“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Luke 12:4-9
During the hours before the crucifixion, Peter said he did not know Jesus. Earlier, Jesus predicted it and told him after Peter denied Jesus three times, the rooster would crow! Immediately after the third denial, the bird welcomed the coming morning, and Peter went out and bitterly cried.
Even today, when you acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the temptation not to say His Name is close at hand. That night, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest’s. But later, when a girl asked Peter if he was one of the disciples, his courage fled away.
I knew an old man named Charlie Lanker, who asked everyone he met if they knew Jesus. One story about Charlie says that one day he saw a “telephone man” on a pole. Charlie yelled up to the man and asked, “Do you know Jesus?” The man on the pole yelled back and told Charlie he did!
Peter spent the rest of his life telling everyone he met about Jesus, including the fact that he knew Jesus. Charlie did the same thing, and you can do that too.
“Lord Jesus, guide me today to someone who needs to hear Your name and grant me the courage to speak Your name boldly, regardless of the consequences. Praise Your Holy Name now and forever. Amen!”
