July 28th, 2026
Acts 4:13 — Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
It’s really easy to be intimated by the thought of sharing one’s faith or defending one’s theology. I don’t think more education makes it easier either. When we look at the disciples that Jesus called, we don’t see that star pupils of the synagogue or the high status children of local elites. No, we see a band of young men composed of fishermen, a tax collector, and men of unknown backgrounds. Yet what made them impressive wasn’t their status, stature, or qualifications but their relationship with Jesus Christ.
We are not called to become brilliant theologians, excellent orators, or expert apologists. We are called to be bold for Christ, to love boldly, to preach boldly, and to step out in faith boldly.
As many of you can tell, I am not by nature the boldest, in your face kind of person. My nature often feels more like a turtle than a lion — calm, studious, thoughtful, quiet. Aware of this, I got a tattoo with my lion to remind me to proclaim the word of God boldly like Paul. Parousia. An adverb that describes a manner of speech that means with boldness and courage. The problem with tattoos, as many people know, is that if you want to get a tattoo to remind you to do something, it’s generally wise to place it somewhere you can see it. My reminder to be bold happens to be on the back of my arm where I can’t even read it in a mirror.
God doesn’t call the best and the brightest.
God calls those whom He will equip by His Holy Spirit to do the task that He will set before them. And with that knowledge, we must be encouraged. But let us not be encouraged to remain quiet but encouraged to share and live out our faith to those around us with the hope that when people see us going about our daily lives or speaking with others they may recognize that they have been with Jesus.
You don’t need a tattoo; you don’t need a t-shirt that says “Jesus loves you;” you need the boldness to believe it for yourself and tell others about it through your thoughts, speech, and deeds. And I need that reminder as much as anyone!
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
It’s really easy to be intimated by the thought of sharing one’s faith or defending one’s theology. I don’t think more education makes it easier either. When we look at the disciples that Jesus called, we don’t see that star pupils of the synagogue or the high status children of local elites. No, we see a band of young men composed of fishermen, a tax collector, and men of unknown backgrounds. Yet what made them impressive wasn’t their status, stature, or qualifications but their relationship with Jesus Christ.
We are not called to become brilliant theologians, excellent orators, or expert apologists. We are called to be bold for Christ, to love boldly, to preach boldly, and to step out in faith boldly.
As many of you can tell, I am not by nature the boldest, in your face kind of person. My nature often feels more like a turtle than a lion — calm, studious, thoughtful, quiet. Aware of this, I got a tattoo with my lion to remind me to proclaim the word of God boldly like Paul. Parousia. An adverb that describes a manner of speech that means with boldness and courage. The problem with tattoos, as many people know, is that if you want to get a tattoo to remind you to do something, it’s generally wise to place it somewhere you can see it. My reminder to be bold happens to be on the back of my arm where I can’t even read it in a mirror.
God doesn’t call the best and the brightest.
God calls those whom He will equip by His Holy Spirit to do the task that He will set before them. And with that knowledge, we must be encouraged. But let us not be encouraged to remain quiet but encouraged to share and live out our faith to those around us with the hope that when people see us going about our daily lives or speaking with others they may recognize that they have been with Jesus.
You don’t need a tattoo; you don’t need a t-shirt that says “Jesus loves you;” you need the boldness to believe it for yourself and tell others about it through your thoughts, speech, and deeds. And I need that reminder as much as anyone!
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
Recent
Archive
2026
January
2025
March
April
August
2024
January
February
March
April
May
No Comments