FRIDAY DEVOTIONAL

Cameron prays like I talk to my very best friends – the kind of peaceful, unashamed conversations with God that every Christian tries to emulate. This evening, my eyes are closed, and I’m listening to him pray our church team into dinner at a noisy, bustling Fort Worth restaurant. When I lift my head and re-engage with the group, I notice that our waiter is standing over us, sheepishly grinning and visibly unsure about what to say next. “What are y’all doing?” 

     “We’re praying!” Someone in our group responds.

At this point, it’s difficult to tell if his grin hides an innocent curiosity or sardonic sort of mockery. Ryan turns his head and says, perfectly, “brother, we’re just talking. We’re just having a conversation.”

    “With who? To what? I don’t understand … There’s no way I could do that.” 

Like so many other Christians, my instinct in that moment was to rise and disciple. Bravely. I had big dreams indeed. After all, the man was un-churched and curious. What better time to live 1 Peter 3:15 where Peter instructs already passionate followers to “revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Peter instructs this for a reason because, honestly, discipleship is a numbers game. Simply, the more we share the Good News, the more interested non-believers will become. We can’t share if we don’t speak. 

Back to the restaurant. At the same moment I felt compelled to stand, I also felt equally suppressed by fear and self-consciousness. How much easier it would be to ignore him and re-join the safety of our conversation. We’ve all been there. And that’s the problem. Where Peter reminds us that discipleship is our duty, Paul (2 Timothy 1:8) implores Timothy to testify without fear. It is not enough to know it’s a duty. We must overcome the fear of actually doing it. He says “do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” Whether our barrier to discipleship is pride, embarrassment or self-consciousness, the only way we create spiritual warriors is to rise and testify without fear or remorse. 

Application

“Lord, I pray that no matter how small the cause, I’m willing to stand up in front of the un-tested or un-willing and share the Good News without prejudice or fear. I feel no shame today. I feel no fear today. I feel nothing but glory in your name.”

{Originally published in 2022)

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