As I was reading Acts 5 this morning, the last two verses stuck out to me. I read them, then reread them, then read them again.
Acts 5:41-42 says,
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."
Now the big shots and the Pharisees are saying, Peter, you better stop talking about Jesus. He is imprisoned, beaten, and threatened with death. What does he do? REJOICES! How cool is that? I mean, there he was basically being told that if he continues preaching the gospel, he's going to be murdered. Instead of running away scared, (lets be honest, most of us would), he praises Jesus and continues to spread abroad the glorious message of Christ.
I look at my life and think, how many times have I refrained from witnessing because I was scared what peope would do to me? Going to public school, I had lots of chances to share Jesus with people, and some of those opportunities were left behind because I was worried I would be made fun of or bullied or picked on for my faith. Never once was I beaten, never once was my life threatened.
After I found these verses, I texted my brother and told him how awesome I thought this was. Here was his response: "That's directly reflecting Jesus himself. Even while Jesus was enduring probably one of the worst punishments anyone has ever received, He was still praising God's name and asking Him to forgive the other people. No concern for himself at all." This is so unbelievably true, because even when He was marred belief, despised and rejected, He was still glorifying God's name until His final breath.
I literally can't fathom how cool Peter is to have"counted himself worthy to suffer shame for His name. Do we thank God when we are picked on for our faith in Christ, or do we never share His name for fear of mockery? I don't know about you, but I think I'll remember this passage for a long while. The next time I feel scared to share the truth of the hope that is within me because I'm worried what society will say, I will remember Peter and how even when his life was on the line, he ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
What a cool lesson.
Acts 5:41-42 says,
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."
Now the big shots and the Pharisees are saying, Peter, you better stop talking about Jesus. He is imprisoned, beaten, and threatened with death. What does he do? REJOICES! How cool is that? I mean, there he was basically being told that if he continues preaching the gospel, he's going to be murdered. Instead of running away scared, (lets be honest, most of us would), he praises Jesus and continues to spread abroad the glorious message of Christ.
I look at my life and think, how many times have I refrained from witnessing because I was scared what peope would do to me? Going to public school, I had lots of chances to share Jesus with people, and some of those opportunities were left behind because I was worried I would be made fun of or bullied or picked on for my faith. Never once was I beaten, never once was my life threatened.
After I found these verses, I texted my brother and told him how awesome I thought this was. Here was his response: "That's directly reflecting Jesus himself. Even while Jesus was enduring probably one of the worst punishments anyone has ever received, He was still praising God's name and asking Him to forgive the other people. No concern for himself at all." This is so unbelievably true, because even when He was marred belief, despised and rejected, He was still glorifying God's name until His final breath.
I literally can't fathom how cool Peter is to have"counted himself worthy to suffer shame for His name. Do we thank God when we are picked on for our faith in Christ, or do we never share His name for fear of mockery? I don't know about you, but I think I'll remember this passage for a long while. The next time I feel scared to share the truth of the hope that is within me because I'm worried what society will say, I will remember Peter and how even when his life was on the line, he ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
What a cool lesson.