These men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Peter and John were standing before the same priests who had put Christ on the cross. They expected to fare no better than their master. Instead of being silenced by fright, they went right on witnessing that only in His name could salvation be found. This took real boldness. Where did these uneducated disciples find it? "These men had been with Jesus." He had secured this courage for them by His suffering and death and was giving it to them by His abiding Word.

Christ gives us this same boldness. If He dwells by faith in our hearts, we shall stand up boldly to the problems and disappointments of life. Things do not always run smoothly. There are sorrows and adversities deep enough to defeat many people. They do not overthrow us; Christ gives us the strength to endure. By His power these are turned to our advantage and even made blessings.

We face an adversary worse even than the men faced by Peter and John. None is mightier or more deceptive than Satan. But Christ gives us boldness to stand against him, too. If we are with Jesus, Satan throws his fiery darts in vain. One little word can fell him.

If Christ is with us and we with Him, we have boldness on the Day of Judgment.

PRAYER: Lord, keep us ever near to Christ by Your Spirit so that His strength may be made perfect in our weakness. Amen.

(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996 (out of print), Concordia Publishing House. For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 4-6    1 Corinthians 7:1-19

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"