Thoughts from Pastor John:

"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" (Rom. 1:16).

Revival meetings were being held in a certain town, and as is often the case, opposition made itself felt. But one day one of the town's most prominent men rose to his feet and said: "I want it to be known that I am a disciple of Christ Jesus; and if there is any odium to be cast on this cause, I am prepared to take my share of it."

His testimony went through the meeting like an electric current, and God's blessing at once attended the meetings as never before.

Under somewhat different circumstances, but with just as telling effect, a young street preacher rebuked some of his critics. He could not preach very well, but he was doing the best he could when someone interrupted him and said, "Young man, you cannot preach; you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Said the young man, "So I am, but I am not ashamed of my Lord."

And that is certainly an excellent defense. We need never to be ashamed of the One who purchased us with His own blood upon Calvary's Cross. Yet how often, because of the weakness of the flesh, we are prone to permit the sneers and jeers of the unbelieving world to silence our tongues, render us into fearful rather than faithful witnesses of our Lord Jesus.

Pastor John Napoli is the pastor of River Of Life Church located in Cloquet, MN. We are a non-denominational church that believes the Bible is the living word of God and all sermons are based on that truth. Pastor John does not share his sermons without thoroughly praying and studying out that they align with what the written Word of God says. For more information check out www.rolcloquet.com