Skip to content

I Stand In The Gap

Standing in Prayer, Serving The World

Menu
  • Welcome
  • About Us
    • Purpose
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe
  • Reflections
    • Kathy’s Reflections
    • Steve’s Reflections
  • Prayer Alerts
  • Prayer Updates
  • Request Prayer
    • Prayer List
  • Resources
    • Prayer Closet
    • The Gospel
    • References
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Subscribe to Our Mailing List
    • Support Steve and Kathy
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
Menu

Risky Business

Posted on 03/12/20 by Steve

risky business

So, we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. – Acts 15:25-27

Like many of us in this age, I rely on my cellphone for communication and I want to protect my data. I had AVG on my phone and it would warn me when I connected to networks I had not verified. I found it amusing when I was at church and AVG told me, “Living Hope may be risky.” This started a train of thought that I have been meditating on for a bit now.

Risk – something we don’t always like but we often take (mamas don’t tell their children, “Have a good day – take risks today”, no, they tell them to “be careful”). We take risks with our investments, with our relationships, and for adventure. We do this for the hope of something better – more money, someone to love (and to love us), or fame and glory, or just to alleviate boredom.

Few of us willingly risk our lives, especially for our faith. I think we hear our mother’s voice saying, “Be careful” and we live it out in our spiritual walk. We don’t want trouble – we believe the Christian life should be full of ease – and since we can easily offend someone by talking “religion”, we keep silent.

But Acts tells us of Paul and Barnabas who “risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That statement alone speaks volumes! Read the book of Acts and you how they walked out their faith and risked their lives. For what? For something better – something eternally and infinitely better than life itself: The Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We too often give lip service to the power of Jesus’ Name. We sing of the beauty and power of His Name, but our actions (and our prayers) show that we treat it more like a good luck charm. I don’t believe we have fully grasped what Paul and Barnabas (and others throughout the ages) knew – the Name of Jesus is worth risking our lives. What do we have to lose? Our pain, our guilt, our brokenness, and our fear are just a few things that come to mind. Sounds like something better to me. I want to be part of the Church that risks all for Jesus and tells others (in word and deed) of His Name without fear. How about you?

Be well,
Steve

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Reflections

  • 10/18/22   The Fields Are White For Harvest
  • 12/24/21   Christmas
  • 12/20/21   Advent: Love

Recent Prayer Alerts

  • 09/09/22   A Prayer Upon the Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
  • 06/23/22   Prayer Alert: Afghanistan Earthquake

Recent Prayer Updates

  • 12/22/22   November Prayer Update: Expectancy and Anticipation
  • 11/17/22   October Prayer Update: Discipleship
  • 10/21/22   September Prayer Update: Fire
  • 09/09/22   August Prayer Update: Worship
The Gospel
Facebook
Support Steve and Kathy
Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Translate

en English
af Afrikaanssq Shqipam አማርኛar العربيةhy Հայերենaz Azərbaycan dilieu Euskarabe Беларуская моваbn বাংলাbs Bosanskibg Българскиca Catalàceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN 简体中文zh-TW 繁體中文co Corsuhr Hrvatskics Čeština‎da Dansknl Nederlandsen Englisheo Esperantoet Eestitl Filipinofi Suomifr Françaisfy Fryskgl Galegoka ქართულიde Deutschel Ελληνικάgu ગુજરાતીht Kreyol ayisyenha Harshen Hausahaw Ōlelo Hawaiʻiiw עִבְרִיתhi हिन्दीhmn Hmonghu Magyaris Íslenskaig Igboid Bahasa Indonesiaga Gaeligeit Italianoja 日本語jw Basa Jawakn ಕನ್ನಡkk Қазақ тіліkm ភាសាខ្មែរko 한국어ku كوردی‎ky Кыргызчаlo ພາສາລາວla Latinlv Latviešu valodalt Lietuvių kalbalb Lëtzebuergeschmk Македонски јазикmg Malagasyms Bahasa Melayuml മലയാളംmt Maltesemi Te Reo Māorimr मराठीmn Монголmy ဗမာစာne नेपालीno Norsk bokmålps پښتوfa فارسیpl Polskipt Portuguêspa ਪੰਜਾਬੀro Românăru Русскийsm Samoangd Gàidhligsr Српски језикst Sesothosn Shonasd سنڌيsi සිංහලsk Slovenčinasl Slovenščinaso Afsoomaalies Españolsu Basa Sundasw Kiswahilisv Svenskatg Тоҷикӣta தமிழ்te తెలుగుth ไทยtr Türkçeuk Українськаur اردوuz O‘zbekchavi Tiếng Việtcy Cymraegxh isiXhosayi יידישyo Yorùbázu Zulu
References & Copyrights | Send Prayer Request
Any material may be copied & distributed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice and our World Wide Web URL https://istandinthegap.org
Privacy Policy
© 2023 I Stand In The Gap | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}