A first grade teacher seated her students in a circle. She asked them what they
wanted to be when they grew up. One by one, each child got up and announced,
"I'd like to be a nurse like my mother," or "I want to be a banker like my
father," or "I want to be a teacher like you, Miss Smith."
The last child to speak was the most shy and timid little boy in the class. He
said, "When I get big, I'm going to be a lion tamer in the circus. I'm going to
face those animals with my whip and chair and make them leap through hoops of
fire and obey all of my commands."
Seeing the disbelieving looks on the faces of his classmates that he could ever
act so boldly or bravely, he was quick to reassure them, "Well, of course, I'll
have my mother with me."
We are sometimes shy and timid about standing up for Christ in the midst of an
immoral society. We keep quiet when we ought to speak up. We cower when we ought
to take a stand. Where do we get the inner strength to be bold and brave? Only
through the assurance that we have Christ by our side.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13).
With that knowledge, take courage today to do something for God that you've been
hesitant to do.
Alan Smith alansmith@boone.net
www.TFTD-online.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.