Bold Faith Changes Everything

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1523. Today's Devo is called Bold Faith Changes Everything. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Hi, I'm Mary Alessi, and here I am again with you this week talking about acts, taking five minutes every morning and just spending it with the Lord, meditating on a scripture, finding a practical application and changing our lives one morning at a time. This morning, the scriptures that I want to share with you are Acts 3 and 6 and Acts 4 13. Acts 36 says, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Acts 4:13 says, they were unschooled ordinary men and they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus. Does your life show that you've been with Jesus? When we look at this, both of these scripture references, here's what we learn. God uses ordinary people who have bold faith. These folks had strong faith. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. Do you have bold faith enough to tell someone who's having a bad day, in the name of Jesus, I pray for you that you would have peace in this day. Some of us struggle even sharing our faith. And in this scripture, we see the importance that when we spend time with the Lord, what we should walk away with is bolder faith. Not hiding our light under a bushel, not saying, I don't want to share my faith with someone because it might offend. Listen, Peter and John did not have impressive resumes. They didn't ever feel ready enough. And listen, can I tell you, you will never feel ready enough to share your faith or step out in bold faith. And you don't have to. One thing that we've talked about this week is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And I love that because we can be bold by just requesting the Holy Spirit to come and aid us and assist us. You're never going to feel qualified enough, spiritual enough, or ready enough to step out in what God's called you to do. You just have to step out. And here's the piece for you and I. God isn't looking for perfection. Thank God, because he wouldn't find it here. I'M not perfect. None of us are perfect. But what he is looking for is availability and boldness. He wants you to at least be able to say, lord, I'm available. I'll say, yes, I'll speak up. It doesn't mean that I'll speak up and offend or speak up and correct, or speak up and bring division. No, I'm just going to speak up with boldness at the good God that you are and the good things that you do. I won't hide my light under a bushel, as we learned in Sunday school. See, bold faith isn't loud. It's confident in God. I'm not confident in my own strength. I'm confident in who God is. So can I encourage you today, Here's a really simple practical application for you to step out and in a bolder faith maybe, than you ever have before. First of all, pray for somebody. You know, My husband's a pastor, and he's been a pastor for many, many years, something that I admire. And I can't tell you that I am naturally as quick about this as he is. He will never miss a chance to say, can I pray for you? If someone comes to him and they're suffering, if they're coming to him with a conflict or difficulty and they ask for his advice, he never just gives them his advice. And he has a lot of advice. He's pretty smart, and he knows his word. He's been preaching for over 40 years. He's been pastoring for over 40 years. He has a lot of answers, but he always stops and says, can I pray for you? And he brings God into the moment. He doesn't rely on his own wisdom. He doesn't rely on his strength. He doesn't rely on his own knowledge. He will always say, can I pray for you? We were in a restaurant recently, and he happened to look over and he saw a waitress in the restaurant we were in. She'd been pulled over by another woman in the restaurant that was with us at a side table. And the lady was talking to her. And it seemed a little aggressive, and we weren't sure, but the waitress was very sweet. A few minutes later, she walked over to our table, and Steve looked at her and he said, I saw you were having a conversation with another woman in here. Was. Was that a good conversation? Well, the young girl didn't even know how to respond because it was just an aggressive, extreme sharing of faith. And we noticed it, and it scared the waitress just a little bit. And so when. When Steve called her over. He said, listen, take everything in your heart with what brings you peace and what you come in agreement with. Can I pray for you? And she said, yes, please pray for me. And he didn't come at her with correction or with a prophetic word. He just prayed a sweet prayer over her. And here's the second thing that I learned from him I want to share with you. Speak encouragement. He said to her, you're doing a great job. Thank you for being such a pleasant, very sweet, ready to work employee. I'd like to tell your manager what a great job you're doing. So he prayed for her and he spoke encouraging words over her. Here's another practical application for you that you can start today towards bold faith. Trust God in an area you've been holding back. Give it to God, Lord, I trust you. Not my own strength, not my own knowledge, but I will step out and I will trust you. Remember, you don't need to have all the answers. You just need to walk with the Lord. Ask Jesus and he will give you the answers. Can we pray together? Let's pray. Lord, our prayer, each and every one of us, is give us bold faith today. Give us an opportunity to step out in that bold faith in a place where we won't shrink back in fear and insecurity. We will step out and we'll take you at your word. Remind me, Lord, Remind all of us listening that you use ordinary people to do any extraordinary things. And just like you used the people in the second chapter of Acts Experience, you can use each and every one of us today. Let our lives reflect that we spend time with you every morning. In Jesus name I pray. Amen and Amen. God bless you. Be bold in your faith today. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in. Today we pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.