Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: Never stop talking about Jesus

Saturday 9 May 2020

Never stop talking about Jesus

"18 So they called them and commanded them, not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
Acts 4:18-20. NKJV

Some people do not want to hear us speak about Jesus. These may even be members of our own family. Even Jesus had family members and people in the neighbourhood, who didn't believe in Him or want Him around. (Mark 6:1-5). If He was an embarrassment, you can bet that you will be too.
You may have noticed that people give you a wide berth when they know the you are 'religious'. They may be polite but you may not be on their Christmas card list.

People all over the world suffer because of their faith. Some are imprisoned, beaten, raped or even killed, because they will not give up on Jesus. A few years ago, I watched a film which was produced by Open Doors. It was set in China and showed the brutality that Christians had to suffer for their faith. I will always remember, one chap in the film, who was threatened with his life, saying, 'You can hack us Christians down, but like the bamboo, we will only grow back taller and stronger.' He was then shot dead. This statement has stayed with me ever since. He and his family, would not give up speaking about and believing in their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

When I was a social worker, I was actually warned by superiors, not to mention Jesus to anyone, even if they brought up the subject. My job would be on the line if I did. As I was working with dying people and they needed comfort, I decided that I was not going to abide by these threats, and I continued in this job until I retired 8 years later.
The devil will do anything he can to prevent Jesus being mentioned to people who are in need.

And this was where Peter and John were. They were threatened but they determined that nothing was important enough to prevent them fulfilling the commission Jesus gave them to, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.' Mark 16:15.

Charles F Stanley comments on this:

'We should always respect authority, even when it appears wrong. But if some authority tells us to defy God and His commands, we are to disobey that authority. For Jesus' sake, we accept the consequences of our allegiance to Him, knowing that He will reward us in the life to come.

Never stop talking about Jesus!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard