AP

2 Peter 1:16-18    We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.  For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

In our devotions last week, my wife and I were reading Acts 4 and were reminded about the BOLDNESS of Peter and John when the Jewish authorities were trying to silence them with strong warnings and threats.  As I read today’s verses in Peter’s Second Letter I could see why nothing would ever keep them quiet!

In sharing the Good News about Jesus, that “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), they weren’t just expressing a private opinion of some theoretical, personal, religious belief system.  They were sharing real, TRUE, historical FACTS that they themselves had experienced FIRST HAND!  They had actually witnessed Jesus’ divine power over sickness, demonic powers, and the natural world, in all the many miracles he performed during their three years in his company.  On one occasion, they had actually been with him on a mountain and had witnessed his ‘transfiguration’, when his Divine Nature broke through all the confinements of his physical form (Luke 9:28-29)!  They had actually heard God’s voice at that time announcing, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”!

No, with all that impacting them, there was no way they were going to keep their mouths shut.

When we talk to others about Jesus, does it come across as just a personal, theoretical, religious belief system alongside other competing religious belief systems, as if it’s just a matter of choice about which one is ‘right’ or ‘best’ or most ‘attractive/suitable’?  Or is it obvious that we are conveying historical truths that have had such an impact on OUR lives that we cannot help but want to share it, even if our very lives were being threatened because of what we believe?