Boldness doesn’t come from personality — it comes from knowing Jesus deeply. Like Paul in Acts 26, we become bold when the gospel becomes personal. Real boldness starts in private with God, and overflows into how we pray, serve, and share hope with others. Who in your life is waiting for you to boldly share Christ?

Paul got it and lived it! And, I pray we will as well. Paul’s life was transformed by Jesus. Paul knew he was a servant of Jesus, and he lived his life on God’s agenda. Paul learned to listen to the Holy Spirit. When God prompted his heart, Paul responded. Paul built God’s Church and invited people to be a part of God’s greater story. Paul knew God was always with him. Even in the hardest times, Paul knew a miracle could happen. Will you live as a servant of Jesus? Will you praise in the darkness and invest your life in building God’s Church for His glory? This is our time. Let’s learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and to live as God’s people today.

​​Paul set an amazing example for believers in showing us how important it is to stand up for the truth of Jesus, while also standing in the gap for those who are young in their faith. The Gentile believers could have easily been swayed into believing a strict adherence to Old Testament law was necessary for their faith, but Paul went to great lengths to continually point them back to the grace of God. Prayerfully, we all have new believers in our lives whom we can pour into and encourage like Paul. In doing so, our own hearts for Jesus grow, and our witness and influence with others grow.