For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:16

We live in a country where it is perfectly legal to worship as Christians; people don’t generally throw you into prison or torture you for admitting your faith. At least not yet. However, in many ways [and more so as time marches on] people will insult you for it, accusing you of being narrow-minded, judgmental, hateful and just plain ignorant. They are offended by the cross of Christ, as Billy Graham put it recently in his My Hope America broadcast. Somehow, for standing up for Biblical principles, more and more Christians in this country are being shunned by the mainstream. It has always been there, it just that fewer and fewer attempt to hide it.

For some of us, it is tempting to give into our fear and need for approval from everyone around us and hide the fact that we know and love Jesus, acknowledging Him as our Lord and Savior. The best remedy for this is an increase in one’s prayer life and regular time in fellowship with other Christians, studying God’s Word and worshiping Him. At least, this is what has helped me to come forth and proclaim the good news of Jesus without reservation. As we practice the things I just mentioned, the Holy Spirit is better allowed to work in us and through us and fear becomes some memory of what used to be, not the method we choose to operate in today. May God bless you as you strive to be closer to Him in every possible way.