Boldness

I am thinking about boldness today and hope this devotional gives you
a better understanding of boldness and motivates you to be brave.

Boldness

"The wicked flee when no one pursues,
But the righteous are bold as lions."

(Proverbs 28:1)

I am thinking about boldness today and hope this devotional gives you a better understanding of boldness and motivates you to be brave. Often when we think of the word "bold", our minds go to those daring souls that stand strong even in the face of death. That surely is a valid definition of what it means to be bold. We all know or have read about people like this. They have no fear. They put their lives in harm's way and do not think twice about it. I have much respect and admiration for people like that. The men and women in our military as well as those who serve as police officers are brave souls. Fear may creep into the very core of their being, but they do not allow it to paralyze them. Like a lion, they step forward with boldness when called upon.

Iranian Christians and close friends, Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, are portraits of boldness and inspiration. They testified for Christ even though it proved costly. Their story is a powerful one. They were arrested March 5, 2009, and placed in Iran's notorious Evin Prison for 259 days. They suffered greatly for their faith but remained strong in their allegiance to Christ. During their interrogation, they confessed they were followers of Christ, and they had no regrets. They said God convicted them by His Holy Spirit, but they were told by the authorities that God did not speak to humans. They were not worthy of God to speak to them, and Marzieh replied, "It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy."

Rostampour said, "At first we were praying for our release. But after a few days we realized that by meeting other women in the prison - some who were homeless or addicts - God had given us an opportunity to share the message of Christianity with people who needed to hear it the most." Emily Judd writes, "In the three years before their imprisonment, Rostampour and Amirizadeh had held church services in their apartment in Tehran and distributed over 20,000 Bibles to Iranians. Both acts are illegal under Iranian law."

"My message to the Iranian regime is: you can't suppress 80 million people. You can't prosecute everyone against you in Iran. There aren't enough prisons for that," said Amirizadeh. "We believe that one day Iran will be a free country," added Rostampour. (Today, both women are free and live in the USA.)

(See source 1 and source 2.)

I want to address another realm of boldness with you: the boldness to stand for what is right even if your life is not on the line. You and I in the USA most likely will not be martyred for our faith in Jesus. We will, however, have opportunities daily to share Christ and live for Him, or to deny Him instead. I am praying for you who read today's devotional (as I am praying for myself), that you would be bold for Christ. I pray that you will testify for Christ and live for Him even though you may be the only one in your family or workplace to do so.

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Helping the Destitute and Transforming a
Nation with Christ's Love, with Fred Eppright

Pastor Danny welcomes to the show Fred Eppright of the Baptist Haiti Mission and the IMPACTcares Foundation. Fred shares the story of the Baptist Haiti Mission and how he and his son, Matt, got involved. Fred, Matt, and their partners at the BHM are doing truly powerful, invaluable work. We think you will be blessed to hear about what they are doing and perhaps be interested in partnering with them in their ministry.

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