Day 15-"Help me be bold." Rom. 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; the Jew first, & also the Greek." Romans 1:16 (kjv)

What does it mean to not be ashamed? Here Paul demonstrates that he is not ashamed of Jesus Christ by preaching; (vs 15)"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel..." What I see in verse 16 is that Paul understood the power in the Word. That the gospel brings salvation. I think that is what made him so confident...he knew God's Word would do the work. All he had to do was spread it. So how does being bold co inside with not being ashamed? To answer this, I decided to define the two adverbs:

ashamed-restrained by anticipation of shame
shame-a painful sense of having done something wrong.
boldness-courageous, all out spokeness, bluntness, assurance

So to not be ashamed should be demonstrated by me standing up for what I believe in without reservation or restraint. I should be assured when I speak the Truth because I know the power in the Word. I also understand that if someone does not agree or responds negatively that it is not me they reject but Christ. This study is convicting for me because I stopped sharing the Truth. It's easy for me to testify to someone I know or am comfortable with. But one day God started moving on me to witness to the cashiers at Walmart. I use to do it often. I was always nervous but I felt like a million $$$ after. It took me out of my comfort zone but God always just let the words flow out my mouth...He would say,"Just speak." Now, I go to the self-checkout line...God forgive me; help me be bold again...

There was a time when I was taking college classes that God called me to speak of Him. It was the first day of Public Speaking. We were given a list of topics and two minutes to speak on the topic of our choice. When I saw the topic,"A life changing event", my spirit jumped inside me and I knew immediately what God wanted me to do. Satan was trying everything to keep me from it"You're in a school setting; the teacher may not approve; no one will like you for this." But I got up in front of about 25-30 strangers and shared Jesus & what He did for me on 6-8-03. I went back to my seat and the guy next to me said,"Man, I wish I had your boldness." I'll never forget that day. It was the first time I testified to a group of strangers.

I used to be admired for my Christlike traits. Some thought I was extreme...I was because I extremely loved the Lord. I've got to get back to that place. Lord help me, Lord help me extinguish myself again. Help me be bold.