One could write a thousand pages about the boldness of the Apostle Paul, but I would like to show you just one passage.

Acts 14:19 & 20 – NIV – “They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.”

To set the stage here, Paul was either loved or hated wherever he went. This particular passage took place in a city called Lystra, and people against Paul got together in a crowd and stoned Paul to death (so they thought). They then took his body, drug him outside the city, and they all went back into the city. His buddies, the disciples, came out to where they had left Paul, and the scripture says he “got up and went back into the city.”

Ok, so he was beaten and stoned to the point that they thought he was dead, but after, he got up, brushed himself off, and accessed his injuries. He didn’t do what any other person would do: leave and go away. No sir, Paul turned around and pointed himself toward the city and then marched himself right back into the enemy camp with pure boldness without any fear and without intimidation.

To say that Paul was never intimidated was an understatement. Paul literally had no fear of anyone and never backed down until the day he died. What an example for us.

Here is the point – The same spirit that was within Paul is within you and me if we are Christians. Fear is a debilitating emotion, and it can keep you from being who God wants you to me. Fear (i.e. caution) can sometimes be a good thing when it prevents you from driving way too fast, taking chances that are unwise, drug use, alcohol, cheating, and the list could go on. What I am talking here is a fear that overcomes you and robs you of joy and peace in your life.

The fears we normally experience are not of being beaten up, robbed, or physically hurt by someone. Usually, our fears are internal emotions, such as being intimidated, afraid to speak out, or afraid to hurt someone’s feelings. Also, as we get older and wiser, we begin to experience fear of things that we never feared before like a sport, social event, speaking in public, or simply doing some activity that years before did not worry you but now it does.

Paul was an incredibly bold man. I remember when my daughters were small I would always tell them to “be bold” in everything they do. Boldness (not arrogance) is so captivating that it draws people to you because it is so uncommon these days to see a Christian who is bold, intelligent and not intimidated by anyone.

Whenever the Apostle Paul walked into a room, every person had to stop and look at him because his boldness was so captivating. I believe that today when a Christian walks into a room that the spirit of God and the boldness of God should be so evident that people have to stop and just look at the Christian. What a testimony that would be. KT