Encouragement

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December 28, 2011 – Embarrassed and Ashamed

8 Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord, nor for me, a prisoner for His sake, but [with me] take your share of the sufferings [to which the preaching] of the Gospel [may expose you, and do it] in the power of God. – 2 Timothy 1:8 AMP

Timothy was one of Paul’s right hand men in ministry. Paul personally trained Timothy and sent him all over the missionary trail they had blazed throughout the Roman Empire, checking on churches and bringing back various reports. Timothy eventually was left in Ephesus by Paul to run the church there. Second Timothy was written by Paul from prison, and in this letter he told Timothy to never blush or be ashamed to testify for God.

People blush daily for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes a guilty party will blush because they have been caught in their lie. People blush on occasion because they are surprised because of events in their life, i.e. a surprise birthday party. Others blush out of timidity when it comes to doing things like speaking in front of large groups of people. The one thing all these people have in common is some form of embarrassment. People in each of these situations have a justification for being ill at ease. What’s increasingly sad about embarrassed people is that very often Christians who fail to stand for their beliefs are also members of this group.

We are living in a world where true Christian values are daily under attack. Christian beliefs are increasingly viewed as being rigid. When we decry immoral behavior in the world we are judged as not being inclusive. When we speak out against homosexuality we are accused as spreading hatred in society. Such accusations have led a large number of Christians to not ever say anything publicly about their faith. They say nothing because they are ashamed of their how their faith is portrayed in society.

Our world had portrayed Christians in one of two ways. There’s the professed Christian, who takes a lighthearted approach to his faith. He acknowledges Christ, but keeps sin in his life, continues to run with the same unsaved crowd, and just basically does as he pleases. Then on the other side there’s the religious freak. They make news daily doing all sorts of weird stuff. They are the hell-fire and brimstone preachers on the street corner. They are the guys in the snow at a football game with the rainbow wigs, no shirts, and John 3:16 painted on their chests. They are always pronouncing judgment on society all the while keeping sin hidden in their life. I am sure you would agree that both paint a picture of Christians that make us blush.

The truth of the matter is that neither of society’s depiction of a Christian fits God’s picture. God does not want us to be flippant about our faith, nor does He want us to be an eternal finger pointer at others. He wants us to live calm, well-balanced lives (2 Timothy 1:7). He wants us pursue righteousness in our lives (2 Timothy 2:22). He never wants us to conform to the inclinations of society (Romans 12:2). And like today’s verse says, He wants us to never be ashamed of Him.

The world is constantly trying to kill or even change our faith. They call us right wing radicals. They say we breed hatred. But hey, Jesus says we will be hated because of Him, and He also says that if we stand and endure in our faith until the end that we will be saved (Luke 21:17-19). I don’t know about you, but that’s good news to me.

Since we have started this ministry we have run across news stories and met several believers who are not ashamed of their faith. They love God and want to please Him every day. If you are having trouble finding such people in your life, don’t be discouraged. They are out there. Sometimes just seeing news stories can give you more encouragement than you know.

Besides that, it will help you know that you are not alone in the world. To those of you we have met or even those we have heard about who live an uncompromised life, I salute all of you. You make what we are doing worth it all.

Are you ashamed of your faith? Do you blush or hide when someone says something about religion? Are you afraid or too timid to share your faith? Is your timidity due to a lack of commitment to Him? There may be a time soon when you have to directly stand for Him. Will you be too ashamed to stand or will you be ready?

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