Morning by Morning, November 7 - “Do Not Be Afraid... Do Not Be Silent” but Be “Bold as a Lion.” Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your light shine in my heart and through my life, as I start off my day looking to You, abiding in You, and seeking to follow You. ... “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are My people.’ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9-11). You gave Paul a vision to encourage him to keep standing up for what is right and to keep speaking out for what is true. You commanded him, “Do not be afraid. Do not be silent.” You reminded him You still had “many in this city who (were Your) people.” Like Paul, we can get discouraged when we look around and don’t see anyone standing with us. We can get fearful when we listen around and don’t hear anyone speaking up with us. And we can be tempted give into the spirit of intimidation and consider yielding to its pressure to just sit back, shut up, and be silent. Then fear wins. Then intimidation carries the day. Then -- even if there are many, even a majority, with the conviction of the people of God, moved by the conscience of the Spirit of God -- the vocal, intimidating, pressuring spirit of the world carries the day and the Kingdom of God fails to advance, as the people of God shrink back from the battle. We need a vision, Lord Jesus. We need Your vision. We need You to fill our hearts with courage and fill our mouths with truth. We need You to make us more like You in our world, filled with Your Spirit in our hearts, displaying Your character through our lives. Yes, in Your character, there were times when You modelled for us the character of Christ to be as silent as a sheep led to the slaughter that opens not its mouth (Isaiah 53:7). And at the same time, there were also times when You modelled for us the character of Christ to be bold and outspoken, fearless in the face of the ruling authorities, calling them out in their hypocrisy, like when You called them a “brood of vipers” to their face (Matthew 23:33) and boldly, brazenly attacking the growing culture that glorified the traditions of men contrary to the Word of God, when You turned over the tables in the temple and threw out the money-changers (Matthew 21:12). All of this -- whether led to be silent in the moment or bold in the moment -- is the Character of Christ. All of this is seeking to hear what the Father is saying, see what the Father is doing, follow as the Spirit is leading, to be like Jesus in our world -- whether when we’re called to silence or when we’re called to speak, when we’re called to sit back and just pray or when we’re called to both passionately pray and to passionately act. As You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17), as Your salt and Your light and Your voice in our times (Matthew 5:13-16). Yes, there are times when the vision of the Lord given to the people of God about who we are to be in the midst of our culture, our city, and our nation is to be much more vocal than silent, much more active than passive, much more bold than befuddled and bewildered. In fact, the Word of God tells us, “The righteous are bold as lion!” (Proverbs 28:1). In the power of the Holy Spirit leading and inspiring Your first disciples in the spiritual and cultural battles of their day, when they were threatened and intimidated to be silent, they lifted their voices to You for You to empower their voices in their world. They passionately prayed: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus!’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness!” (Acts 4:29-31) And then they passionately acted. In their day, against what they faced, that was the character of Christ, that was alignment with the will of God, that was living out the expression of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit in the mighty name and holy character of Jesus! That was the vision of Jesus You gave them! And I believe this is the vision You are giving us as Your disciples in our day. We’re not the minority, but the majority. For in fact, even just one voice, with the Spirit of God in their heart, is a majority. And there are “many in this city” and many in this nation who are yet Your people. Open our ears to hear it. Awaken our faith to believe it. Open our eyes to see it. Just as You opened the eyes of the fearful servant of the faithful prophet Elisha to see the truth: “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha!” (2 Kings 6:15-17) O Lord, open our eyes that we may see and be neither silent nor afraid! We are not alone. Many more are with us than are against us! When You opened the eyes of the servant, there was great victory in the battle for the land in Elisha’s day (2 Kings 6:23). And when You poured out Your Holy Spirit to give a bold voice to Your people in the days of the early Church, there were great victories in the hearts of people turning to God and turning their world upside down (Acts 17:6). Come turn our world, our nation, our communities upside down and right-side up again in our day, as Your people, having Your character lift their voice to be “bold as a lion” again! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My friend, may you be led by the Holy Spirit and live in the character of Christ, seeing what the Father is doing, hearing what the Father is saying, to be bold and active in your faith in these days, in Jesus' name. God bless you!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries Mailing Address: 412 S. Adams Street #148 Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 Please share this word to encourage a friend! Anyone can sign up for free at: https://messiah-ministries.org | 
