(Audio)
It will lead to your giving testimony.
How ready are we to give testimony?
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (see First Peter 3:15).
We are called to be ready to give testimony. But it does not mean carefully working out our words in advance.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand
We are called to be ready, not to have a script ready, nor a flowchart with every possible direction that a conversation might take. We are not called to have every answer. We are only told that we will have to give testimony. To be prepared means that we accept and do not run from this responsibility.
Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (see First Corinthians 9:16).
Truly being prepared to give testimony, to give reason for the hope that is within us, is something that should arise naturally from our relationship with Jesus.
for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (see Acts 4:20).
We are people who have seen the power of Jesus at work. How can we not speak about it? And if that is true we will be ready no matter who is asking. We'll be ready whether the situation is difficult or easy. The perspective we have from a life lived under the Lordship of Christ will outweigh even the greatest challenges and apparent difficulties.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.
Daniel is more concerned about the holiness of the LORD than he is about his own well-being or potential gain. He is set apart for the LORD and so he sees the problems with a world that treats holy things as trivial. He knows that kind of behavior is headed toward destruction and he can't help but give warning.
We find ourselves in a world much like Daniel's. We see things as sacred as life and sexuality used for trivial ends. It can be hard to speak into these circumstances if we look too directly at the opposition we face. But if we are firmly grounded in the hope we have in Christ and in his Spirit we will be given the words we need.
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
The goal is that everyone be able to give God glory and eternal praise, those who are even now his enemies together with those he has already won over by his love.
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