Speaking Boldly About Our Hope
Picture this: Jesus had lived, died, and risen again. Some of His closest friends—Peter and John—were telling everyone about this miracle they had witnessed. They even performed some astonishing miracles in Christ’s name, like healing a beggar who’d been crippled from birth.
Thousands of people believed Peter and John’s testimonies about Jesus, but many of the religious leaders did not. In fact, in their eyes, such messages and miracles were dangerous, so they had Peter and John arrested.
But after they had served their sentences, Peter and John went back to the other believers, doing what was natural to them—praying bold prayers and trusting in God. Acts 4:31 tells us that “...when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Peter and John were in the habit of gathering together with other believers, praying together with other believers, and speaking boldly about the Word of God. As they did these things, the Holy Spirit filled them with the supernatural power of God.
Like Peter and John, who faced tons of opposition for their faith, we can keep trusting in and walking with God. We can keep gathering together with like-minded believers. We can keep praying bold prayers that can’t be accomplished on our own. We can keep speaking boldly about the hope we have in Jesus.
And as we do that, God’s Spirit will fill us and guide us every step of the way.
The Only Way
It’s common in today’s culture for people to believe that all roads—various religions or belief systems—lead to God.
While this way of thinking is widely accepted, it does not agree with what Jesus says in John 14:6. Jesus says that He is the only way to God, and no one can come to the Father unless they come through Him.
Jesus also says that He is the Truth, which means that all other truths must be measured against Him. He is objective truth. In other words: Jesus is the standard by which we can judge the rest of the world’s truth claims.
Lastly, Jesus says He is the Life. This means that it’s only through Jesus that we find true and eternal life. True life comes from following Jesus’ words and His path for our life.
A true and meaningful life begins with knowing Jesus. He alone has access to the good life that God intended us to live, as well as eternity with Him in heaven.
Spend a moment thanking Jesus for revealing the true path to life and salvation, and ...