And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people’ (Acts 18:9,10).
A quick phrase search for ‘Do not be afraid’ on Bible Gateway brings up 80 results. It is found in 28 different books of the Bible. In other words, it is a consistent theme that runs throughout. Most of them are spoken by God to his people, Jesus to his followers or relayed to others via one of his messengers, for example, the angel to Mary or the prophet to his audience.
When Paul was in Corinth, the Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you …’. It would seem the logical thing for Paul to do at that point would be to speak about Jesus, knowing that God had his back, so to speak. God had placed enough people around the city to ensure that Paul would have someone whom God had put into different situations to keep watch on Paul so that trouble and persecution would not happen. In other words, Jesus could be spoken about, and God’s love shared with relative peace.
Here in Australia, we enjoy freedom of speech, our churches aren’t burned down, our pastors aren’t arrested for sharing the gospel, and our schools and aged-care facilities are given the licence to openly promote Christianity. It’s like these words are being relived as a blessing from God for us to enjoy.
However, we also know that many places are not so fortunate. Persecution of Christians is worse now than it has ever been – just visit the Voice of the Martyrs website for proof.
‘Do not be afraid’ are God’s words of reassurance to you again today. After all, what’s the worst that can happen: you get persecuted or – worse – killed for speaking about Jesus? Then what? – you go to heaven – sooner than you would have preferred? Still, don’t be afraid. God is with you each day.
Reflect on a time when you were confident of God’s promise to not be afraid. What was it like? Thank him for what you learned from it.
Ever-present God, thank you for your ongoing protection and promise that we are never alone because you are with us always. Help us to be confident of living boldly for you each day. Amen.
Devotion written by Pastor Steve Liersch
Prayer Points
We give thanks for all the organisations that support us by donating food and other goods.
We pray for members of our community who are unwell or suffering and pray for full recovery for these people.
We pray for the Thang, Ling, and Ngatawng families.
The school has four core values that we have chosen to be a focus for all members of our community. These values, chosen from the Lutheran Education values, fit with our school culture.
Service
Service involves selfless giving, loving others and making a difference in their lives by identifying and responding to their needs, individually and collectively, and carrying out that.
Courage
Courage is the strength of heart that enables people to stand up for their convictions to do the right thing, even when it is hard or fearful. It involves being firm of spirit despite the ups and downs of life and it means ‘having a go’ even when success is uncertain.
Compassion
Having compassion is being loving and attending to people’s innermost needs. It is exercising the ability to reach out, to walk in another’s shoes, to be open and responsive to the needs and concerns of others and being active in caring for others.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is breaking the cycle of un-grace, pardoning the wrongs others have done to us and seeking pardon for the wrongs we have done to others. Forgiveness often comes with pain and can involve stepping over our hurt. Forgiveness releases both ourselves and others, enabling new starts and new beginnings, another chance.
