When you think of Peter in the Bible, what comes to mind? Many immediately think of the guy who put his foot in his mouth way too often. We remember him denying Jesus three times on the same night he told Him that he would die for Him. We remember how he famously declared that Jesus was the Messiah in Matthew 16. It would be a few verses later that Jesus would turn to him and say, “Get behind me, Satan!” We remember Peter as a mess, but also as someone we can identify with. What we often forget about him is the man he became after Pentecost and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 2, we find a completely different man. We find someone standing on a balcony in Jerusalem preaching to thousands about Jesus. A few days earlier, he was hiding in that same city afraid to be associated with Jesus for fear of what others might do to him. The difference came with his decision to go all in after Jesus told him to feed His sheep. Peter waited and prayed in the Upper Room for 10 days not letting go until he received what was promised to him from God. On that day, Peter received boldness from the Holy Spirit to publicly live out his faith and to share it. That boldness raised the dead, took lame men by the hand pulling them to their feet and testified in front of the very group that killed Jesus.
That same boldness was in Stephen In Acts 6-7. He was full of grace and power because of what the Holy Spirit was doing in him according to the Bible. He was seized for preaching and brought before the high priest. Stephen didn’t back down and walked them through God redemptive plan. They refused to listen and began stoning him, making him the first martyr of the Church. A young man named Saul watched this display of boldness as he held the coats of the men throwing stones. He would later be changed by God, go all in with his life and write most of the New Testament. We never know the ripple effect of our boldness through the Holy Spirit. We must take hold of that boldness and connect people to God.
In the early 1900’s King George V was going to give an important speech that would be broadcast around the world. Just before the broadcast began, the main cable in the New York radio station snapped. Millions were waiting to hear this message, and the station staff began to panic. Suddenly a junior mechanic saw what needed to be done. He immediately grabbed both ends of the cable and held them together, allowing the royal message to be communicated. His body convulsed as the electricity flowed through him, yet he didn’t loosen his grip. We must be like this young man. We must choose to be all in, use the boldness of the Holy Spirit and communicate the Royal message of the Gospel to a world that needs to hear it.
Photo by James Owen on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 