Courageous for Jesus

What if we were really all in for Jesus?  What if we truly made Jesus number one in our lives and hearts and souls?  What if we were radical in our expression of Jesus to others, Jesus freaks, so to speak?  Would it ever be said of us today, what was said of Paul and Silas in Acts 17:6?  "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”  Would we ever be accused of turning our hands, much less the world upside down?

I need to share a personal story that I think will inspire, and then I have a challenge for all of us.  Last night a friend and I went out to eat and I was to pick the place.  That’s never one of my favorite things, picking the place to eat, but I chose a local Mexican restaurant and we were seated in a booth.  The waiter was friendly and had a smile, but we could tell spoke little English.  We sat and discussed matters of God and other things pertaining to our lives, and were finishing our meal.  I ashamedly say that my friend, not I, determined to be bold and mention God and Jesus to our waiter.  He had a card that read, “God is good all the time and all the time God is good.”  Some of you may recognize that as a card.  My friend gave him the card and asked him to come to church with us.  We explained that we were Christians and worshipped at the Beltline Church of Christ.  Our Waiter went on to ask if it was the one across from Martins. We, of course, said yes.  Guess what?  He had been coming to worship with our Hispanic congregation, but work had pulled him away.  We talked a little more and went our separate ways, for now.  Let me ask you, was that coincidence or was that God?  I will boldly submit to you that that was our divine appointment that we would have probably have missed had my friend not decided to pull out one of those cards.  How many of those do you miss each day?  I am quite sure I miss many.  Now let’s get to the challenge.

I am going to resolve starting today to tell at least one person about Jesus every day for 30 days.  I am going to be courageous with my expression of Jesus in my life.  Who will join me?  Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:7, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” That’s just as true today as it was 2000 years ago.  We must just tap into that power that is so freely offered to those who will step out and step up for the Lord.  If you will take this “Courageous for Jesus” challenge please email me your desire and commitment to ricktalley01@gmail.com.  I would also love to share some of your stories if you would email those to me as well.  Let’s all band together and turn the world upside down again!

God Bless!