Spending time with Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit leads to boldness and a different way of living. Be salt and light in the world, representing God in your work and daily life. God created us for a purpose and living for Him is the key to a fulfilling life. Share your faith and identity with confidence, inspiring others to do the same.

[0:00] Intro

[0:50] My PB&J taught me this

[7:25] Surprise baptism

[11:35] Acts 4: 1-22

[24:50] Final Thoughts

Bible Verses:

2 Timothy 2:13

Acts 4:1-22

James 4:4

John 14 - 16

2 Corinthians 5:17

I have often spoken of doing my PB&J: prayer, reading the Bible, and journaling. I’m very consistent with prayer and Bible reading, but not always with journaling. When I am consistent in journaling, I notice certain themes or topics will keep coming up. I think there is so much value in re-hearing and re-learning spiritual truths through journaling. I think we sometimes need to revisit the same concepts multiple times before fully grasping them.

I have been re-hearing that God is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), despite our lack of faithfulness. I find comfort in God's unchanging nature and love. Even when we are faithful in our work, we won’t always see the results. But God is faithful and we can be assured of that.

Speaking of God’s faithfulness, I was recently part of a surprise baptism. It wasn’t a surprise to the person being baptized nor was it a surprise to the congregation. It was a surprise to me because this little girl from my Sunday school class asked me to baptize her that Sunday morning. Because I was teaching Sunday school that day, all of my students and even older kids from youth group were able to come into the auditorium to watch this little girl be baptized.

Not only was the baptism an awesome way of seeing God’s faithfulness through this little girl’s life. It was amazing to see the whole church body come together to celebrate her public declaration of faith. Following the baptism, I was able to talk to my students about it and explain to them what baptism means. God truly is faithful to give us the wonderful opportunity to connect as a church family, celebrate new life in Christ, and learn more about Him.

God has creative ways of showing us His faithfulness. Acts 4 stands out to me for many reasons, but one being from the first time I heard it preached. I initially judged the preacher based on his appearance and stuttering. His sermon on Acts 4 impacted my life. Any time I hear God’s Word being preached or taught, I now prioritize opening myself up to God's Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me. God taught me to stop judging and trust in His ability to speak through anyone.

Acts 4:1-22 is about the courage of Peter and John to share the good news of Jesus Christ even though they were “uneducated.” Despite this, Peter and John were articulate, showing the “educated” crowd that they had been with Jesus and under his teaching. Peter and John were different and it showed.

Christians are like Peter and John in this: we are different from the rest of the world. We stand out when we spend time with Jesus. When we believe that Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross and rose again, we are a new creation. That makes believers different from the world.

Spending time with Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit leads to boldness and a different way of living. Be salt and light in the world, representing God in your work and daily life. God created us for a purpose and living for Him is the key to a fulfilling life. Share your faith and identity with confidence, inspiring others to do the same.

I commend the “uneducated” men in the Bible who recognized Jesus' power and authority. May we all have a similar impact on those around us.