God's Message Once Preached Cannot be Stopped

[S]  Acts 4:4 --
But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

[O] God's word just needs to be preached to the hungry souls because it will instantly be absorbed and activate their soul to respond to His Spirit. in this passage we see that even though the preachers were arrested God's word nevertheless pierced their hearts for so many of them to believe. Our enemy tries its best to interrupt God's ministry by immobilizing God's messengers. But once His word is peaches there is nothing that can stop the power of God to rest on us.

[A] Quite often I calculate too much about what will happen when God's word is preached and in the midst of the calculations I hesitate or not speak the word justifying that it is not the right timing.  End result is God couldn't work in the hearts of the others.  I need less calculation and more communication of His message of love and grace not worrying about the consequences too much.

[P] Dear Father, may my heart be fill with more boldness to preach Your word and the message of salvation so Your Spirit will go to action in convicting more souls back to Your family. In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Considered to be Out of My Mind

[S] Acts 26:24-25 --
While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth.

[O] Paul's service to God's gracious plan of salvation was received as a crazy thing in the eyes of those who do not yet understand His wonderful plan. as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 it is foolishness to them. What's crucial for me here is the fact that Paul did not do this in secret such that others consider him to be our of his mind, putting all of his sounding education to waste. how am I doing on this department? Am I trying too hard to fit into the mold of the social norm?

[A] I only have a limited time here on earth to be the voice of God regardless of how much longer that would be for me. One of the indicators for me to know how much of a sold-out life for Christ I'm living here would be to see how often this world will label me as out of my mind because I am so seriously serving God.

[P] Lord Jesus I'm shameful to not risk my reputation for Your name's sake here in this world that You brought me into. I want to model Paul's all-out way of living for Your saving Grace without holding anything back. May You take my life to use it as Your mouth piece for others to hear Your heart towards them. In Your name. Amen.

Boldness Originating from Unreal Reality

[S] Acts 4:17-21, 31 --

 ¹⁷"But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name."
 ¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
 ¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
 ²⁰for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."
 ²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;
 ³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. 

[O] What inspired them not to stop speaking about Jesus was really based on the overwhelming excitement and conviction fo what they witnessed in their lives.  It was so real and part of their lives that they cannot keep inside but to let it overflow out of their lives.  Nothing can really stop them even the threatening from the Jewish leaders who deep inside also knew who was behind all this.  This sort of excitement and out-pouring of conviction from believers' hearts is a pre-amble to a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit (as seen in v. 31).

[A] Before asking God to fill me with His Spirit and do mighty works, I should first make God's message from the Bible about His love toward me as real as possible in my life.  Don't just settle with a knowledge of what happened back then, but to bring it into my current life such that it will interact with it and produce an overflowing excitement from deep within.  Without such basis, I don't believe there is any substance for the Spirit to work in my life.

[P] Dear God, please fill my heart with Your real substance as I continuously meditate on Your word such that Your Spirit will have a way to work into my life the power of Your Love.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Marched Out Boldly In Full View Of Egyptians

[S] Numbers 33:3,4 --
 ³ The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians, ⁴who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had brought judgment on their gods.

[O] This chapter summarizes the history of when Israelites came out of Egypt up to the time just prior to their entering into Canaan (Jericho).  The Israelites were under the slavery of Egyptians regardless of their outnumbering population.  They had no rights or freedom under their rule, but when God sent Moses and dealt with the Egyptians until they came to the point of burying all of their firstborns because they refused to submit to God, the situation has reversed such that the Israelites "marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians."  During this Lent period the message of boldness or victory seems to be highlighted more to me.  Perhaps as I'm studying the Life of Moses (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) in BSF may have influenced me to see in light of how the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years and finally they go into Canaan boldly to claim the Promised Land -- no matter how discouraged or tired I may get due to the circumstances I face, ultimately I must stand up and march out of there boldly in full view of the situations.

[A] Do not dwell on the past hang-ups/failures/frustrations, but pick myself up and march onward in boldness!

[P] Dear God, I would like to reflect Your boldness through how I deal with my life's situations.  May I not hide Your power with my lack of confidence in Your presence in my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.