Ordinary People

 Being with Jesus changed His disciples, a fact that was evident after Peter and John healed a crippled man and were then brought before the religious leaders for questioning. “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

The disciples were ordinary people, just like we are. They weren’t scholars or trained speakers. They were fishermen and tax collectors. Just ordinary working folks. But because of their time with Jesus, and especially because of the Holy Spirit that came to dwell within them, they became bold in their determination to tell people about Jesus.

It was dangerous for them to be preaching Jesus, but they didn’t let that risk silence them. Can we say the same? Speaking about Jesus isn’t likely to cause us physical harm or get us thrown in jail, as it might have for Peter and John, but it may cause us to lose followers on social media or friends in real life. Do we allow those risks to silence us? Or do we speak up, accepting that while some people may not want to hear our message, it’s important to speak up anyway because there are people who need to hear the truth?