter the consequences. It has been good to ask God for boldness and seek what we have asked for together.

One student, Jayson, has been a part of our Asian-American ministry Epic for three years now. He is not the most outgoing of men but God has given him a heart and excitement for those students who don’t know Him. The Vietnamese Student Association is known for having a rowdy bunch. Jayson and I were a little nervous about presenting our purpose to the group but we knew that it is a significant place that we could reach out to lost Asian Americans. We prayed that God would give us favor as we spoke with the students and that God would lead us to students who might be searching for Him. We presented our ministry and gave opportunities for those who wanted to hear more about Christ. We praised God for the response we received and the chance to offer Jesus to them. I am encouraged to minister with Jayson and see him grow in His trust of the Lord in situations where God must show His power in Jayson’s weaknesses.

I believe God wants us to continue to trust Him for new ground. It is easy for us to be discouraged, but we must look to Christ who does not change and look to Him for our strength. Thank you for your prayers and support that enable us to minister for Christ’s name sake,