Last weekend, I had the privilege of speaking twice at “The Gathering for Men”, joining over 1,500 guys (including 17 from Zeo) in a field in Swindon.
I want to briefly share my key message from Sunday morning which was rooted in Proverbs 28:1…
“…the righteous are as bold as lions.”
The story of the Bible reminds us that we are all created in the image of God. There’s something of the divine reflected in and through us.
In Revelation 5:1-5 we’re told that God is a lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah – his life roars with boldness and courage, love and power, justice and goodness. And because He is like that, you and I were created to be like that too as His image-bearers – you were made to be as bold as a lion.
The whole of the Bible is filled with stories of boldness, although these stories are not about spiritual superheroes who were never afraid or anxious. These are stories about people whose courage and confidence, even though wavering at times, were in God.
Boldness is not the absence of fear and anxiety, but the presence of confidence and courage in God.
In Acts 4, Peter and John have been hauled up before the authorities who are threatening their Christ-preaching, Presence-carrying passion. In Acts 4:13, we read this…
“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness…”
The Greek word for boldness here speaks about a strong inner confidence and courage because you KNOW what you’re talking about and living out. Peter and John didn’t know about Jesus, they knew HIM – Jesus’ life was at work in them through the power of the Holy Spirit and that was the source of their courage – Christ IN them and WITH them.
Let’s continue to invite the Holy Spirit to fill us every day with the courage and confidence of Christ so that we can roar the good news of Heaven through our words and actions wherever we go.
Cheering and praying for you
Blessings
