January 12, 2021: Boldly I Come

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16, NKJV).

The fledgling Christian church grew out of the fertile soil of the early believers’ bold faith in a loving God who sent His Son to die for our sins. Ten of the original disciples died martyrs.

Paul boldly declared, with the temple of Diana mere yards away, “God ... does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24, NKJV). Paul understood how dangerous this was. A little more than 400 years earlier, the philosopher Socrates was executed for similar offenses.

Paul’s “heathen opponents called his attention to the fate of Socrates, who, because he was a setter forth of strange gods, had been condemned to death, and they counseled Paul not to endanger his life in the same way. ... [But Paul] was determined to accomplish his errand among them, and, at all hazards, to tell his story” (Ellen White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 236).

We are Christians today because of the bold faith of previous generations who left homes and families, lost jobs, laid their precious children in graves, gave their last money to support God’s work, were ridiculed, ostracized, tortured and killed. If even a single generation of these nameless Christians had said, “It costs too much to follow Jesus,” the entire Christian church would have died at that point. Our faith exists because of their faithfulness. The faith of future generations is counting on your faithfulness.

This sacred responsibility inspires me to live boldly for Jesus and to not be ashamed of being a Seventh-day Adventist.

Lord Jesus, empower me to live boldly for You in every way. Amen.

Gary Gibbs is the president of the Pennsylvania Conference.​