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a well lived bland life
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Boldness
I just got done going through an in-depth study of the book of Acts and one of the principles that really stuck out to me was boldness. I really admired the boldness of the disciples and Paul especially when rebuking others or in the face of death.
A couple examples that really stuck out to me:
"Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.' 24And Simon answered, 'Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.'"
Acts 8:18-24
Simon was a man who practised sorcery and when he saw the power that the disciples possessed by laying hands on new believers he wanted to buy this power with silver. I really like the way that Peter handled this situation, he wasn't about to let someone defile the power of the spirit by thinking they could buy it. Peter knew that Simon had no idea, and he rebuked him quite harshly calling him the gall of bitterness, he was ruining the bonds of brotherhood among the believers. He soured the community by defiling the spirit.
"The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, 'It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.'"
Acts 13:44-46
This is one of my favorite verses, Paul and Barnabas are standing in front of the whole city of Antioch in Psidia which included many Jews, and they spoke boldly to them telling them that the same God they had worshipped their entire lives counted them as unworthy of eternal life. To stand in front of one let alone a whole mob of and tell them this takes....boldness.
"But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch."
Acts 14:19-21
(Other references to boldness: Acts 2:14-41, 3:12-26, 4:8-4:12, 4:19-20, 4:29, 4:33, 5:29-32, 5:41-42, 7:2-53, 7:56, 8:4-8, 8:12, 8:25, 8:27-35, 9:20-22, 9:28-29, 9:32-35, 10:34-43, 11:19-21, 13:5, 13:8-12, 13:14-41, 13:46-47, 13:51, 14:1-2, 14:7, 14:21, 16:13, 16:31-32, 17:2-3, 17:10, 17:17, 17:22-31, 18:4-5, 18:19, 18:28, 19:8, 22:3-21, 24:14-21, 24:24-25, 26:2-23, 26:25-27, 26:29, 28:17-20, 28:23-28)
Boldness played a key role in the explosive expansion of the Church in the first couple centuries in which the Church spread from one church to many churches spread throughout the entire Roman Empire. Being bold I believe is less common in our culture. Speaking boldly or passionate about something, especially faith, can be seen today as closed-minded, intolerant, and judgemental. I think that we should take note from Paul and the other disciples from the first century church. If we confidently stood up for our beliefs in the face of persecution and especially when a fellow believer is falling from faith or souring the community of God, we may be able to protect the Name of our God instead of His name being drug through the dirt by Christians caught in the latest scandal.
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Blando's Blog
Disciple of Christ, Husband, Father, and IT-guy.
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