Thursday... Confidence keeps on going.

Thursday... Confidence keeps on going. It is so important, isn't it?

Proverbs 28:1 (MSG) says, "The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one's after them. Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions."

So many live on the edge. They got where they are because of dishonesty and they are always looking over their shoulder. Someone could find out but those who are honest don't have that problem. They aren't afraid that someone is after them. Being honest makes us confident and even bold.

Over in Acts 21 Paul had been honest but the people didn't like what he had said and they wanted to kill him but that didn't take his confidence away from him. He could have said what they wanted him to say but he was a godly man with a message and he was bold as a lion. Sometimes it takes boldness and confidence when you are honest.

In Acts 21:35 & 36 (NIV) it says, "When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, 'Get rid of him!' " And it seems that he had been saved. But verse 37 says, "As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, 'May I say something to you?'" And then in verse 39 Paul said, "let me speak to the people." Now that is real boldness, isn't it?

Proverbs 28:1 (NLT) says, "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are bold as lions."

Acts 22:1-2a (MSG) says, " 'My dear brothers and fathers, listen carefully to what I have to say before you jump to conclusions about me.' When they heard him speaking Hebrew, they grew even quieter. No one wanted to miss a word of this." So he with boldness told his story.

But in verse 21 (NLT) he went farther than he could have gone. It says, "But the Lord said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles!'" But that wasn't what the crowd wanted to hear. Verses 22-25 says, "The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, 'Away with such a fellow! He isn't fit to live!'" And that was the beginning of Paul's journey to Rome where he was used by God to reach the gentiles through writing a big portion of the New Testament of the Bible.

Again Proverbs 28:1 (MSG) says, "The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one's after them. Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions." Proverbs 28:1 (NLT) says, "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are bold as lions."

So be honest, be godly, be relaxed, be confident and be bold and God will use you. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

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Todays Beginning

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