Discipleship Devotional, January 14th, 2025
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
– Romans 1:16 (NIV)
As believers, we live in a world that is hostile to Christ and considers anyone who professes Him to be foolish. One thing that a serious believer must get comfortable with quickly is shame. We must become so comfortable with suffering shame for the gospel that we are unashamed of it. If you have a reputation to protect or an image to maintain in the eyes of men, you will find it difficult to be bold and loud about the gospel. Therefore, to be effective for God, we must prepare our minds to embrace shame in such a way that it becomes an ineffective tool for Satan to use against us.
We must become comfortable with being seen as odd. After all, Jesus told us that we are not of this world. So, we must choose to be vocal about our faith in Christ wherever we go. In Hebrews 2:11, the Bible tells us that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren; why then should anyone succeed in making us ashamed to call Him our Lord and Savior? Don’t forget, the Lord also said that if we are ashamed of Him, He too will be ashamed of us.
Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
– Luke 9:26 (NIV)
The early saints counted it a privilege to suffer shame for His name, and we too must have the same perspective. The devil tries to fashion shame in different ways to afflict believers at various levels, but whatever the tactic, the solution is to embrace it, knowing that the One we are obeying is much more powerful than anyone who wants to make us feel ashamed.
The Apostle Paul gave this counsel to his spiritual son Timothy:
So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.
– 2 Timothy 1:8 (NLT)
Prayer:
Thank You, Jesus, for not being ashamed of me. Help me, by Your Spirit, to always be bold about Your message wherever I go.
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