April 12, 2012 - Acts 23:10

“The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.” Acts 23:10.
Paul had stirred up the crowd of Jewish leaders by talking about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The Pharisees in the crowd believed in the resurrection of the body after death, while the Sadducees did not. These two parties turned on each other, with Paul in the middle. The yelling back and forth was turning violent, so the soldiers extracted Paul from among the Jews and brought him to safety. Paul apparently was not concerned for his personal safety. After all, he had work to do and had a Lord that must be proclaimed. Because of his sold-out commitment to Jesus of Nazareth, Paul had no fear of death.
I do not recall ever having a moment in my life when death could have been the result of my belief in Jesus. I would like to think that I would be willing to die for Him. Yet, I realize that there are times when I am fearful of being rejected, and I draw back from sharing my faith in Jesus. To me, this indicates my lack of faithful commitment to Him. I say one thing, yet do another. I am a hypocrite. The question that I continually ask myself is this: Is Jesus really my all in all or am I just giving lip-service? I want my actions and my lifestyle to match my desire to be totally committed to Jesus. Like Paul, I want to have no fear of death, and I want my life to line up with this desire.
Questions to consider: Would you be willing to die for Jesus? If you say “Yes,” in what ways have you already died to yourself (your flesh), which demonstrates your commitment? Do your actions line up with your words? If not, what needs to happen to line up your actions to your words?
Prayer: I confess to You my failure in having my life line up with my words. I desire to be willing to die for my faith in Jesus. Please help me to turn away from my fears that hold me back and help me to follow You whole-heartedly. Amen.