Guess What...

Good morning, friends! The clouds are growling, the sun is hiding, and Rachael is finally sitting down to write another blog post! So many times I've been told that it's a good idea to stockpile blog posts in advance, and now that I haven't posted in nearly a month I'm starting to see the wisdom of that plan! Lord willing I'll be able to make some time to write down some posts beforehand and, hopefully, get better at making my self-imposed deadlines.

I'm coming to you with yet another piece of news. I'm excited to announce that I was a winner for the April Scriptorium Challenge! (If you don't know what that is I encourage you to visit their website: Challenge (scriptoriums.com)) I hope you are encouraged by reading my thoughts. 

Tally ho!

Rachael Anne

Matthew 10:24-33: Whoever Denies Me…

I swallowed. I knew I should say something. A clear path had just opened for me to mention my faith, that I did Bible Bee for half the year and what an impact it has on my life. But when I opened my mouth… nothing came out.

Nothing but a few inane comments about something very forgettable.

Even after spending all of last summer and fall studying about Witness I am a complete coward when it comes to sharing my faith. Even in the presence of friends at work I often stop short of mentioning Bible Bee, church, or Jesus. 

At the same time I was searching for a passage to memorize this month the Lord brought the life of Nehemiah Jaster to my mind. That same day Bible Bee had a post about him on their blog. Nehemiah’s life was characterized by complete and total devotion to the Lord, looking to serve others before serving himself. 

That led me back to a passage I had memorized in 2020.

It starts out with the assurance that disciples are not above their teachers (vs. 24). Jesus is our Master; He is the ultimate example of perfection, holiness, and speaking the truth in love. We cannot go beyond Him; we can only imitate Him. Wouldn’t it satisfy anyone to be just a little bit more like Jesus every day?

But then we are given a more sobering assurance: if the teacher is mistreated, the student will be too (vs. 25). Consider Jesus: lied about, beaten, crucified. If we walk into Christianity thinking that it will be different for us, that we can coast through a life of ease, we will be grossly mistaken. Yes, Jesus has defeated Satan, but the earth is still under Satan’s rule.

The next few verses seek to reassure the believers who may be quaking in their boots at this point. “Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known” (vs. 26). No matter what may happen to us the truth of God’s Word will prevail. Jesus taught His disciples privately, but He told them to literally shout it from the rooftops. His Word is meant to be proclaimed, and we have the great privilege of being the messengers. 

The verses that especially caught my attention were the final two. Every time I look at my feet, don’t mention that I’m a Christian, isn’t that a way of denying my Savior? Isn’t my silence just as condemning as my verbal denial of knowing Christ? The Lord has been convicting me of the complacency in my life and showing me that there is no happy medium. I am either for Christ or against Him; I confess Him or I don’t. 

The question most clear in my mind is this: Is Jesus worth it?

Worth losing friends? Worth being trash-talked? Worth being equated as crazy? Scum? Foolish?

Yes. 

Because if I acknowledge Him, He will acknowledge me.

All Scripture references taken from the English Standard Version.