"Don't be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and He will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted and courageous. Yes, wait and He will help you" (Psalm 27:14).
Our surveys of hundreds of thousands of Christians throughout the world indicate that most Christians do not witness because of their fear. Even Timothy seems to have had the same problem.
His father in the faith, the apostle Paul, reminded him, as recorded in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (KJV). That is the reason our Lord promised, in Acts 1:8, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses" (KJV).
The Holy Spirit is the only one who can enable us to overcome fear. So, as we claim the promises of God and appropriate the fullness and power of His Holy Spirit, we can know that courage.
A Japanese schoolboy once showed his courage in a way that puts many of us to shame.
"He belonged to a school in Nagasaki containing 150 boys, and he was the only Christian among them all. He brought his lunch to school, as he lived at a distance, and he dared to fold his hands and ask a blessing every day before he ate.
He had some enemies among the boys who went to the master of the school and accused him of 'doing something in the way of magic' The master thereupon called the lad before the school and asked him what he had been doing.
"The little fellow spoke up bravely, explaining that he was a Christian, and that he had been thanking God and asking Him to bless the food. At once the master burst into tears, putting his head down on the desk.
"'My boy,' he said, 'I too am a Christian; but I was afraid to tell anyone. Now, with God's help I will try to live as a Christian ought to live.' "
TODAY'S ACTION POINT: Today I shall, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, be brave, stouthearted and courageous as I go forth to tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ.
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