6^th June

“‘After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

Acts 4:31

Imagine a world where it is illegal to talk about Jesus, worship Him and even mention His Name. For some across the world today, this is a reality; just like it was in Peter’s time after Jesus’ resurrection. The Christians were being fiercely persecuted, constantly imprisoned and often beaten for sharing the truth about Jesus. It seems un-thinkable to think that people would want the truth of Jesus’ love and mercy to be kept quiet, yet this was the harsh reality for the early church, and still is for some Christians around the world today.

So if the church was caught up in such a fierce persecution, then how did the Good News of Jesus Christ spread across the world? The answer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through His bold disciples. When you look at Peter’s life before Jesus’ death, boldness wouldn’t be an adjective used to describe his character. When faced with persecution, in the form of those asking if he had known Jesus, he blatantly denied even knowing Jesus. Yet just a few chapters on, in the book of Acts, we see him boldly preaching the word of God to crowds of over 3000, in the face of persecution and despite being hunted down by the enemies of the church. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is life changing. He gives us supernatural giftings to do things we humanly wouldn’t be able to do, until we are doing them so much, that it starts to become our character.

Being brave in the Spirit doesn’t mean that you’re not afraid, Peter probably still was. It simply means that you don’t let fear stop you from doing what God has called you to do, because you know that He has equipped you and is with you. Be empowered. Be brave.