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Key Bible Verse: "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:3). Bonus Reading: Philippians 4:1

People led to saving faith in Christ are forever grateful for those who shared with them the gospel of God's grace. Dave Palmer, the man who led me to faith ten years ago, was the best man in my wedding. He's still one of my closest and truest friends, even though he now serves as a missionary on the other side of the world.

I'd rather have five people love me because of the gospel than have one hundred like me because they think I'm a nice guy. We must stop asking ourselves, What will this person think of me if I share the gospel with him? To be honest, the odds are that the person will think we're weird and will reject our message. So we shouldn't focus on being rejected by the hundred. Instead we should focus on the people God will bring to faith and on the relationships he'll give us.

When we hold back our witness to please our coworkers, neighbors, or family, we not only deny what is true but pass up the potential of sharing the gospel with people who might become our legacy: our deepest friends and partners on earth and the ones who will greet us as we enter into the eternal dwellings of God.

—John Teter in Get the Word Out

My Response: How can I focus less on pleasing people and more on pleasing God?

Thought to Apply: What other people think of me is becoming less and less important; what they think of Jesus because of me is critical. —Cliff Richard (British pop singer)

Adapted from Get the Word Out (InterVarsity, 2003) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 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

Boost my confidence in the power of your gospel so I won't succumb to pressures to keep quiet.

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