| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “What the world needs now” Our Bible verse for today: “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Bold doesn’t mean brash” It was a Sunday afternoon, shortly after lunch, and I was out in our neighborhood walking our three little dogs along the side of the road. Suddenly a car slowly rolled up and stopped alongside of us. The young man driving the car was dressed in a suit. Evidently, he was just coming from church. He rolled the window down and in a somewhat loud and slightly aggressive voice he said, “Hey brother, you need Jesus!” I was taken back a bit by his demeanor and approach, and also by the fact that I was a complete stranger to him and therefore he knew nothing about me. I replied, “Well, I do know Jesus. He’s my Lord and Savior.” Undeterred he replied, “Are you sure? Because I’m telling you that if you don’t know Jesus then you’re going to hell.” And with that, he hit the gas and drove away. I suspect that young man has read passages like Acts 4:13 and concluded that he too was being bold for Jesus like Peter and John were. But I would argue to the contrary. Being bold does not mean being rude, obnoxious, arrogant, insensitive, or disrespectful. I contrast that with the example of Louise Teel, the wife of my pastor Oren Teel. Oren and Louise were my mentors in ministry. Oren baptized me and then raised me up in the ministry, eventually teaching me how to be a pastor. Louise was essentially my West Coast mother (my actual mother lived on the East Coast at the time.) Louise was a kind, gentle, grandmotherly figure who simply loved everyone. When she saw a person struggling in some manner, she would look for an opportunity to bless the person with some kind act and then she would gently and lovingly try to help the person see that they needed Jesus (if they didn’t already know Him). Louise never hesitated to tell people about Jesus. She actively looked for opportunities to do so. But she did it in a kind and gentle way that radiated love and compassion (followed by unvarnished gospel truth). Louise was bold for Jesus in a very effective way. That young man was just obnoxious. People like Louise draw people to Jesus. People like that young man push people away from Jesus. Bold doesn’t mean brash, it means confident. Bold doesn’t have to be pushy and insensitive, it can be kind, gentle, and considerate. I encourage you to make sure you are drawing people to Jesus and not pushing them away. What the world needs is more Christians who radiate and share the love of Jesus. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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