God in the Midst of Trials

This morning Pastor Xavier Ries at Calvary Chapel of Pasadena preached on book of Acts. While Pastor X's messages usually consist of spitting out fact after fact (he calls it inductive), they are always very informative and applicable. No doubt, his messages are heavy like a solid Bible study, but sometimes that is what more of today's churches need during a sermon, not just fluffy words and simple catch phrases.

Everyone goes through trials and hard times. Christians are no exception. After Jesus' death, his apostles were spreading the Word of God (Acts 5). In doing so, the high priests were jealous and wanted the apostles executed. Afterwards, the apostles' lives at that time were spared. Pastor X pointed out that the apostles weren't crying or complaining about the whole ordeal. In fact, in Acts 5:41, "the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

What would this ChowDown have done? Knowing how weak I am sometimes, I probably would have been terrified. I genuinely hope that this would NOT be the case. But I know that God can give anything (exceedingly) to those who call on His name. Lord, please use me as your servant, your child, and your follower. Help me and everyone reading this post to have godly courage and boldness knowing that You "have the whole world in Your hands."