When Peter and John were arrested in Acts Chapter 4 for proclaiming the gospel which resulted in about 5,000 men hearing the message and believing, the Sanhedrin tried to figure out what they were going to do to these men. They "ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18). Both men responded by saying "Whether it's right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19-20).
Both Peter and John were released after being threatened because the Sanhedrin "found no way to punish them b/c the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done" (Acts 4:21). After being released, they both shared with their people what had happened and "they all raised their voices to God." They proceeded to pray to speak His "message with complete boldness." After they prayed "the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness" (Acts 4:31). Let's pray today to be bold to proclaim the good news of the gospel!
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (2 Cor. 3:5)
"Set yourself a goal that you've just got to reach. Then build under it the fire of anticipation and keep it burning. That goal will keep beckoning. And when you reach your goal still new goals will succeed it. These are the self-perpetuating motivators of enthusiasm." (Positive Thinking Every by Norman Vincent Peale)
Have a great day!
-Miguel R. Viera
Executive Director at Family Ministries of America
Visit familyministriesofamerica.com to see how communities are being impacted for Christ. If you, your church or company are interested in getting involved in community outreach, let's talk about ministry opportunities in your area.
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about my new book "Mission Minded in the Workplace: Illuminating the fruit of the Spirit" at missionmindedworkplace.com