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Key Bible Verse: I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling 1 Corinthians 2:3. Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-4

I can relate to the fear Paul expresses [in today's Key Bible Verse]. I felt it when God burdened me to invite a 6'6" fraternity brother to an outreach at UCLA. I felt it with my neighbor Dan, whom I prayed for and invited to church for years after he was diagnosed with cancer. I felt it witnessing to my daughter's soccer coach. I felt it when the other passengers on the plane overheard me witnessing to an old lady from Texas. I felt it when I wanted to talk about heaven with my mom on her deathbed.

What did I feel? In each of these instances, I felt like a Special Forces guy being dropped from the sky into a situation. I might make hundreds of jumps in a lifetime, but each one still comes with brief panic. I have full faith that the chute will open and carry me safely into the mission. But the question is: Am I willing to leap out of the plane?

When I did step out in faith, more times than not, like Paul, I experienced God's power flowing through me. Each of the people I mentioned proved to me that God's saving power is waiting to be unleashed if we move against fear to share our Lord with someone.

—Kenny Luck in New Man

My Response: When have I opened my mouth and experienced God's power?

Thought to Apply: The world that we confront today is aggressively pagan. The only answer is for Christians to recover the New Testament power of spiritual aggression. —Karl Barth (Swiss theologian)

Adapted from New Man (9-10/06) by permission.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Give me confidence to risk sharing the gospel, Lord, since You've promised to show up when I do.

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