Devotional - July 11, 2004

A prisoner of Rome and about to be killed for preaching Jesus, Paul spent his last two years doing what he wanted to do: preaching Jesus. His death was imminent, but until then he used what time he had witnessing to the lost and encouraging those who were saved.

Having boldness is something that's easy when there's no apparent danger. But having it it in the face of persecution and prosecution is another matter altogether. Paul got in trouble for doing what God told him to do. It's true that God intervened to miraculously keep him alive more than once, but it's also true Paul could have played by the rules the Pharisees set and probably lived a lot longer. But Paul chose to aggressively preach, rather than passively "manage" the Gospel while carefully avoiding confrontation.

These days, the degree of boldness in preaching is measured by how much inconvenience is encountered. But, in the first century, it was measured by how many preachers lost their life as a result of ignoring the threat of those to whom they preached. Acts 4:29 implies these martyrs looked at a threat as a invitation to turn up the heat in spite of the possible price for doing so.

The summer Olympics are approaching and we'll probably see some amazing athletes set records in the swimming events in Athens. But if you really want to see a fast backstroke, try asking a pastor to compare his ministry" against that of Paul and the apostles. In record time, he'll likely bristle and explain why God can't do for this generation what He did back then. I often wonder what it will be like in heaven when our generation of preachers meets those of the first century.

Have you wondered where boldness comes from? The writer of Proverbs said, "It's not good to have zeal without knowledge," but isn't the opposite true of this generation? We have knowledge without zeal. The Bible is taught everywhere: television, radio, Internet, magazine, crusade and seminar. The teachers who do it may be educated and great communicators. But what return has it given us if we continue to soak up knowledge and never have any zeal? (Pro 19:1)

A person can have more degrees than a thermometer but if the result of his ministry is only education, he's nothing more than ignorant smart person. That's someone who knows a lot, but does nothing with his knowledge but attempt to educate someone else to do something.

May we learn what Paul did. He saw the threat, considered the price to be paid and then used his knowledge to loudly proclaim the Gospel without fear. In the slang of our generation, Paul could have said to those who threatened him, "Bring it!" May we learn a lesson from him and become bold while we have time.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( 1 Ch. 11:1-12:18 Ac. 28:1-31 Ps. 9:1-12 Pr. 19:1-3 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society