a mouthpiece

While in Arizona we attended a church where the preaching was particularly powerful. Each sermon refreshed our spirits and strengthened our relationship with God. We discussed this and agreed that the preacher had such an impact because he is completely transparent.

By that, I mean that he had no personal agenda, no hidden thoughts, no pretense. He said what he meant and meant what he said. Christians who are transparent do not cover over or cover up the Lord Jesus who lives in them. God can be heard speaking through them because they have nothing of themselves interfering with His message. Today’s devotional verse reminds me of those sermons. 

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. (Acts 4:13)

Peter and John were ordinary fishermen. They had not been trained in a seminary. They didn’t belong to Toastmasters nor did they have any personal gain behind their words. They stood before a crowd and spoke with power. Lives were changed because of their words.

My Bible dictionary gives added insight into the word “boldness” from this verse, again pointing to the quality of transparency. This Greek word appears 31 times in the New Testament. It is translated as boldness, confidence, open and plain. The word means to have freedom and unreservedness in speech. It also means to be frank, without concealment, without ambiguity or circumlocution. It means not relying on figures and comparisons, but is free with fearless confidence, cheerful courage, a boldness with assurance. It is a manner of speaking that makes the speaker noticed.

We live in a world where oratory skill is praised for various reasons. Often the speaker must be well-educated, familiar with his material, able to put emphasis in the right places, vary his tone, tell a few jokes, and so on. While these learned skills might have some value, I am far more impressed by someone who speaks plainly and honestly.

One of our sons is like that. He might be rough around the edges and have a few strong opinions, but he says what he thinks. After meeting him for the first time, a businessman shook his head and smiled. “Boy, is he ever refreshing.”

Words are powerful, but words given by a person with this biblical boldness and unhindered transparency are more than powerful; they refresh the heart and even change lives.

Lord, I want to be more like Peter and John, more like that pastor in Arizona, more like even my son — because all of them are confident that if they are just themselves when they talk, nothing can stand in the way of Your Spirit. When I speak, it doesn’t matter if they hear me. I want them to hear Jesus.