43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. — John 12:43 NLT
There were many of the people, leaders in the religious communities and others who believed what Jesus was saying but refused to admit it in public. They were more concerned about what the Jewish leaders would say and do than they were about what Jesus said. They were afraid that they would lose their positions in the community and be removed from the synagouge. They would not admit publicly that they believed what Jesus said. When we read these verses, it is easy for us to criticize and judge these people for their lack of support for Jesus. But, if we stop, meditate and let the Holy Spirit lead us into the truth, we may just realize that we are sometimes like those people. Yes, our egos say we would never deny Jesus and perhaps, verbally we wouldn’t. However, we must look at our actions or our lack of action in certain situations. How many times have we been nudged by the Holy Spirit to say something to someone or do something for someone and by our inactions, we said “NO”. In those times, we became “secret believers” preferring silence over speaking out for Jesus, our Lord and Savior. How many times have we felt the shame when we are convicted of our inactivity by the Holy Spirit? Jesus said that “if you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father”. If we do not speak out and our lifestyles do not show others that we are living for Jesus, then the truth of His words will judge us on the day of judgment. We must be willing to get out of our comfort zones and be ridicule, offended and persecuted because we believe the truth. There is only one God and only one Jesus who died for our sins. There is no other way to heaven.
Post 05-27-2016
Morning Meds (Take 1 each Morning with all the Prayer You Need) 