Ashamed: April 2, 2013

Today's Word for Tuesday April 2, 2013.

ASHAMED

DEFINITION:

Feeling shame, distress or embarrassment by feelings of guilt; unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule or disapproval.

SCRIPTURE:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Romans 1:16.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God. I Peter 4:16. 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Recently, we have noticed a fear among people who know the Lord concerning their communication to others about their faith. As a result of the influence of the liberal media and the pressure of being "politically correct" there is a moving away from the Judeo Christian principles that our country was founded on and many Christians are drawing themselves into a so called "shell."

They do this because they do not want to cause conflict and be ridiculed for their faith and beliefs. It seems they are ashamed to let others know that they are a Christian. Being ashamed of our faith is not of God and dishonors Him.

Peter instructs us not to be ashamed of our faith and if any of us do suffer as a result of our faith we can give glory to God through that suffering. In Romans Paul tells us that it is important for believers to understand that the reason we are not to be ashamed of the gospel message of our faith in Christ is because it is, "the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16, above). It is through us that God brings His message of salvation.

More than at any time in history God is expecting us, as Christians, to stand up for what we believe. God has not promised us that it would be easy and that we would not run into those who disagreed with what we believe, some even violently.

All we have to do is look at the life of Paul and the apostles in the book of Acts to see that this is true. God has promised that if we stay true to Him and keep, as we say, "PRAYED UP," then He will lead and guide us through every situation.

A few years ago one of our grandsons had his appendix removed. It was emergency surgery at about three in the morning. At that time he was seven years old and had been in real pain for several hours and had gone through the necessary tests to make sure the right diagnosis had been made. He was in the operating room and just before they put him to sleep the doctor came in and asked our grandson if he had any questions. He responded by asking the doctor, "Are you a Christian?" The doctor responded by saying he was Catholic and that he believed in Jesus. Our grandson responded by telling the doctor that it was OK then to proceed with the surgery. Our seven year old grandson was not ashamed to talk about Jesus and what he believed. Are your words and deeds honoring to your Lord or are you at times ashamed?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 1:2.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:

Help me not to be ashamed of my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for the assurance of eternal life and the assurance that You will be with me as I take my stand for the gospel message. Encourage my family, my friends and my neighbors who know You to stand up for what they believe. Give each one of us today many opportunities to share with others what You have given to us.