In a world where our faith in Christ is being tested, ridiculed and opposed, many Christians shrink back from boldly standing up and openly speaking out for Him. All Christ-followers know that nothing should ever cause them to shrink back, curl into a ball or hide in a cave.
Rather, our faith in Christ must push and propel us to spread His truth, speak His life into those who don't have it, and be His hands and feet in this generation and for generations to come.
You must realise that God won't do your part for you.
Christ is already finished with His earthly ministry, and has commissioned all of us Christians, big or small, poor or rich, male or female, into the noble and all-consuming yet fulfilling task of going into all nations to preach the gospel into all creation, making disciples of those who will believe, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then teaching them to observe all that He has taught us. It's our time to do what we were born again to do: to live for Him who died for us (see Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-19).
Are you praying for boldness and strength to speak out for Christ? Here are some Bible verses you can draw strength from.
Matthew 10:20 (Jesus) – "For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
Mark 8:38 (Jesus) – "Whoever therefore is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (see also Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26).
Romans 1:16 – "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
2 Corinthians 5:11-15 – "Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too ... Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them."
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 – "And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."
