Coward or Conscientious?

Matthew 24:9-10 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another."

Matthew 7:21  "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

Dear Jesus,

You described a day and age when Your followers would suffer for Your Name's sake.  That day is upon us.  Grant me courage to stand for You.  

Opposition to Your Name, Your Truth, and the claims of Your Gospel abound.  Character assassination, hate speech, and a scorched earth policy seem to be the norm for silencing even the kindest and most loving believers who take a principled stand for You.

The attacks which I see upon others frighten me.  They have a chilling effect upon proclaiming Your Truth.  I recoil at the prospect of newspaper articles and TV coverage targeted at exploiting me for being faithful to You.  I recoil with alarm when I see Christian business people pressured into advancing sinful agendas, ordered to do business with enterprises hostile to Christian values, only to face court, fines, and even imprisonment for their fidelity to You.  

I don't want to endure that sort of public scrutiny, persecution, or consequence.  But I may have to.

William Barclay wrote:  "Neither the individual Christian nor the Christian Church can ever know anything of a cowardly concealment or a cowardly silence. The Church and the individual Christian must at all times constitute the conscience of Christianity--and it is characteristic of men that there are many times when they would wish to silence conscience" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 343).

Grant me the courage to be a conscientious, kind, and courageous spokesperson for Your Truth in this broken world. When people try to silence me, embolden me with confidence in you. Check my conscience when I would be a silent coward.

You remind me: "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).

By Your grace, I will be true
to You.

In the Name of my faithful Lord Jesus,

Amen.