These are the words that were going through my mind when I woke up this morning. “I am not ashamed”.
Many times over the past sixty-seven years I have been ashamed. Ashamed of my actions, ashamed of something I have said that was unkind, cruel or untrue. Ashamed when I compared myself to others – not pretty enough, not athletic, not popular, not stylish, not “whatever”.
The worst…there were times when I wanted to be a “secret agent” for Jesus. In high school, it seems everyone knew I was a Christian. Some of my friends and I met together each morning in the library and at lunch time outside Snyder Hall to pray. We prayed about tests, problems with classmates and with family issues. But that meant we were excluded from some of the activities of the more popular kids. Sometimes, I selfishly wished I had not been so vocal.
My faith in Christ is the bedrock of who I am. I want His love to shine through me. I stand on God’s Word. I believe it is 100% true. There is no room for compromise on His principles. Standing strong on His word is the only ground that does not give way in the face of life’s storms. That is a lesson I have learned.
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25 NLT
2020 has been a year of rains, floodwaters and winds…but a house built on the bedrock of God’s Word won’t collapse! I believe that with all my heart.
I found quite a few verses that talk about not being ashamed. I think the last two may surprise you.
“They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.” Psalm 22:5 NKJV
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.” Psalm 34:4-5 NKJV
“I am not ashamed of the Good News. It is the power of God. It is the way He saves men from the punishment of their sins if they put their trust in Him. It is for the Jew first and for all other people also. 17 The Good News tells us we are made right with God by faith in Him. Then, by faith we live that new life through Him. The Holy Writings say, “A man right with God lives by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 NLV
“I have been chosen to be a missionary and a preacher and a teacher of this Good News. 12 For this reason, I am suffering. But I am not ashamed. I know the One in Whom I have put my trust. I am sure He is able to keep safe that which I have trusted to Him until the day He comes again.” II Timothy 1:11-12 NLV
“Jesus makes men holy. He takes away their sins. Both Jesus and the ones being made holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers.” Hebrews 2:11 NLV
“But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. And he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:16 ERV
If God, the Father, and Jesus are unashamed of us then why should we be ashamed of them? Christ died for us when we were our most unlovable. He followed the plan that God, the Father, had in mind – the plan of reconciliation. Neither of them are ashamed of us!
Let’s live the rest of our lives shameless – unashamed in our stand for Christ.
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15 NLT